The Roof In Pictures

I have requests out to a couple of roofers to get estimates on this mess:

These above are the exterior part of the roof, from a recent post. 

Here's what prompted me to say "F**k it, I'm out!!" last Saturday, when I resumed tearing into the ceiling to start repairs:

You're not supposed to see daylight where the joist should be, right?  And you can see the damage to the wall header (the darker bottom wood). 

Closeup of the joist remains. The solid wood in front is, as near as I can tell, a nailer for the ceiling lath, and not part of the roof or wall structure.

I also started tearing out the lath and plaster that I'll need to be replacing. I was able to punch through what was there in these three bays, using only my gloved fists. (Purely a comment on the state of the walls, not my punching-fu!)

I haven't told Doc yest, because:

Saw PCP today. Did a "routine" EKG. Have been referred to a cardiologist. Apparently I have had a hear attack at some time in the past, maybe 8 years. hmmm

I'm thinking she has enough on her plate right now, so I'll break this to her when that's in her rear-view mirror.

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.

Straining Gnats

Well, the old screen door on the side porch is as fixed at it's going to get today.  Primary goal #1 - no holes in the screen, no gaps at the edges, and no flying bugs in the house. Done.

On my first go-round, I tried to 'fit' two bits of screen material to the two openings. Came loose in about a day.  This time, I tacked a single piece up, then put up the molding, used the new box cutter to trim away the excess, et voila'!

Just needs some holes and small divots filled, then paint.

The lower half has been more problematic:

I 'replaced' the old, loose board across the bottom. And, I screwed up the dado work on the right side, so it really isn't a great fit. Thus, for my next trick, I'm going to re-replace the board, and do the dado work right this time. (Godamnit!!) Then molding and paint.

I also need to shave the right edge down just a tad. It sticks almost like it's nailed to the frame during the summer (humidity == swelling is my guess), During the winter, the hook won't reach the eye to lock it,  Sigh.

So, yeah, a productive couple of hours!!

In other news, the new 'fridge arrives Monday, and the roof should be sealed/coated by the end of the week!

This Old House, Again...

Remember the leak?  That well-hidden, inaccessable leak??

Yeah.

The leak is not anywhere where I can see the pipes.  The two-story add-on is behind the basement, so the pipes for the kitchen heater go through the basement wall.  The only way to access them is through the kitchen floor.  Two days ago, the linoleum bubbled up in front of the sink.  And, it's slowly growing.  Sigh.  It's starting to look like I will have to take up the linoleum, then the sub floor, to find the source(s) of any leaks.  Experience (hard mistress that she is) tells me that I will probably have to do some work on the floor joists too, at a minimum.  Just for drill.

So, in roughly the order of priority for the lovely old place:

• New roof, all over
• Find/fix leaks under the kitchen
• Un-sag the laundry room (the add-on part is tipping away from the rest of the house)
• Permanent electricity for the second and third floors
• Shore up the first floor joists to level the first floor.
• 'Artfully' shore the second floor (and hope that levels the third floor)
• Re-model kitchen
• Re-model bath
• Make the back yard a thing of beauty.

That all should keep me busy and broke.

This Old House

The house I am renting from my friend, The Doc, is older that she and I put together, and that's old.  It seems that the inspector may have been beholden to the seller or their agent somehow, because he said the roof was OK.  If, by "OK" he meant that, "Yes, there actually is a roof on the building.", then I'm wrong, and he was telling the truth.

On the other hand, if he meant "Yes, there's a roof on the building, and it is in desperate need of replacement, because it will do you no good when there's rain or melting snow!", then he prevaricated.

A year ago last October, I spent a weekend on the roof over the original house, tarping it.  It was freezing (really, 30 - 32 deg F) and windy.  I got black adhesive all over a new pair of jeans, and generally didn't have much fun.  But, my office and bedroom remained dry under precipitation.

A couple of months ago, I took the dogs out for a drive.  One the way home, it began to rain.  About six miles out, the rain turned into what I know as a "gully-washer".  It caused me to contemplate pulling over and waiting it.

When we got home, the laundry room was awash.  The second floor back bedroom opens out onto a small balcony/patio.  It is covered with the exact same useless roofing material as the main house and the second storey back bedroom.  So, a couple of weeks before Sandy hit, I tarped the part of it that was over the laundry room.  When Sandy hit, I discovered a drip, so I put a bucket under it.  The next morning, there was about 1/2 inch of water in the bucket, so I consider the laundry room successfully tarped.

When I went through the back bedroom to tarp said patio/balcony, I discovered that  the wall that faces the back yard had turned into a biology experiment, much like the one we did in high school biology.  We were studying molds and fungi, so we set up a bunch of petri dished loaded with agar, and let them fromage over the two week Christmas break.  (It was 1965, I was in Catholic school, so it was a Christmas break, damnit!)

Fortunately, the room does not smell anything like the biology classroom did when we got back from the break.  But it definitely alive, at least in spots.  Truly, in spots.  And runs, and eruptions.  Ecchh!

So, I got out on the roof over the bedroom/kitchen addition, and tarped it.  I have no way of telling if I was successful in stopping the leakage, because I'm going to have to remediate the room to actually tell.  But I'm not going to do that just yet, I think.

The Doc wanted to get a roof put on, but her abrupt lack of employment made that impossible.  My meager retirement income doesn't have room in it to save any significant money for the project.  And the course writing gig has taken longer that I thought to get spun up.

So, for now, I work the writing gig, and once I've officially gotten the hang of it, I can start generating disposable income for such thing as roof, old bills, and back taxes.

Life is good.  Really!