Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Tear the Metal Down

I had to enjoy several years of putting it off until tomorrow, joyously spend many nights of lost sleep anquishing about problems that might or might not happen, and wasting months on end generally screwing the pooch before I buckled down the other day and  grudgingly began to open my roof and deal with whatever demons I just knew were lurking under the sub roof and in the framing of the house my family has called Home for over 45 years.  Visions of rotten rafters, spongy joists and algae encrusted insulation floated through my mind.  Bee hives, bird nests, and mouse hotels were all considered as not something I might find when I ripped the metal roof off, they were a sure thing.  Several winters spent with a 5 gallon bucket under a certain spot to catch the occasional, sometimes more than occasional drip that would find it's way in from the frozen cold if I wasn't quick to remove any snow fall over six inches or so.

Well you see I figured it was a damn sight easier to put a bucket under the leak than rip the roof off for a little snow.  It was only one leak after all.  Half the year the bucket stayed in the garage.  A seasonal adjustment to exterior conditions that only necessitated the proper placement of a moisture receptacle seemed a more efficient use of my highly honed Life skill sets.  Time wasted fixing my roof  would only eat into my time busily considering more important and crucial matters like contemplating my naval, opening emails, blogging, watching the Pats,...........Jeez there were so many things more important than replacing my roof.  I told myself as soon as a second leak cropped up, I would jump on it, get right to it, not waste any time and fix it ASAP.

If I was single, this plan might have worked........... at least for a few more years anyway. 

So, a few days ago, Bike Shop Jim and I tore into my roof.  Both of us have more than a casual knowledge of  home construction, home destruction, home re-construction.  Jim made money during the boom years building houses and I made less doing the same thing.  But both of us got out of the building business for a reason.  Ripping into my roof reminded us why.

I didn't use to mind roof work when I was younger, number, and dumber.  Bike Shop Jim, well he claims he'd rather paint than climb up on a roof.  Not the height he says, although he is no fan of being up high.  It's the humping shingles, standing for hours on a downhill surface that can be slippery and  will dump you in a heartbeat if you numb it at the wrong time.  He has learned to hate any chore relating to roofing.  I had to agree.  I guess he's right.  Roof work does indeed suck.  But so does a stick in the eye.

And the battle begins.....................................

11 comments:

David Barber said...

Good luck, mate. Don't envy you that job.

El Cerdo Ignatius said...

Hope the roof work goes well, Mike. And I can't say I blame your friend Jim for the sentiments about roofing. It's backbreaking stuff. I put a roof on a cottage two years ago, re-faced one side of my in-laws' cottage roof last year, and just put a small roof on a gazebo I built in September. Can't stand it. My back, feet and knees are in pain for a day or two afterward, every time.

Kulkuri said...

At least the pitch is not too steep. Looks like you can walk on it without kickers to keep you from sliding off the roof. I agree roofing is a pain in the ass and other body parts. What used to get me after a day on the roof was how much my hips hurt from the weight of the toolbelt. Getting suspenders for the toolbelt helped.

Randal Graves said...

Please tell me you found some mafia dump up there, that's blogworthy material!

The Blog Fodder said...

Waiting to hear what it looked like with the roof off and all the cool things you found or didn't.

Drackar said...

Guh. I loathe roofing. One of the worst jobs you can get...

Good luck.

BBC said...

I don't mind working of roofs as long as they are not too steep and I'm 67 years old.

But don't you think you should have started in June or July?

MRMacrum said...

David - Thanks. Coming from a guy who lays tile, that's saying something. I definitely don't envy what you do. But then most construction is not enviable work once you have done any of it for awhile.

El Cerdo Ignatius - The roof will get done. Definitely one of those jobs that once started has to be finished.

Kulkiri - No the section I am doing this year is not steep - only a 6 pitch on the facing section and an 8 pitch on the right and left sections. And this side is only a tad over a story up. Height and pitch are fine.

I hooked up with suspenders for my tool belt twenty years ago. It's the only way to go in my opinion.

Good to see you around again.

Randal - Are you saying that posting about home owner drudgery is not blog worthy? How about I hire some local gals to dance on the ridge in thongs as we bang shingles to the beat of MJ's "Beat it"? Would that be blog worthy?

Blog Fodder - Well so far we have found three old bird nests, at least four hornet nests with some very sleepy hornets who did not know what hit them when I nailed them with the juice.

But glady, no rot of any signifigance was found. All the rafters/joists were fine. The fact that the house was framed with rough cut hemlock might be part of the reason. Hemlock is a bitch to work with, but it is some rugged.

Drackar - Thanks. Septic tank work and painting are the only chores I hold in lower regard.

BBC - The only thing worse than working on a roof in October is working on one in June or July. At least I also do not have to deal with the being baked by the Sun. The Fall is the best time in my opinion to lay down a roof.

And then there is the fact that June and July is the busiest time at my bike shop. I would not be able to close the doors to do the job like I can in October.

BBC said...

Well, as long as it doesn't start raining on you. When I had to put a new roof on my business I worked on it evenings in the summer.

Chef Cthulhu said...

You should rebuild your roof with some impossible, non-euclidean angles. It'd be pretty fuckin' cool when they swallow up Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve.

Demeur said...

I'll trade you. I'll do your roof and you can do my plumbing.