Roofing

Roofing isn't a new thing to me, thank goodness. 

Before I even begin, I'll have to make sure I have decent scaffolding and all the supplies I'll need.  And I'll say a prayer because this will be the first time I've tackled a job of this size all by myself.  Pre-organization is going to be crucial. 

As soon as the weather gets nice (yes, this has been an exceptionally nice winter - knock on wood - in our neck of the woods, but it's still North Dakota and I'm not getting on my roof YET) I'll be up there taking off two layers of cedar shakes.  And I'll be doing it carefully because I'll be salvaging as many as I can for future reference.  It will no doubt be time-consuming and people will ask me how come I don't just rip them off regardless of whether they get broken into bits.  I have my reasons for doing things my own way. 

As I go, I'll be pulling out all those nails (there are a lot more of them with shakes than with asphalt shingles, believe me) or pounding in the ones I can't pull. 

The next step, as I go along, is repairing or replacing roof boards that need it, and fascia, mainly around the bay window.  My 100 year old roof isn't sheathed with plywood, nor would I want it to be.  It's got a variety of boards from a variety of sources, and I like it that way. 

Also as I go along, the result of each day's work gets covered with that sticky-backed black stuff that's usually only put on the edges of a roof - it's to keep ice from backing up behind shingles and loosening them - but it goes onto every bit of my roof instead of tar-paper.  Because I want it that way, that's why.  Remember I'm going to be up there all by myself; I want my footing to be as safe as possible and this stuff has grit embedded in it besides adhering to the roof securely.  It won't slip or tear like tar-paper might.  And it won't blow off no matter how windy it gets.  That stuff is truly wonderful.  Its adhesive is good and when reinforced with a few staples it flat out ain't going to come off.  Plus I can cut it into sections small enough for me to handle comfortably and carry a small stack of those pieces up with me instead of trying to fight with a big roll.  Once the shingles are in place you'll never know what a patchwork it looks like under them. 

As I work my way up, I'll be nailing 2x4s onto the roof over the black stuff so I'll have something secure to support me.  You take a 2x4 of whatever length you're comfortable handling up there, nail three or four pieces of tin (about three inches by seven or eight inches, or more, however much you want) onto one side of the 2x4 so it's got tin tabs sticking out, enough to nail into and hold the 2x4 when you use the tabs to nail it to the roof.  That's so when you get done putting the new asphalt shingles on all you have to do is snip the tin tabs under the edge of the shingle so it won't show; the 2x4 comes right off and the tabs left behind just disappear under the shingles - you can't even tell they're there and leaving those nails in place means no nail holes are exposed, even under the shingles.  You can dab a little tar on when you nail them on (to be on the extra-safe side) if you want but it really isn't necessary.

For the first row of shingles you can either buy the edging shingle rolls or just cut the tabs off the regular ones so there's a solid edge of asphalt along that bottom roof line.  Getting the first row perfectly straight will mean the rest of it will be fine, as long as you have a good eye and keep it that way.  Using a chalk line to double check is a good idea, too.  Assuming the edge of the roof is straight (which it had darned well BETTER be!) you just measure the same distance up on each end, fasten the chalk line securely to one end, stretch it TIGHT to the other end at the measured spot, and give it a good snap or two.  If you're concerned about a level, straight line, use your level along the line you snapped to double check.  Me, I mainly want the rows of shingles to be spaced evenly and straight with the edge of the roof.  For all I know my 100 year old house has settled crooked.  If I go with the bubble level I might have a shingling job that's level all right but crooked on the roof. 

Because I have a hip roof I have to cope with four diagonal lines going down from the hip to the corners.  All you have to do is trim the shingles along that line to fit that edge as you go.  When you've finished the top row of shingles, cut shingles at their tab lines (vertically) and start at the bottom of the roof line, overlapping them as you go up, like the shingles.  Use a couple of nails on each side of the edge and make sure they're tight as you go.  This is a good place to use quite a bit of tar, as the last thing you want is for those pieces to ever come loose.  The same goes for the ridge on top.  You should tin there too, under the shingles. 

Working around the dormers is when things can get dicey.  Although I've done two of them already I'm already nervous about this third one.  The first row or two of shingles are easy enough, as they go below the dormer, and the ones that butt up against its sides won't be too hard.  It's weaving the ones on the roof of the dormer into the ones on the main roof that gives me fits every time. 

However, even before worrying about the shingles, I have to make sure the seal around the dormer is good.  That means, to me, a LOT of tarring at the seam.  And getting the tin secured just right, with lots of tar over nail heads, none of which can be in the valley itself but HAVE to be on nails that go into WOOD, not empty air under the valley tin.  Complicating things, the siding on the dormer can't be removed to fit the tin under it.  At least I'm not going to tackle that beast.  All I can do is the best I can do.  I figure it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect; it just has to look halfway presentable and not leak.  Critics are welcome to get up there and fix it any time they want. 

Roofng the dormer itself is the scariest part of this whole project.  For the rest of the roof I'll have as many 2x4s as I want for support and stability.  For the dormer it's different.  I'll be able to reach well enough from the roof to get a couple of rows of shingles done without undue anxiety but from there on up I'll have to be perched up on the top of the dormer basically working upside down.  The parts I can't reach from below HAVE to be done from above and that, my friend, is no picnic. 

Be that as it may be, it will get done.

I'll begin with stripping off all of the cedar shakes and getting the entire roof and dormer roof sealed with that black stuff, then seal around the dormer liberally and thoroughly.  I will NOT have leaks. 

Then on go the shingles, actually the easiest part of this whole thing.  Up the roof front to back to where the roof of the dormer merges with the main roof, and back to front the same way.  THIS is why it's pretty blasted important to make the rows of shingles uniform from the bottom on up.  Because by the time you get to the merge point those front and back halves of the roof's shingles had better be lined up right or the whole roof will be cockeyed.  Bad enough that you'll have to be weaving shingles from the roof of the dormer, which sticks out of the main roof at a 90 degree angle on top of the diagonal lines of its slopes ... the rows of the main roof have to meet up at the peak of the dormer where they'll merge and you'll then have straight through front to back rows up to the top (those last rows are a huge relief after the trauma of the dormer and weaving and valley tinning and yada yada, let me tell you!).

That's the biggest part of my summer-to-come right there.  Roofing.  I've got the long south side of the roof to get done, with the dormer in the middle of it, and the shorter back with no dormer thank heavens.  Then it's just finishing up the ridges and I can rest about my roof for thirty years. 

Fortunately for me there are tree branches overhanging the first part of the roof I'll be working on.  Every once in a while someone will nag me about cutting them back but I'm leaving them in place until that part of my roof work is done.  Until I get my roof legs I like the security of having them there where I can grab them for balance if I need to.  Not only that, but I have an enormous rope that I used when I did the other side of the roof.  It gets securely fastened inside of the dormer on the other side of the house, goes out the dormer window, runs over the top of the roof to the side I'm working on, and I can either hold onto it or wrap it around me if I want that extra security. 

By the time I'm done I expect I'll have a pretty strong right arm.  I intend to pound in every nail my own self, with a hammer, so I know I'm nailing into wood and not air.  Because the roof is made of an asortment of boards, there are gaps of varying sizes, none very big, but they're there; it's not a uniformly solid surface.  I think that may be a not-so-bad thing, now that I think of it.  It allows for seasonal contraction and expansion, cold and heat.