The Roof is Finished!

Today Justin and Keefe finished the roof.  It looks great, and now the front roof and the back roof finally match.

Stripping the Roof

The weather is going to be relatively mild this week with rain at the end of the week, so Justin decided to work outside on the roof to give Colin a few more days to work on the wiring.

They stripped the old roof off this morning.  When we bought the house 15 years ago, the inspector said that the roof was in bad shape and that we should start saving to replace it.  I guess we were lucky it didn't leak.  Justin said that the shingles were in such bad shape, they just broke apart like potato chips. 

Meanwhile, here is the hole left after Colin removed the upstairs panel.

New Roof Part Two

Today was a bit of a race against time.  The forecast is for several inches of snow, starting this afternoon.  A third pair of hands was brought in to help finish the roof before the snow started falling.  They did it.  It is bit worrying to see people sitting on the steep peak of your roof or walking outside your second story windows. 

New Roof Part One

This morning our new roof shingles were delivered.  They started installing them on the addition.

Wind Damage

It was incredibly windy last night and today.  I'm surprised we only lost power for a second and that we didn't lose any trees.  The wind did do a number on the ice and water shield that Justin and Keefe put down.  It's not supposed to rain before Monday, so it can wait.

Fascia and Soffits

Today Justin and Keefe worked on the fascia and soffits on the new addition.  The trim matches the existing trim on the house, and it looks great.  Glad it's not me up on those ledges.

Stripping the Roof

Like yesterday, the weather today was springlike and warm, with temperatures in the mid 50's.  It was a good day to strip the old shingles off the roof.  They put new wood down on the roof and the black waterproof membrane.

Ready for Snow

We're all set for the snow.  The plywood roof is on and covered in waterproof paper.

Earlier in the week, Justin, Keefe and Rory worked in the morning when it was too cold to be out side.  They put new blocking on top of the foundation to sister to the sill, which was showing signs of some rot.  The 'firewood posts' have been replaced with pressurized posts secured on concrete.  The new posts with new footings and a new laminated beam (adjacent to the basement stairs) are now in the rear section of the basement.

The Beginnings of a Roof

We are due for a Nor'Easter this weekend.  Justin said this morning that "Come hell or high water we need to get the roof on."  They framed the roof joists today and nailed plywood on one half.  When Evelyn saw Justin standing on the top of the wall, she said "That's dangerous." When he jumped down, she added "He should never do that again."

Upstairs Header

Well, the chaos has begun to move upstairs.  This morning they built a temporary supporting wall so that they could put in the new beam.  Evelyn was really concerned and confused when she saw it.

Outside today they installed the header beam upstairs and worked on the living room roof.

Prepping for the Playhouse Roof

Spring is finally here, so it is time to get out and work on the playhouse.  This morning Alistair helped Colin paint the ceiling of the playhouse.

After the ceiling paint dried, it was time to put the sheets up on the roof.

Alistair supervised while Colin attached the sheets to the roof.

Playhouse Roof Framing

The mosquitoes are finally gone so Colin did not get bitten to pieces as he worked on the roof framing today.  He also put the fascia on, so we are ready for the plywood to go on the roof.

Shedding Snow

The new standing seam roof is doing it's job of shedding show.  The gable above the side stairs keeps the snow and dripping water off the stairs.  It also made an interesting snow curl, which Colin knocked off to Alistair's delight.

Standing Seam Roof

Today a team of friendly, bearded men, many dressed in camouflage, installed the standing seam roof on our porch.  They were quick, finishing the job before lunch.  It looks great.  Work on the porch is done now until spring.

Railings

We are nearing the end of the porch construction. Today they installed the porch railings they assembled yesterday. As Dennis said, the railings bring it all together. Mitch and his guys also finished up their work on the roof.

New Roof

Today Mitch and his guys put the shingles up on the west side of the roof. It went really fast. The picture also shows the truck convention in our front yard. Brian was not here today, so his pick up truck is missing.

Pick-up Truck Convention

I think we had a record number of people working on our house today. In addition to Chris, Dennis, and Brian (and his trusty dog Conrad), Mitch and two of his guys were working on the roof. Not counting our car, there were four pick up trucks, an SUV, a van, and a Honda all parked at the front of our house.

Dennis worked on cladding the columns on the new porch while Chris and Brian worked on the new stairs that will be on the side porch. They discovered another huge bolder that they had to move by hand (not with an excavator like a few weeks ago). I think the bolder will become part of our garden.

Alistair has taken a liking to Chris, Brian and Dennis and to Conrad. Alistair picks out dog biscuits for Conrad when we are out grocery shopping. He also asked Santa for a dog, and when I asked what he was thankful for on Thanksgiving, he said a dog. He also is just generally interested on who is here and what they are doing. Today he asked where Dennis was (he was using the table saw) and if he was on his submarine. (Dennis worked on a submarine while in the navy.)

Early Snow

The weather this fall has been very odd. We had snow just before Halloween and we had snow again a few days before Thanksgiving. Thankfully Mitch and his guys were able to put the weather guard on the roof before the snow came. The snow actually seemed to slide right off it. They have finished the east side of the roof yet. Hopefully the snow will melt soon and they can finish.


The porch is coming along nicely. The new cedar decking is in, and they are putting up the trim. The decking is "green" so we'll wait until spring to finish it.

Roof

On Thursday, Mitch and his guys started ripping the shingles off the roof. Today they started on the west side of the roof. The east side is always pretty shady, so there was a bit of rot on the lower sections of the roof. Some of the boards and the fascia board are being replaced. It makes me nervous just seeing those guys up on the steep roof.

Side Porch Reconstruction

After a morning of demolition, here are Dennis and Brian putting the new joists on the side porch. During demolition, they found a little bit of dry rot on one of the sills. Chris didn't seem too concerned about it since it is under cover of the porch. They covered it with the rain guard and will attach the new joists to a ledger, not the sill. They also had to trim the bottom of the columns in order to make the new deck level.

Tomorrow the roofer starts on the front roof. By our car, you can just about see Brian's dog Conrad. Alistair has been picking out little dog biscuits for Conrad at the grocery store. He proudly tells the cashier "Biscuits for Conrad." They give a puzzled look to why we are only buying one or two.