Ladders, ladders
Oct. 5th, 2006 09:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gerisullivanA year ago, right about this time, I noticed that the gutter on the northeast corner of the Zeppelin Hangar was loose at the corner. It was out of the range of any ladder I'm capable of handling on my own -- I still need to pick up a 20-24' extension ladder to use for gutter cleaning and the like around here, but I don't even like being the second person raising a 30-footer or more.
"Gotta find somebody who can deal with that," I thought. I even said it to a friend or three. Didn't manage to do any more than that before the snow fell. Sure enough, a couple of months later, a winter storm ripped the gutter the rest of the way loose, and I awoke to the sound and sight of it waving around in the wind, banging against the side of the house outside my bedroom window.
"Oh, joy," I thought, kicking myself with the knowledge that what would have been a low 3-digit repair most likely just turned into something considerably larger thanks to my neglect.
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pnh provided the best bit of kind humor, pointing out the speed with which a gutter pointing straight down could clear itself of water and debris, admiring the efficiency of that approach.
Roofing Guy came by a few months ago and trimmed the dangling, useless gutter parts. He picked up a couple of replacement fascia and soffit boards to replace the rotted ones that may well have contributed to the gutter coming loose in the first place. I'd call him when they were painted, and we'd continue from there. Okay. Good plan.
He said the roof looked fine, but I had this patch of water damage on my bedroom ceiling. A patch I thought was slowly growing. Hmmm. I didn't think I packed any ice dams when leaving Minnesota, but one appears to have followed me here.
Roofing Guy want to wait until I was back home before ripping into the mess. I called him Monday afternoon; he stopped by twice yesterday, leaving a work trailer the second time. This morning he showed up with his assistant. First, the ladders: one, two, three. Two on the deck, one from the ground far below to the troublesome corner. A bit of planking between ladders #2 and #3, providing access to the length of the rotted board. They're now outside ripping my house apart while I work inside, making money that will help pay for whatever needs doing.
So far, the adventure includes a trip to the attic to see what the situation looks like from the inside. Roofing Guy had to love that. Access to my attic is...interesting.
[interrupt for update]
There's inadequate ventilation, as we expected. The board rotted out from the inside; the rafter ends are all damp. While the new, synthetic boards won't rot, the rafters and other internal construction bits will. Roofing Guy and his assistant are off to buy 22 soffit vents, and another vent that goes on the inside to get the air moving in the first place. Or something like that.
The good news is that they should be able to finish that part of the work today. Then we'll finally be able to replace the gutter itself. I don't yet know if Roofing Guy will handle that, or whether I'll need to call Mr. Gutter. That's the name of the gutter fabrication business Roofing Guy recommends. Cute.
Onward!
"Gotta find somebody who can deal with that," I thought. I even said it to a friend or three. Didn't manage to do any more than that before the snow fell. Sure enough, a couple of months later, a winter storm ripped the gutter the rest of the way loose, and I awoke to the sound and sight of it waving around in the wind, banging against the side of the house outside my bedroom window.
"Oh, joy," I thought, kicking myself with the knowledge that what would have been a low 3-digit repair most likely just turned into something considerably larger thanks to my neglect.
pnh provided the best bit of kind humor, pointing out the speed with which a gutter pointing straight down could clear itself of water and debris, admiring the efficiency of that approach. Roofing Guy came by a few months ago and trimmed the dangling, useless gutter parts. He picked up a couple of replacement fascia and soffit boards to replace the rotted ones that may well have contributed to the gutter coming loose in the first place. I'd call him when they were painted, and we'd continue from there. Okay. Good plan.
He said the roof looked fine, but I had this patch of water damage on my bedroom ceiling. A patch I thought was slowly growing. Hmmm. I didn't think I packed any ice dams when leaving Minnesota, but one appears to have followed me here.
Roofing Guy want to wait until I was back home before ripping into the mess. I called him Monday afternoon; he stopped by twice yesterday, leaving a work trailer the second time. This morning he showed up with his assistant. First, the ladders: one, two, three. Two on the deck, one from the ground far below to the troublesome corner. A bit of planking between ladders #2 and #3, providing access to the length of the rotted board. They're now outside ripping my house apart while I work inside, making money that will help pay for whatever needs doing.
So far, the adventure includes a trip to the attic to see what the situation looks like from the inside. Roofing Guy had to love that. Access to my attic is...interesting.
[interrupt for update]
There's inadequate ventilation, as we expected. The board rotted out from the inside; the rafter ends are all damp. While the new, synthetic boards won't rot, the rafters and other internal construction bits will. Roofing Guy and his assistant are off to buy 22 soffit vents, and another vent that goes on the inside to get the air moving in the first place. Or something like that.
The good news is that they should be able to finish that part of the work today. Then we'll finally be able to replace the gutter itself. I don't yet know if Roofing Guy will handle that, or whether I'll need to call Mr. Gutter. That's the name of the gutter fabrication business Roofing Guy recommends. Cute.
Onward!
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-05 04:19 pm (UTC)K. [can go on at horrible length about our gutters, but isn't going to]