New roof almost on

Tired, so it'll be just pictures for now. Will update more during the week, but the guys did an amazing job today in essentially finishing the roof sheathing and putting up all the framing for the front gable. So far, we've been doing OK with the tarps...

Gigantic Progress!

Just after 7.00 AM, Tom and Jim rolled in their big white truck. At about 7.30 AM, Pat and the rest of the crew showed up, for a total of six abled bodied men. The rains had subsided overnight, and the sky was cold and clear. You could see that these guys meant business. Forecast right now calls for good days at least into next week, so the goal is to get the new roof on the house - preferably today, but Saturday is the spare day.

I was the first one on the roof, pulling off the tarps. After having had a nice and properly prepared surface laid out on Thursday afternoon, it was now a breeze to pull these tarps out of the way. But man was it slick up there. I think it dipped below freezing for at least a few hours and a thin layer of ice had formed on everything up there. Not the least the old torch-down roof.

But this was a day of big progress. Plates were finished early in the morning and by 10.00 AM, the crane showed up and shortly thereafter the truck with the new trusses. Did they look small from up here? Would we even get standing room inside? It wasn't really until they'd been all lifted up on the "roof" and I could lay down inside one and "test", I realized it might be even better than expected. I can even stand with my arms straight up and not touch the ceiling (to be). As you can see from the pictures, so can my dad who's been enjoying (and being instrumental in helping me along the way) the progress and seeing American building techniques up close.

Before proceeding with the trusses, the guys they replaced the big beam spanning the hallway and extended it so the old closet can be totally taken out for a wide and open hallway. Just have to move one switch to make that happen.

Seeing Tom, Pat, Jim, and Steve work away was quite amazing. It did not take long until the first truss was up and one could see the profile from the backyard. The rest of them sort of popped into place during the day, even though Pat considered the pace a tad on the slow side. This is after all a remodel, and unknown issues are popping up all the time.

The best surprise of the day was the girder trusses. Instead of just allowing for a smaller opening above the existing hallway, these trusses now allow us to open EVERYTHING up all the way through. Something to consider when the inside is to be attacked.

Roof is off!

After a day of heavy rains, today was followed by a beautiful - and for roof work - perfect day! We actually had a thin layer of ice on the roof this morning, but it melted away as the sun came out.

Tom and Jim worked mostly on the front, building up support for the new facia, while we continued tearing the old roof off. By late afternoon, it was all gone, and cleaned up (well, maybe not in a perfect sense since we tossed a lot of debris out of sight into the backyard). Managed to get the tarps up and anchored by 7.30PM so we almost got it all done by sunset. Just bracing for a cold night inside since there is nothing to trap the heat in the house and the forecast calls for bone chilling temperatures (considering Seattle weather).

Lots on the plate for tomorrow, so no lengthy update tonight. I'll let the photos here talk for themselves.

PS: Do not EVER - EVER - buy a Firestorm Powertool by Black&Decker. I did by a reciprocating saw (aka "sawsall") specifically for this project and it did not even last an hour. A real piece of junk that goes back to the store! I borrowed Tom's DeWalt saw (also by Black&Decker, go figure...) during the day today and if we would have had that one from the get go, it would have cut the roof demolition time by more than 50% - what a difference! :DS

First sun and record heat - then torrential downpour...

Forecast for this week was great, with the exception of a minor disturbance for Wednesday. So we started early Monday morning taking the roof off, planning for it to take the day. It was MUCH more work than anticipated. Late Tuesday evening, still not completely done, we were forced to pull out tarps to cover the house up for the approaching cold front and rains.

Managing these gigantic tarps (1,040 sqf each, about the sail area on a very decently sized yacht) in the dark was no easy feat. Luckily I have understanding neighbors (+good help) and it was warm and nice. So warm that when I later took the dog for a midnight stroll to wind down, I could wear shorts and short sleeves. More like a summer night in July.

Was awake half the night, listening to every sound, listening to the wind pulling the tarps, and trying to detect the horrid sounds of water dripping somewhere. Finally fell asleep, still no rain and the wind seemed to die down. By 9 AM it was still warm, but the grey sky slowly started opening up. Not for sun though. It has rained on-and-off all day, sometimes very heavy, but luckily with very little wind. Tarps have kept water out of the house, but I cannot go many days like this.

