Last week we raised the roof on the Tiner Hendrick House. Well, actually we didn't. The Fowler House Moving Company and the LV Crane and Rigging Company did. It was amazing and a little frightening to watch.
Because of the height of the house, it was necessary to remove the roof and a portion of the second floor in order to move it. We removed all the doors, door frames, windows, and window frames from the second floor so that they could be refurbished and reinstalled. Fowler House Moving Company built a structure inside the the roof to accommodate the cables from the crane. The top of the house had to be sawn off, and the roof was cut into three sections. It was reattached with "scabs" temporarily awaiting the crane. Holes were made in the roof for the cables from the crane, and the cables were attached to the structure inside. When everything was attached, the "scabs" were removed and the roof was lifted up one section at a time and placed on a trailer for the transit to the new site.
The whole process went off without a hitch. Well, the huge crane did get stuck in the sand right off the bat, but he decided he could operate from where he was. It was amazing to see the roof separating from the house, being lifted above the house and gently placed on a trailer. The two sides weighed 4,000 pounds each, and the center section weighed 3,800 pounds.
Here are some images of the event.
The wooden shingles are covered with asphalt shingles. Those must have been put on when the Hendrick and Hodge family owned the house. A tin roof was later put on over the other two layers.
In the next couple of week all five pieces, the cabin, the two-story house, and the three roof pieces will move to their new home site, next to the Polley Mansion. With the house on a firm foundation, the crane will revisit and put the puzzle back together again.
