nazSTUFF - Replacing That Old Roof

Rascal Inquires, " If You Are Not Concerned About the Future, Then You Haven't Been Paying Attention." This, then is our advertising campaign, to contribute to your well being.

Home Improvements and Experiences

Some of my Experiences as a Homeowner

This is an ongoing report of my experiences doing maintenance and dealing with some adversity around the home. My experiences are not unique, in fact the universality of what every homeowner must face is why I decided to make this journal. We all buy a house with dreams and aspirations for our family and our financial investments. Very soon we become aware that everything requires repair and maintenance, be it landscaping, paint, roof, etc. Everything begins to deteriorate from the day it is created. I've taken photos of some of my bigger projects and I'm posting them here with captions as part of a contribution to an invisible support group, other homeowners. Some of this is therapy with the intent of creating empathy and humor regarding our shared experiences.

Home Sweet Home.

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Home Improvement - New Roof

Home owner's report

Our house was built in August 1977. I witnessed it. I actually purchased the house before it was completed. I know now that it wasn't built by the most professional contractor in Flagstaff, dozens of code infractions were discovered and reported to the Registrar of Contractor by many of the new home owners in this neighborhood after purchase. Property lines were surveyed wrong, water meters were installed in the wrong place, property line easements were illegal in many places. We have one home in this development that is eight inches from its property line! Still we live here. People buy, sell and rent these homes anyway. Essentially we all concede to "city hall," where repetitively it is demonstrated that nothing will be done.

Nevertheless, in this installment of this journal, I'm recording the installment of a new and better quality roof. To our surprise the original asphalt shingle lasted 28 years. Before we start to suffer more wind damage or leaks we did this:

On the first day the roofing supplies arrived, tar paper, shingles, lumber, and this huge dumpster to catch the old roof as it is removed.

It didn't take long to strip it down to the original plywood. Very little had to be replaced. A new "breathing" vent was added to the peak of the roof to prevent further accumulation of moisture which would eventually cause wood rot.

Included in this job was the complete re-paneling of the back porch. For years this was a sun porch covered with corrugated fiberglass, which pretty well disintegrated in 28 years.

In this photo the horizontal rails are mounted and ready to receive the vertical cedar pickets.

Attaching the cedar pickets is a rather precise task, giving the fence a finished look. Inferior pickets are discarded during this process.

The new shingles being added.

The finished roof! This crew did an excellent job. Took about a week.

If you are planning a new roof I hope these photos give you some insight into what you can expect.

Read on...

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