Friday, November 13, 2020

Putting a new roof on my barn

Or what did you do last weekend ?

The south side of the roof on my barn was not looking so good after about twenty years in the weather.

 
So on Friday morning I bought nine bundles of shingles to redo that upper pitch of the Gambrel roof that faces south and gets baked the worst by the sun .


I moved each ninety pound bundle four times before they were on the roof . . .

See that bend in my back ?
 
Its pretty much permanent now , and this is what it looks like on a good day . . .

But if the roof is to get done . . . 

I don't really have a choice . . .
 
And that's why I hurt . . .

. . . and my legs tremble .

But I'm hiding the ugly

 
Are we having fun yet ?
 
By four thirty on Friday I had the south pitch done .

I will tear into the ridge cap in the morning .

Time to quit anyhow as the sun has set and I can't see much
 
After licking my wounds and sleeping on it overnight I figured I might as well get the north side done too while I was at it . 
So Saturday morning I ran back to Lowe's and got another nine bundles of shingles plus one for the ridge cap and  hefted them up the ladder . 
That was a total of 1890 lbs moved four times from the store stack to the top of my barn .

By sunset on Saturday I got the north side top pitch done .
I'll dig into the ridge cap in the morning . .  didn't I say that on Friday night ?

Sunday morning I tore the ridge cap and vent off to discover why my shop is always so hot

Yea that ridge vent was just decoration . Whoever put it on there did not leave enough a gap in the sheathing boards at the ridge to allow positive airflow .

So I deleted the vent and capped the ridge over

By Sunday noontime the roof was done .

Then after lunch I cut in and installed a new vent in the back gable .

and a big honking fan to suck the heat out of my shop.

And because that was not enough abuse we also dug up the second flower bed on the front of the house

Sifted all the invasive bulbs and grass roots out of the soil , mixed it with manure . . .

And on Monday I lined the bed with heavy plastic in an attempt to keep the maple roots out , and rebuilt the flower bed .


15 comments:

  1. One more chore scratched off my "before it snows" list.

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  2. Un trabajo bien documentado! De atras se te ve un poco torcido; probá de llevar las bolsas en el otro hom re...

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    1. Un poco torcido? Retuerto es lo que estoy. Eso es el resultado de cuarenta años de laburo. No puedo cargarlos en el otro hombro. Son mas de cuarenta kilos cada uno.

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  3. Glutton for punishment, what are you trying to atone for? A misspent youth?

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    1. It's either that or I am just too thick to know how to do it any other way. Ten years ago when I did the roof on the house I promised myself it would be the last roof I ever do, yet here I am again ten years later. Stay tuned for the next episode of corporal abuse coming soon.

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    2. I'll be here, I enjoy your blog!

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    3. It's cheap entertainment . . . a bit like watching a train wreck, isn't it?

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  4. You make the rest of us look like pikers! Great work - if you ever get up to Durham, stop in for a cup of whatever and a tour of the place where the inherited swimming pool turned into a 20' X 40' garden. I'm just over the line from Brunswick on Swamp Road.

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    1. I think I did some work on the Swamp Road 30 yrs ago or so. Used to spend a lot of time in the Brunswick area. Learned to fly up in Bowdoinham in the mid 80s. Used to hit Maurice Bonneau's place in Lisbon once in a while to load up on sausages. Don't really have cause to venture off west of 295 too much these days. We are down in Scarborough behind the Mercedes dealer.

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  5. Well done, Mike!!! 😊👍

    Whatever you do - don’t hurt yourself.

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    1. Ha Ha Ha a bit late for that , the hurt has been done......

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  6. I wish I had your energy. Looks good.

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    1. Believe me, it wasn't energy that drove me in this case, it was the fear of what would happen to my shop upstairs if I did not do something about mending that roof before the snow came. I really had my doubts about being able to get it done this year. I am more wore out than a rented mule. But I am doing my damnedest to check the chores off my list one by one before winter. Maybe I can rest then.

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