The roof was covered with two layers of waterproof tarp. The layer closer to the eaves was on the bottom, while the one against the cliff face was on top. He was lifting the layer by the eaves.
If it did rain, the water flowing down the cliff face would be blocked and diverted by the remaining tarp, then channeled away completely along the spruce branches.
If it snowed, the section next to the cliff face would bear more of the snow's weight, so it needed to be sturdy. Therefore, that tarp layer had to be kept for now.
After repairing the outer edge of the roof, he took the rolled-up tarp into the yard and began searching his memory bank for techniques on how to make tools like water buckets from a waterproof tarp.
"Got it!"
Several ways to make a simple water bucket quickly came to mind, but almost all of them required tape to secure.
