The morning dawned bright and clear- perfect for a delivery. I checked the straps on the load, made sure the lights were working on the trailer and we were off!
We pulled into the parking lot just as John backed into place with the crane. Harold's crew were busy putting their needed tools into the attic. As John leveled his truck and set his outriggers Sarah and I untied the load and set up the ladders. Then it was time to hook up the chain at last. Clearance was tight as the crane head needed to fit under the eaves of the gable. We went without a hook, instead tying the sign to the end of the boom. John, ever the professional was smooth as silk as he guided the sign into position. Sarah was on the guide rope, Benji was on the ladder talking to the guys inside who would screw the fasterers into the sign from the attic. I was John's eyes inside the courtyard, guilding him on the truck controls.
It took a little finesse and pushing to get the 1,435 lb sign into place and a few tries to grab it from behind with the lag bolts. In the end we were forced to do four bolts through the face of the sign to get it to tighten securely to the wall face as the was was not perfectly flat. I patched and painted the holes while the guys fastened the rest of the fasteners from behind - as per the engineer's instructions. We used a few extra bolts to be sure.
Then it was time to lift the decorative chimney into place. It would fancy up an old kitchen vent that was no longer in service.
Colin and Benji fastened the chimney in place while Sarah and I headed into the pub to do a little other work on a handrail.
The busy crew had everything tidied up before lunch and we headed back to the house to resume work there. It had been a productive morning that went smoothly - a good thing on install days!
As quick as that this phase of the Fox and Hounds Pub project was at last complete.
-dan
