TACKLING THE GRAVENHURST EIGER SANCTION - I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR ROOFERS "SPIDER-MANNING" OFF AN ONTO THE OPERA HOUSE ROOF
IN HINDSIGHT - MAYBE THE ROOF WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IF OPERA HOUSE HAD REMAINED CLOSED
IF GRAVENHURST COUNCIL HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, WOULD THEY HAVE OPTED TO….A. DANCE GANGNAM STYLE, B. BUILD A DOME OVER THE OPERA HOUSE SO THAT IT COULD BE REPAIRED ALL YEAR, DESPITE THE WEATHER, OR C. HAVE CLOSED THE OPERA HOUSE UNTIL THE ROOF REPLACEMENT JOB WAS DONE? COME ON YOU KIDDERS. HOW MANY OF YOU THOUGHT THEY WOULD CHOOSE GANGNAM STYLE? I'M BETTING THAT COUNCIL THOUGHT IT ADVANTAGEOUS TO MUNICIPAL COFFERS, TO KEEP THE OPERA HOUSE OPEN, DURING THE ROOFING WORK, BUT HONESTLY…..THAT WAS JUST DUMB. I'M SORRY. THERE'S LITTLE WAY OF ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE, WITHOUT ASSESSING BLAME. THE ROOFERS HAVE HAD TO HOPSCOTCH AROUND AND DELAY WORK BECAUSE OF THE FACT, THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS AT TOWN HALL, TRIED TO DO THE SAME HOUDINI ACT THAT THEY DID KEEPING THE ARENA OPEN DURING THE CENTENNIAL CENTRE OVER-HAUL. IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING INQUIRY, TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH EXTRA MONEY IT COST TO KEEP THE ARENA OPEN DURING THIS RE-CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. YES, IT KEPT HOCKEY GOING, BUT WHAT INCONVENIENCE AND OBSTACLES DID IT CREATE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION CREWS. I'M SURE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT OF BELLYACHING FROM HOCKEYISTS, AND IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN HARD TO TAKE, FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE TO GET YELLED AT…..BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT COST OVER-RUNS AND RELATED DELAYS, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED IN PART BY THE FACT THE ARENA REMAINED OPEN, THE QUESTION IS……..WHAT WAS THE GAIN AND WHAT WAS THE LOSS?
IT'S OBVIOUS THE TOWN FIGURED THEY COULD DO THE SAME THING WITH THE OPERA HOUSE. KEEP IT OPEN DURING THE ROOFING REPAIRS. TODAY WAS A CASE IN POINT. WHILE IT MAY NOT HAVE SEEMED LIKE IT WAS A PRECARIOUS SITUATION, TO THE USER GROUP, THAT DIDN'T SEE ALL THAT WAS FLYING OFF THAT ROOF. WHAT I WAS OBSERVING WAS DEFINITELY MORE DANGEROUS THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN, IF THE RENTAL HAD BEEN DENIED, OR EVENT MOVED ELSEWHERE. THERE WERE SLABS OF PLYWOOD COMING OFF THAT ROOF AT REGULAR INTERVALS, AND ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A ROOFED SCAFFOLDING AT THE ENTRANCE, IT JUST WASN'T THE KIND OF ENVIRONMENT THAT REFLECTED SAFE PROTOCOLS FOR OPERA HOUSE GUESTS. NOT FROM MY VANTAGE POINT, ACROSS THE ROAD, WATCHING THE DEBRIS BEING SENT BELOW, BEFORE AND AFTER FOLKS HAD WALKED THE BASIC COVERED TUNNEL , CONNECTED TO THE OPERA HOUSE VERANDAH. THE CREW ON THE ROOF, SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO ADJUST THEIR WORK FOR THIS EVENT, OR ANY OF THE OTHER RENTAL SITUATIONS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. IT HAS OBVIOUSLY FORCED THEM TO ALTER THEIR PLANS, AND THIS HAS CAUSED THE DELAYS WE'RE SEEING TODAY.
WOULDN'T IT HAVE SEEMED LOGICAL…..PRACTICAL, AND RESPONSIBLE, TO ALLOW THIS PRECARIOUS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, TO PROCEED WITHOUT DELAY, DUE TO HUMAN OBSTACLES. ONE WOULD HAVE TO BE PRETTY NAIVE, NOT TO THINK THAT REPLACING A MULTI-LEVEL NUMBER OF ROOFING MATERIALS, NAILED FIRMLY TO THE PAST, WOULDN'T CREATE A PROBLEM INSIDE AS WELL. IT'S PART OF THE WIDTH AND BREADTH OF THE JOB OF REPLACING A LARGE SECTION OF ROOF WITH PESKY DORMERS. WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A STRAIGHTFORWARD PROJECT, COMPLETED IN THE BETTER WEATHER THIS FALL, APPEARS TO MOST OF US ARMCHAIR ROOFERS, AS BEING UNNECESSARILY HAMPERED, THE RESULT OF THE OPERA HOUSE BEING OPEN FOR BUSINESS……EXCEPT FOR A WEEK AND A HALF, WHERE PRESUMABLY THE DUST OF AGES MADE IT DOWN INTO THE HOUSE.
A BUSY WEEK, AND COULD THERE BE SNOW?
