It Ain't Pretty

I finally decided that I had been slacking off quite enough, thank you, and that it was tie to Start Work On The House.  Absent the Leveling Of The Floor, getting the Squirrels Evicted and the Soffeting Repaired was pretty much next on the list, along with Fixing The Leaky Downspout.

I am soooo glad I procrastinated, and that I decided to look at the condition of the roof before I got out on that corner to attempt downspout repairs. I don't think it would have supported my weight, either on the roof or on a ladder propped against it.

The corner. Notice the dry rotted 'sister' to the dry rotted rafter.

A closer look at the corner.

About two rafters back from the corner. Squirrel bedding cruft visible.

Bedding cruft on the floor.

And more...

...and more

Dry rot on both south and east facia.  Note the missing chunks of roofing boards. Some of the flashing is visible.

More dry rot on the end of the rafter, which is no longer long enough for the facia to be nailed into. There are four like this.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom ceiling, the probable cause of the electrical short.

No, I won't bore you with any more pictures of the bedroom ceiling that the one above. The cadaver was flat and dry. Visual inspection leads me to suspect electrocution was cause of death, based on a blackened stripe along the abdomen, which looked like a third degree burn.

It looks like the nest was mostly outside over the soffeting, not so much over the bedroom ceiling, based on the amounts of nest cruft I found, which so far has filled about  half of a 30# dog food bag.

So, the plan is to sister the four rafters that have rotted away from the facia, so I can attach a new one. Once the structural repairs are done, I'll put up new plastic soffeting  that has ventilation built into it.

The bedroom will need the entire south wall, and about three feet of the east wall and ceiling replaced due to water damage.

It's gonna be a fun summer!

In the best of all possible worlds, the thing to do would be to replace the roof.  I'm guessing that it would be about $5,000 - $6,000, based on the estimate I got for replacing the roof over the original part of the house last year.  The sealer is holding quite nicely, so my plan is to do nothing to damage it, and pray that it holds until such time as a new roof is affordable.