Okay, it is amazing how little you can get done when you think you’re going to accomplish a ton. That was the case for me yesterday here in rural Iowa. I thought this was going to be an easy patch the roof deal, but that is never the case in construction. I should have known.
Now I’m thinking about doing a not so easy patch the roof project and that won’t be enough. I’m thinking that the whole roof needs to be replaced. I will know a ton more this morning. I was really hesitant ripping off the rubber and leaving the whole thing exposed through the night. There was a small chance of rain and was sleeting some when we were driving to Ankeny to go to Menards.
I cleaned the area of the roof that needs to be repaired. At least the area that needs the most attention. Then I went into the house and removed the ceiling drywall. And kept removing it and removing it. Ouch.
There was plastic sheeting as a vapor barrier on the whole ceiling and the insulation underneath the whole area was soaked. Plus, the sheathing of the roof is completely done and needs to be replaced. I haven’t even looked underneath the rubber roofing.
I think I found a place that has tampered insulation for decking. So I’m going to tear out a 10 x 10 area this morning and hopefully get to dry decking. Or at least to an area that doesn’t need to be replaced. I really have no idea what the depth is of the rigid insulation under the rubber, so I’m hoping it isn’t that thick.
We went over to a friend of Michael’s that used to be a general contractor and got a ton of rubber, plus some more adhesive and primer. I brought of bunch of slicing tape and patching stuff, so I think I have everything to put the rubber on. Right now the insulation is the only question mark I have. I’m thinking I can probably just match the roof slant with sheathing if the insulation isn’t available. I guess I’ll see.
I was talking to Michael and Trudi on the drive and thought I should arrange a “gathering” next year to just redo Michael’s whole house. A lot of Michael’s best friends, guys that rode and worked for him are pretty much experts at construction. Paul Biskup, TIm Hinz and Pete Caron are 3 of super loyal guys that have spent years in construction. Plus I know a lot more.
Then I came back and was reading the comments on yesterday’s post, plus a few emails and realized there are a lot of guys around that would probably pitch in some labor.
I was thinking of a mid-week gathering to access the situation and gather the materials, then a long weekend to do a home makeover. Michael lives in the country, outside of Ames on 3 acres. We could set up a little make shift village down on the lower 40 and just campout. Work most of the day, go for a short ride, get back to work and then hang and tell stories around a fire at night. It wouild be like an old fashion barn raising. Just old, and new friends doing something important. Sounds like a blast to me. It needs to happen. You are all invited. The more the better in this case.
Until then, small patches to get through the winter. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to head back up here in a couple weeks to batten down the hatches a little more. Hopefully today isn’t going to go sideways on me. I’m not holding my breath on that one.
Michael on a ladder after recent hip surgery. Go figure.
And it was ugly and just got uglier.
And it ended up looking like this. The wood dried pretty well over night.
Some of the other sections of roof amazingly doesn’t leak.
Michael had some awesome aluminum scaffolding just around. It took me awhile to assembly it, but it is going to save a ton of time. I kept working thru most of the night, checking in on the Royals game every once and awhile.
You’re a good man, Tilford. Does Michael have his hat over his eyes/glasses in the first photo?
The slanted roof doesn’t leak because it’s, well, slanted. Water finds the path of least resistance, an it never stops on a slanted roof. On a flat roof, it’s much easier for water to pool.
It also appears the slanted section is cedar shakes. My father put a cedar shake shingle roof on my grandfathers roof sometime around 1957. Although the house is no longer on the family, the cedar shake roof is still going strong. Try and get 58 years from modern shingles today.
Not sure why you did not get a written estimate from a profession roofing company and then just put in a claim with Michael’s home insurance – you still can do the work yourself but Michael would have a sizable check to buy all the materials and then some – that is the first thing any contractor would tell you.
A friend of our family owns a Chinese restaurant near our house – 2 years ago a car struck the brick facade and slightly pushed in 6 bricks on the lower part of the facade – I called my mason contractor and he called his friend who is an adjuster – three weeks later she received a check for $12,000 and it took my friend about 1 hour to repair the damage.
The trick is to contact a contractor that works closely with insurance companies so he would deal with the adjuster – you can still do the work yourself after the adjuster looks at the roof.
You might want to hurry on that “gathering” to redo Michael’s whole house before an inspector shows-up and just condemns the whole place. Time looks to be of the essence.
There isn’t a “cause of loss” here for an insurance claim. Lack of routine maintenance is not covered. There has to be something that caused the roof to leak for insurance to cover it.
Agreed. Steve, if you plan on coming back in a few weeks let us know when you think so we can clear a day on the calendar and get ready to help. If you do, make a list of the materials you need as well as we could start gathering some things together.
When, what dates do you suggest?
I used to own a small roofing company. When I got any calls for flat roof repairs I told the homeowner we were to busy to help. I think, Steve, you can see why, right?
Number one for materials list: Resperators/dust masks. Then go crazy.
Looks to me if you got the “barn raising” guys out, putting a pitched roof on top of that little house would work better than a flat roof in Iowa.
Pablo Lastras retired today. Winner of stages in all 3 Grand Tours. Sounds like his crash last year practically broke him in half.
How about a “Everyone bury the hatchet, and help out a friend” weekend?
Mike created and ran the team that allowed so many awesome racers to develop their talents and attend the best events. Connie Carpenter, Andy Hampsten, Roy Knickman, Steve Tilford, Greg Demgen, Thurlow Rogers, David Brinton, Marianne Bergland… The list goes on, but I’m reaching my limit. “Skunk River CC” was every bit as good as the “East Side Wheelmen” in my book.
I’d be happy to whack a hammer in this kind of company.
Gee now I know why MY insurance premiums are high.
I think a gathering to work on the house next year is a wonderful idea. Thank you for proposing the idea!
Count me in…. I have 20 years contracting experience. I have tools and I live about a hour away. Contact me thru email Steve.
In!
I totally agree with this sentiment. My town had a big hailstorm about a year ago and some folks who took the brunt of the storm suffered some legitimate damage to their shingles. I went up on my roof and took a pretty close look at mine and they were fine. In the intervening year, it seems like nearly everyone in town got their house re-roofed. Including almost my entire neighborhood. I can’t believe that people who live a few hundred feet from me had shingle damage and my house alone escaped damage.
However, I think I know what is going on, as three separate times I have had guys stop by the house from roofing companies and volunteer to inspect my roof and run interference with my insurance company. Their angle was totally “Hey we work with insurance companies all the time and we know how we can get you a new roof.”