I rejoined the team for tear-down this morning. I was simultaneously pleased and horrified with the progress they made. They had disassembled quite a bit already – a good thing, to be sure – but the lovely building that had been standing there when I left was literally in pieces. Most of the finish materials were bundled and stacked as was the shelving.

Chris, Nic, and I started by removing the floor sheathing from the loft. Then I started taking the gabions apart on the east and north side with Brittany and Melissa. With them out of the way, we could remove the furring strips and foam blocks. Others removed the cedar columns and took apart the ‘patio’ on the south and west sides. The roof sheathing and joists were also removed.

After lunch, Nick and I emptied all the rock from gabions. Then we began taking down the fascia and exterior sheathing in order to reach the main beam. We did that on both sides and attached some 2x4s so that the scissor lifts could be used to remove it. While the front fascia was being removed, I bundled and labeled the siding that Chris and Johnny took off the south side.

A number of us helped uninstall the windows and repack them in their shipping crate. The last thing to do was take down the main beam. I was able to watch it from below and, I gotta say, it was quite a sight! Two scissor lifts hoisted the beam out of its pocket using the 2×4 extenders and passed it to a third lift. That lift shuffled over and passed the beam to a forklift which moved it over and around the crate of windows. Safe and sound!