Race to Build Sleepout #4

I knew the forecast was for rain but by the middle of the week it had been upgraded to a full blown cyclone with heavy rainfall warnings. This put me into PANIC mode and I was desperate to get the roof finished and weatherproof before the storm hit, otherwise everything would get a good soaking and it would not be dry enough to add the internal Gib lining until it dried out, putting me days behind.

On Thursday afternoon I heard the rain was due to arrive midday Friday (not Saturday as earlier forecast). So I got up early Friday morning with one thing in mind: GET THE ROOF ON!
My wife Izumi was a great help, racing off to the shop to get a roll of building paper and other essential hardware I'd forgotten. When she got back she continued helping me by passing up to me all the bits and pieces I needed, including the ceiling insulation and even the corrugated iron sheeting. She was a real trooper.
I started at 7am and hadn't taken a break all day as the the storm was building and I didn't want to stop. As I'd been clamboring over the roof all morning trying to balance on the rafters and perlins without falling through the gaps, by the time midday arrived my legs were starting to feel like jelly, shaking and quivering (like a newborn giraffe). But I ignored this and pressed on. Before long I started getting serious cramps in my thighs. So although the rain had started falling, I had to lie down on the roof and take a rest until the cramps subsided.
I didn't have time to screw the iron into place so I put some heavy planks on top so the wind wouldn't blow the iron off. The forecast was for north-easterly winds so I also got some of the plywood cladding and tacked it up to try keeping it all as dry as possible inside.
By 2.00pm it was pouring down with rain and the wind was building. I was absolutely exhausted and there was nothing more I could do except hope I'd done enough.

In the mean time Izumi went off to cook me a big bacon and egg lunch as I was absolutely famished.

After taking a rest for an hour or so I was keen to make sure my efforts to waterproof the building were working. To my surprise, it was dry as a bone underneath. It had worked... Yay!
My legs were still shaking. The whole morning had been quite an ordeal and there was nothing more I could do... except stand there in the rain and enjoy the sheltered space I'd created... best of all looking out onto the garden which needed the water anyhow. I had a few beers to celebrate and that was it, I took the rest of the day off to reflect and recuperate.
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