August 18, 2009

The New Roof...

.... is on!

New white roofYou may recall that this was one of the biggies on our insurance company's "or else" list. Not that it didn't need one...

We definitely needed a new roofMy dream roof was a metal one. I realized that metal roofs are much more expensive than conventional ones and so out of the question. Still, when I found this DIY metal roof website, I had hope. That was before the insurance company got involved and we were trying to figure out if we could do the roof ourselves. The price was excellent but time was a problem. In the end, we decided to hire a roofing contractor and settle for common asphalt composition shingles.

What is interesting is what was underneath the old shingles. They took off three layers, the old gray one on top, some old green asphalt shingles, and the original wood shingles.

Original wood shingle, weathered with age.I managed to salvage a couple of the originals. They vary in size somewhat but are approximately 7 - 8 by 16 inches. The thickness is tapered, being 1/4 inch at the thickest end. They are amazingly lightweight and brittle (of course, they're about 80 years old.) It doesn't seem as though they could possibly have made a sturdy roof. These were nailed to wood slats to create a 1/2 inch thick roof. You can see those slats running the length of the house in the photo below.

Removing the old roofA zoomed in shot...

A little closer look at what was under the shingles.Here's how it looked from inside the house after they got the old roof off. We're in the living room looking up through the old fireplace chimney opening...

A peek from the underneath side. The wood shingles were nailed directly to those slats. In later years , the green asphalt asphalt shingles were simply nailed the wood ones. The roof that was on the house when we bought it was installed on top of that. We had all three layers of shingles removed, and had OSB board nailed to the slats for sheathing. The end result is a sturdier, better roof.

Now all I have to do is send a photo to the insurance company. Then we can get to work on the new hearth. (Yay!)

The New Roof is copyright August 2009 by 

10 comments:

Renee Nefe said...

I'm so glad that you got a new roof and I'm amazed at how the original roof was put on there! Wow!

I just found out today part of the hoops I'm going to have to jump through to get our new roof...the check from our insurance was made out with our names (don't know HOW I'll get DH's signature on it!!!) and our mortgage company's name on it. The first check won't be much of a problem...I just have to send them the check and a copy of the claim worksheet. But to get the "depreciation" (or part the insurance is holding hostage until we ACTUALLY get the roof done) I have to fill out a claim kit. ugh! I hope this is easier than it sounds. Oh and if I need to call up the mortgage company again, I'm going to need to get authorization from my hubby cuz my name isn't on the account!

will my eyes ever stop rolling?

Theresa said...

Nice roof! And what a relief to have it done. I'm surprised the wood shingles were left on when the second roof was installed. I'm sure along with being a real mess to get off and such, it must have been a fire hazard along with all the other issues. It's one job we don't do here with a 40 foot drop and a 10/12 pitch. I would have loved a metal roof too, but cost and the noise factor deterred us.
You're due some fun on the inside for sure.

Life Looms Large said...

Congrats on the new roof! It must be a bit of a relief knowing that what's over your head is sound and secure again. Gotta love the old 3 layers of shingles!

Wishing you many years of no leaks!!

Sue

Julie said...

I love metal roofs but yes they are to much money. When we went to pick out our shingles the man wanted us to go with a 40 year shingle instead of the 30 year. We just laughed saying we wouldn't be around for the 30 year to wear out! I just can't believe how much you have gotten done in such a short time.

bspinner said...

Nice to know you have a sound roof over your heads. The color you chose looks very nice.

This is on our next summer list of things to do and like you looked into metal roofs but decided the cost wasn't worth it.

Sharon said...

What a relief to have that out of the way. I take it the guys on your roof are friends, not professional roofers - *good* friends. As they tell us out here, a roof is the first line of defense, followed by defensible space. After the weekend in wildfire smoke in California, I am again reminded at our own responsibility. That must be a huge relief.

Flower said...

Getting a good roof on is labor intensive but so worth it! Your 5 acres and approach to it are great to read about! It was fun to read all that you are doing.

Leigh said...

Renee, what a mess. Making things complicated just seems to be the nature of insurance companies, doesn't it?

Theresa, wow you have a steep roof! Must be good for keeping snow off though. I hadn't thought about the fire hazard with those wood shingles, but you're definitely right about that.

Sue, thanks! We're very relieved it's on .

Julie, that's the same thing we said! *lol

Barb, thanks for noticing the color. I like it too. More on that soon.

Sharon, well, they were professionals, though unfortunately DH isn't happy with the flashing around the dormer over the front porch. They left about 6 inches of black flashing showing and we can't figure out what in the world we're going to do about that! It looks dumb.

Flower, thank you! I appreciate your reading my blog and taking time to comment.

Dorothy said...

Wonderful photos. I'm so interested to learn about these roofing materials, never seen the like. We have a blue slate roof (probably from the slate mines in Wales. My previous house had a stone slab roof (local stone) but clay or concrete tiles are probably most common in the UK.

Please could you explain how the new roof is made? What is OSB board?

Flower said...

Hi Leigh, I just read your Garden Journal and find it to be a great wealth of info..keeping track of what you do and what you harvest..etc. I have a question. You said you dehydrated summer squash. What do you do with it....how do you use it? How do you store it? I have a dehydrator and could use some tips for this kind of produce that is piled high and needing to be used.