Stabilizing the West Wing – Part 2

When preparing to continue the story of the West Wing, we realized we’ve learned a couple of good lessons. We should have been writing down dates and a quick overview of what was done as soon as we could. Then we needed to complete the blog BEFORE we forgot all the details. Because we’re just now realizing how easy it is to forget the details, this part of our story is going to be much more high level than we had intended. And of course, we’re hoping there are no more broken bones, falls or other mayhem leading us to be even more forgetful than normal.

In Part 1, I had stated that Bill & his crew were on site on November 10^th to begin the clean-up. They were actually on site on October 25^th beginning the clean-up. They came back the following day to do some more cleaning, digging and to put up some temporary posts. They also returned on a third day to complete the prep work.

 Back area after cleanup and temporary posts for bracing.

As mentioned in Day 1, brace boards were needed to help stabilize the side walls. The complication was how to attach them when there was no way to enter the West Wing to secure the bolts. Bob, however, suggested using a cement that he had worked with on the interstate job. Although it means losing a few bricks, the cement allowed us to achieve the goal in the safest manner possible.

Bracing boards.

The brace boards are the horizontal boards that the posts are attached to in order to equalize pressure on the walls and to stabilize them.

And some last minute adjustments were required due to the further deterioration of the roof causing a rotated look to the back windows.

Ready for the bracing to begin.

The site was finally ready to begin the work to stabilize the wall. The on-site meeting to finalize the plans took place on October 28^th. The agreed upon beam was ordered and quickly arrived. Then the delays began again. We were very worried because we knew we needed to get the stabilization completed before any appreciable snowfall or we could loose the entire wing. In order to safely set the beam, we needed dry weather on a day when the lift was available. Then finally on November 10^th, we had the perfect day. And that’s where we’ll begin in Part 3.