The Roofing Saga

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It's done. It is only right that I begin this by thanking the people who made the new roof possible.

Chris, I don't know where you get your energy but you amaze me.

Kent, Kevin, someday you're going to tell me "no." I won't blame you.

Rob, I enjoy your company more and more.

Brother William, you were an unexpected blessing.

My friends, I cannot express enough how grateful I am for your help and your friendship. Truly, I could not have done this job without you.



And now, on with the story:

I had hoped - with what now seems ridiculous optimism - to have the roof done in one day. After all, we were only re-roofing the dormer in the back. Ultimately, it took two days.

Sunday, in a single day we cleaned down to the plywood, a surface that hasn't seen the light of day in fifty years. There were four layers of roofing up there - shingles/tar paper for three layers, and roll roof/tar paper for the last. Tear-off was a much greater chore than we anticipated: it took most of the day.


We also found quite a lot of damage to the roof decking. It took three sheets of plywood to fix it all. While we were at it, we sistered two rafters, damaged in the ice storm of '84 and never repaired.

And the morning and evening were the first day.

Monday morning, ready for roof. The bright strip on the long edge and the lighter surface in the bottom-right are new plywood.
Today, we applied the roof. New aluminum drip edge on all three sides, a layer of 30# roofing felt and a layer of rolled roofing. Wednesday we get to find out if all this work was worth it: it's supposed to rain. IF there is a leak, and I don't anticipate there will be, at least I know this roof well, so tracking it down won't be a huge struggle.

And only two trips back to Home Depot and Lowes for supplies!

And the morning and evening were the second day.

Click to see all the pictures of the project

Casualty Report

After a day of climbing around thirty feet in the air with no injuries, late in the day I became the first (and only, as it happens) casualty. A piece of plywood large enough to use as a bookshelf was thrown from the roof (without a safety check first) and struck me on the right side.

I had my right arm up, carrying a sheet of new plywood, so the injury runs from my right breast to my right elbow. I can still use everything, but I may have a bruised rib or two, and it hurts to reach for, say, the rear-view mirror. It's uncomfortable to sleep on my right side. Even soft T-shirt fabric hurts against the skin of my right arm.

It's all manageable, though. I'm pretty tough. I just won't be doing any endurance guitar playing for a week or two.

And, yes I have photographs, though in deference to the more squeamish among my friends, I will not post them here. Should you wish to see the damage, go here. (Ladies, now's your chance to see me shirtless :)

And that's it. Two days, not six, though I'm still resting tomorrow. Mostly, anyway. A day at my desk in air conditioning, lifting nothing heavier than a coffee mug is resting by comparison.

Gratitude

I'm grateful that the weather wasn't its usual August-Oh-my-friggin'-sweet-sufferin'-Lord-HOT (though it was still miserable up there.)

I'm grateful that I'm capable of doing this work myself (within limits, but that's another story for another time).

I'm grateful that my friends recognize those limits and worked to keep me safe.

I'm grateful that my hurts are the worst suffered, and that they're mine and not someone else's.

I'm grateful that the job is done, even the cleanup!, though there are some odds and ends left to do.

Mostly, I'm grateful for the selfless help of friends.