High winds'll do that to ya

Last night, as the temps began to dip for the evening...the remaining sunshine was beginning its rapid twilight fade...and the winds decided 'somewhat gusty' speeds should be replaced by the ol' 'zippity-doo-dah surprise', the sagging vinyl sheets of my front door portico took a bit of a ride on the wild side.

We were sitting in the living room eating stew and talking, when the wind suddenly gusted at just the right angle and speed and deftly blew (and pulled) at the rippled underside of the sheeting, peeling one piece completely free of the track holding it in place. Not only that, but the track itself - insufficiently stapled in place - was pulled and twisted with that same riotous gust. The father of the previous owner had NOT nailed (or screwed) anything in place in any truly permanent fashion. Rather, it looks as though no thought was given to how it all may look or behave or last over time. It was all just slapdashed enough to get the inspector here and gone, and the construction permit signed off on.

So, faster than a New York minute, there were four rather surprised humans congregated on the porch, grabbing, holding, thinking and scheming as to how to get the loose piece back in place, while trying to keep the two additional pieces (now hanging precipitously from the 'ceiling') from whipping about and hurting anyone, or allowing them to also fall to the ground.

Most of the work centered on how to get the track back in place with another loose piece still hanging from it - all the while not damaging anything too much more than already was.

We scrounged up a ladder and step stool, the drill, screws to make the repairs to the sagging track and covering, a hammer, and something to ply the edges back into the tight-fitting track.

Thinking back on it now it all didn't take very long, but it wasn't something I had planned on having to do. At first I couldn't see how we could fix it given the visual damage and the high winds still wreaking havoc, but after a few moments of deliberation (and somewhat calm behavior), we were all excitedly re-entering the house, proud of the work and geeked from having repaired the odd wind damage.

Invigorating!