When It Rains, We Restore: Inside Our Shop Days
- Duane D. Houghton
- May 22
- 2 min read
Not every day is spent out on job sites—sometimes the forecast has other plans. On rainy mornings, we trade job site hustle for shop focus—leaving the ladders behind and picking up scrapers, sanders, and putty knives. Rainy days may keep us indoors, but the shop stays just as busy (and full of sawdust).
We roll into the shop at 7:30 AM, shaking off the rain and warming up with a coffee. These days give us the chance to catch up on the detailed work that’s tough to fit into a busy site schedule. After a quick morning check-in, we figure out what needs attention, what can be wrapped up, and what’s coming next.
In the window room, we’re starting the steady process of removing the glaze from a new batch of sashes. Over in the shop, large church columns are being carefully sanded down to blend seamlessly. Meanwhile, the column bases are being scraped of old paint —restoring those beautiful original details, layer by layer.
The shop has its own atmosphere. The hum of the sander, the smell of fresh wood, and a bit of classic rock playing in the background—it all adds to the feel of a day well spent. In the office, the soft clacking of keyboards and the shuffle of paperwork as schedules are adjusted, emails are answered, and the behind-the-scenes work that keeps everything running falls into place. There’s always some storytelling, a few laughs, and the steady progress of pieces coming back to life.
Rainy days aren’t downtime for us. They're a valuable part of what we do—time to restore, prep, and fine-tune the parts of a project that really make a difference.
Whether we're out in the field or inside the shop, the work doesn’t stop—it just shifts. And on days like this, we’re reminded that craftsmanship doesn’t always need sunshine. Just good tools, good hands, and maybe a little music in the background.
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