Today I spent time…..between our customers (yes there were quite a few), watching the exceptional work undertaken by the roofers……to catch-up on the front portion…..east side of the building. I was thoroughly impressed, although some of the cast-down plywood came close to kicking back against the Opera House windows…..and the verandah took a pounding, as most debris hit it, before tumbling into the garbage bin at its side. These folks spider-manned all over the place, with ropes and pitchforks (it looked like), and if it had been put to music, what a story it would have told. They put in a great day's work, and when we retired for the evening ourselves, two roofers on the peak, were still silhouetted in their labors, against the evening sky; as winter darkness had settled over the work place. They were busily putting down tar paper roofing to cover the bare wood, exposed after a day of lifting, tossing and scraping. I couldn't have found a complaint with these lads, even if I'd been up there with them, studying the fine points of replacing the old, and layering on the new. What I watched today, just for argument's sake, was a gang of highly competent roofers, on the slope of what I've come to call the Eiger Sanction (of movie fame), and I don't know how these guys can move in the morning; after the incredible physical demands, of hanging onto a rope, on a substantial pitch, and scraping old shingles off with a long handled device…..that must give them Popeye arms at the end of the day. If I've given the impression, at any time in these blogs, over the past month or so, that the roofers were in any way sloppy, or slow……then I really owe it to them to offer this clarification……it hasn't been your fault.
The town really needs to gets its poop together…..honestly. This roofing job, that is now bordering a Muskoka winter…..seriously, could have been done a long time ago, if the crew hadn't needed to worry about public use, and what might dislodge with hammering and scraping, onto the heads seated in the theatre below……or anywhere else in the building. It's like asking someone to run a three legged race, at the church picnic, but having to carry a cement block, blindfolded, and forced to run backwards…….while the normal fare is two legs, of two competitors, tied together, and a determined, circumstance-adjusted "hop-trot " to the finish line. What could we expect from the roofers, faced with these impediments foisted on them by a narrow focused town administration? The fact it has been open through all of this, with a small exception due to whatever (they won't tell us), has played a role in some of the problems experienced; and with the hurry up offense, for this week, due to the CBC coming to town, for the Vinyl Cafe Christmas Show, it has created an almost ridiculous situation for the roofers to contend. It didn't have to be this way. The town needs to find out how this came down the pike, and who offered the advice, it was good to go……when, "no," it shouldn't have been open to the public. For all kinds of reasons. Safety for one. There was no earthly reason, why the event today at the Opera House couldn't have been moved for safety reasons. I think the users, in this case, would have understood the prevailing circumstances and conditions, and not blamed the town for being moved elsewhere. They may argue that everything was great and it was resoundingly safe. Once again, that would be deluded thinking, because I was there, and I saw all that was going on, above and below. The roofers trying to do their job. The visitors, walking the gauntlet, in between huge portions of shingled plywood slabs, falling on both sides of the covered scaffolding. Why did the town need to take on the risk on this, when they seem, most of the time with policy, to be so liability obsessed? One misdirected tumble of debris, and one out of place visitor, and yes indeed…..it would have been a serious liability issue. With witnesses. Accidents have a higher rate of occurrence when there is this kind of work going on…..and many passersby traveling in vicinity. Ask the statistician to come up with a risk percentage. Insurance? Gads, shouldn't someone at town all look at this kind of risk factor, before the accident has a chance to occur.
I personally want to recognize the roofers who today, showed amazing capability, of working under pressure……not just because of the closing-in aspect of winter, but the fact they had to work with high consideration to the fact the town refused to close a building…….that was visibly and actually, raining debris for most of the working day. They showed a lot of courtesy to those passing by, and they appeared, by the end of the day, to have successfully covered over the wood decking of the roof, they had exposed to the elements. As there is rain in the forecast, this was a necessary precaution of course. There are three inclement weather days in the next five…..if you believe those weather prognosticators.
I hate retrospectives which is odd, considering I'm an historian. But in this case, I hope Gravenhurst Council reviews their "construction while open" policy. They've pushed this situation into a race against the clock, to have the site cleaned up this weekend, for not only the arrival of two shows by Stuart McLean, and if I'm not mistaken, the BIA official Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, for the Black Friday shopping extravaganza. I don't like the idea of hurrying-up workers on such a precarious peak of architecture. These workers may not read my blog…..why would they? But I tip my hat to them anyway, for putting in a hell of a day, under duress no doubt, with obstacles abounding, and finishing up with great efficiency in the low light of a November night. Thanks to all of you, for protecting our historic Opera House.
As for the town……you know what……let's dance Gangnam Style. I'll do M.C. Hammer. We'll resolve our differences eventually……but now…..let's dance.
You folks too. Thanks for visiting with me today. I've got a stiff neck from staring up from morning till early evening. You know what. For what I saw today of a roofer's life, I'm glad for the experience. And the retrospective, I would have never made the grade, had I chosen roofing over authordom.
Please join me tomorrow for my own tribute to Stuart McLean, and the Vinyl Cafe. Suzanne's making her special edition "Vinyl Cafe Cookies," that she's been experimenting with for the past week. She's got a large one ready for Fred Schulz, a desert connoisseur, Suzanne trusts to give her an honest appraisal of cookie quality. Thus Stuart McLean has an official cookie tester, to ensure quality control, before he gets his package on Friday afternoon.
I think there'll be a few extra at our shop, so drop in for a sample.
We should all be darn pleased in this town, that the first Vinyl Cafe Christmas Show of the season, has been gifted to Gravenhurst. Let's make him, the crew and the CBC generally, feel welcome here in South Muskoka.
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