One of the large landscape projects that The Design Factory completed in the 1980s was a 20’ octagonal gazebo with a bell-shaped roof. It was for the Seventh-day Adventist assisted living facility in Lewiston, Idaho. I mentioned it in my story about the end of my foundry career.

Because the job site was about 110 miles away from my shop, I decided to cut all the clear cedar parts for the structure in my small shop and dry assemble one section of the roof to make sure everything would go together as planned.

At that time I had two employees, Kenley Sorenson and Loren Melcher. They were both young but experienced carpenters that had helped me build a few decks with railings and stairs so I had every confidence that this would go together just fine.

The “kit” was completed and ready to put together in the middle of November. The weather was cold but we needed to get it done and get paid, so I rented a U-Haul truck, we packed everything including our tools, and drove to Lewiston. We spent the night in a motel and got an early start the next day. The facility had already had their contractor pour a concrete floor for us to anchor the corner posts to, so we could go right to work.

All went well and all parts fit as planned including the 42” high lattice with top rail and benches between seven of the sides. After the roof rafters were installed, they were covered with 2 x 6 cedar boards so the inside would also have a nice cedar look. All went well to this point, and as Loren was on the roof installing asphalt shingles over the cedar for weather protection, it started to snow and the roof was getting slippery. Just as he finished the last shingle around the cap, he stood up, lost his footing, and slid off as if he was going off a ski jump. Fortunately, it was only 7’ 6” to the ground and he was young and in shape so he stuck the landing.

With that we packed everything into the truck, got a quick burger, and drove home.  Another great job well done. Unfortunately, my photos of the finished product are packed away somewhere and I can’t find them.

Ken Kaiyala
8-4-2024