CALLIA AND MIRIAM Bickmore take a break from guessing the right word in a heated game of You Don’t Say at the family dinner table to look up at the tongue-and-groove ceiling and recount the war stories they earned during its installation.
“You’re fighting with the board, and you’re pushing, and you’re 10 feet up in the air,” says Callia.
“You’re pushing so hard,” interjects Miriam.
“You’re pushing on the board with all your weight and waiting for the other person to nail it in so you can let go,” says Callia. “But then our nail gun was fussy, and it wouldn’t always fire. And you’re, like, leaning over the edge of the scaffolding—not over the edge, but you’re close…”
“They’re leaning in the safest way possible,” chimes in their dad, Mark.
“We’re holding it down, and it’s not going in, and you’re clicking the trigger, and it’s not working, and you’re like, oh my gosh,” finishes Callia.
The youthful exuberance of their recall is, of course, no accident: the pair installed that ceiling a few years ago when they were just 15 (Callia) and 16 (Miriam), with assistance from their younger brother, Kaden (then 11). Using nail guns, impact drivers, and power sanders; balancing on scaffolding; even navigating the intricacies of lining up a T&G ceiling—they’re all second nature for the Bickmore kids, who’ve been working with power tools for as long as they can remember. And, for the