Assuming sun Thursday morning, new trusses are now to be delivered either Thursday PM or Friday AM. Once here, a crew of seven will "attack" the roof and get us dried in again. This should finally give us an idea of what it'll look like from the outside.
Stay tuned!

PS: The weather was simply too miserable to even take some "elevated" pictures during Wednesday. Will have to be done tomorrow. :DS

Digging trench

Pictures tells it all. Had to dig a new trench to tie in to the existing storm drain lateral that runs along the south property border.
When it is all now done, I'm in a way glad it was not 95F and sunny like last summer, but instead overcast and pretty mild.

Now it only for Pat and his guys to dig the foundation drain and connect to my newly pulled line.

Break in the weather?

After a few days of rain, followed by the first fall storm (broke a tarp, but nothing major), we've been working on preparing for sheer walls (moving cables and outlets, planning new electrical installations, etc), so they can be built before we put on the new trusses.
A small break in the weather Wednesday morning gave a chance to complete half the distance of the trench for drain lines. Need a few more pieces, but there's now less than half-a-days's work left.

Forecast tonight calls for a break in the weather starting Sunday and going through Friday, with a chance of minor showers on Wednesday. Maybe, maybe, we can get back to "normal" fall weather and this is the week when we can get the new roof up. Cross your fingers!

First stage completed

Tom and Jim showed up early today, finished the sheeting and put on as many rafters as they could. Next step is coming when we are removing the old stick frame low-pitch roof from the house and build new plates for the new trusses. The pitch of the new roof will be almost as steep as the ones on the addition.

Since the weather is "fall like" (duh, it is after all mid-October) no one was eager to gamble and cut up the old roof too much until we know for sure that we have a few (4) good days that will allow for both roof removal (one day) and erection of the new roof (likely 3 full days). We managed for over 45 years w/o any water damage, it would literally suck if it happened now. New roof so close...

But, it starts to look good. We discussed the front windows a lot, and finally settled on two larger ones below (3'x7') and two smaller ones on top (18"x18"). I was eager to increase the top ones to 24"x24" but other thought the proportions would be a bit off. So I settled.
It sure looks better than the initial steep "portal windows". Would have made it look like a church (but with a great view).

First sheething

First peices of sheething has been put up. Soon (?) we should be "weather proof". Just in time for a few good fall days. No rain until Sunday they now say...

Rafters are going up, drywall is coming down

Tom and Jim continued today putting the rafters up and framed around doors and window openings. Still a bit undecided on the exact dimensions for the large front windows, but will decide overnight so Tom can frame it all Wednesday.

Inspected the temporary "seal" around the ridge beam and it seem to hold up water OK. View from up here is not too bad...

Rest of the drywall in the kitchen disappeared and most of the real "dirty" work is now done.

Will move a few electrical outlets and rought-in a few new ones (to prep for upcoming kitchen remodel), before we can put in a large beam at the bottom of that wall and then cover it all with plywood to create a shear wall (boxy structures are more prone to resist twisting, and subsequent collapse, in case of an earthquake).

Ridge beam and walls

If Friday was progress, today was even better. Can start see what this is all going to look like.

Pat stopped by early in the morning and we discussed the height of the ridge beam and the eventual pitch of the roof. Put down a plate line everyone was happy with. Just the different aspects and options he laid out shows why it is money well spent hiring a skilled and good general contractor. They have the experience, but maybe more important the perspective that most "one time" self remodelers lacks. So it is good to be able to discuss "options" with someone that has "seen it all" and came up with a good final solution.

While Tom was doing a really nice job in cutting up our old roof and build a support for the new ridge beam, I was on the ground sanding it down. The pitch will be so steep so it can be tricky accessing that beam and sanding it once it is in location and the roof is up.

When I was done sanding, Tom had finished building a support on top of the (on Friday) newly installed beam that is spanning our old entry way. He was now ready for the long beam. A tad heavy and cumbersome, but it went up smoothly and it did fit! Now it is also properly anchored down.

We are also starting to be exposed to the elements, but I think I managed to seal up the cut with roof mastic. It is not to last that long, but it would suck if we ended up with water dripping down into the living room.

Since the sun was out I continued digging in the garden and finally managed to locate the power lines AND the needed storm drain lateral, so I can now focus on digging the desperately needed trench - w/o risk cutting either the gas or power lines in the process. Peace of mind!

We also got a visit from our little building inspector, Willow. She sorts of hangs around all day, not scared at all for noises or falling lumber, or the occasional visiting dog.