A recent gathering of friends brought up the topic of restoration. Who has restored something and how long did it take?
My mind wandered to old buildings I鈥檝e known.
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Having always more wants than means, several of the homes we鈥檝e lived in required some level of restoration. That has included new windows and doors in place of leaky and sometimes rotted old versions. Replacing 1970s paneling and shag carpets with more modern treatments is an instant facelift and often improves the smell of the home. It has often meant replacing what sun, rain, snow, cold and heat have eaten away. Rodents tend to speed up the process of destruction quickly.
That鈥檚 been abundantly clear in my current shop project that continues into another year as time allows. Rotten base boards are being replaced with treated lumber and covered with low-maintenance material inside and out. The longer I work on turning this dilapidated structure into a valuable asset, the more I grow to appreciate the strength of the original structure, which stood strong in a tornado more than a decade ago. I have to believe it鈥檚 seen plenty else as it appears to be nearly a century old. The rest of the farm that once surrounded it is only found in crushed piles of cement and silo staves pushed over a hillside following that tornado.
The roof steel on the south side still bears the memory of tree branches and flying debris that left imprints across the length of the building. Dented but still holding out moisture, I plan to leave it that way for now.
While some areas have shown their weakness due to prolonged exposure to the elements, other areas remain as strong as ever, it seems, perhaps even stronger as gravity seems to meld the old lumber together, making removal especially challenging without the use of a reciprocating saw.
Like other good things in life, restoration can take plenty of time. As you seek to fix one thing, you find more problems that must first be addressed.
At some point along this journey of restoring the building, my wife asked if the building was even worth restoring or was better off removed. It was a fair question, as even when complete, it is still not a new building. The concrete floor is one area I'm not especially excited about dealing with. Lacking a fat bank account and the desire to give up my adventure just yet, I continue to plug on.
It reminds me of the oncoming Easter. It鈥檚 not the only time to think about it, but it鈥檚 a very good time to remember Jesus, who lived and died to restore us, not partially, but fully. When we were dry bones just waiting for the next strong wind to knock us over, he canceled the debt of sin that had deteriorated us by dying on the cross for us. By believing that, we are made new, not in months or years, but instantly.
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I can take great joy in that while I鈥檓 pulling remaining chipmunk debris and mouse remains from the nooks and crannies of this old building. While my earthly restorations will continue to drag on, my most important restoration is secure.
The Trust Project
