I promised a follow-up on my neighbor’s roofing job so here it is. In my last post I used the analogy of a box of Cracker Jacks (referring to the surprises) and this job has been nothing but a surprise. We left off last with Josh, Bill & Ted frantically tarping the roof in a downpour with upside down smiles. We pick up today with a new surprise.

The fellas decided to start work on the hip, fascia and soffit of the roof apparently to avoid some of the exposure to the rain, but maybe also because they needed to deal with the area where the hip meets the top part of the roof. The knuckleheads who had put on the last roof had wrapped the top edge right over the hip. No trim board – nothing. Anyway, as the guys peeled away the old fascia, they saw a lot of rot. Most of the boards that hold the gently curving boards that create the Mansard contour were either totally or in part rotted. These will all need new boards “sistered” to them so the new fascia boards will stay in place.

On this morning (I should have kept an exact timeline because the weather forced a lot of stops and starts – but I’m not that organized) Bill & Ted found that the sheating, although quite rotten, was no rose garden. Trying to pull off 135 year old wood while standing on a 12 inch platform is not fun. No real weight can be put on the board their feet are on as it is just nailed into old rotten wood.

The backside of the plaster and lath wall can be seen here nicely. They could have easily kicked right through to the rental unit if they had wanted. It’s really interesting to see how simple a house really is. We take them for granted when we’re inside and dry, but there’s very little real estate between us and a good bit of weather.

Josh’s foot passed through the sheeting somewhere near the chimney and it is decided that it needs to be completely replaced. The job is now 3-4 times bigger than it started. Hmmm, those clouds are looking dark aren’t they???

These poor guys got held up by rain and lots of set backs. In order to close up the gaping hole in the roof they had to work well after dusk by work light in order to get all the new sheeting on. The cold beer must’ve tasted pretty good that night.

I think it’s actually starting to rain here – but the guys aren’t phased at this point. They’re rolling out the 1st line of felt paper. The outermost edge is a weather guard that is more durable than the subsequent rows. Mainly this protects the edge as it gets the most wear and the most weather.

Josh lays down on the job for a while as he tacks the felt paper up. You can see the sheen on the wood from the rain. It’s pretty slippery up there. Almost ready for the shingles – another day…

Josh’s crew nears the home stretch (for the top of the roof anyway) as they come around the second side with the shingles. Once the entire roof is covered they will still need to come back and do ridge vents. Next is the flashing on the chimney.

An 8 inch or so piece of aluminum wraps around the chimney and then a row of shingles gets tacked snugly around it to keep the water out. Before he is done, Josh will have to use some heavy duty caulk and seal the top edge under the rubber flaps shown.

I almost forgot this picture. The hip is now totally exposed and this has given the guys the opportunity to insulate. This has all been a lot of work for them, but what a payoff the new roof and insulation will be. More to come…