North side almost done

Monday again and Felix and crew started working on the north facing side. Since I did remove the chimney over the weekend, it was also time to cut a hole through the overhang just above where the (coming) B-vent is to exit the basement wall. Fairly quickly done, and Felix was prepared with a 4-inch flashing to install already now.

The bad thing of the day is that they realized they ran out of material. Someone had fouled up the order and missed one entire side of the tall and steep roof section. In other words, no more material to continue working on the south facing side until we get more in a week or so. Will our sunny weather hold up?
















Still early morning


Safety lines at work


Since it is the north side, it takes a while before the morning dew burns off


Gorgeous fall colors!

Remove top of the chimney

Getting to the 2nd (the smaller) chimney, it was time to decide what to do with it. It was to come down eventually, but removing it would not a smart move since the new spot for the water heater has not been cleared, nor has the gas line yet been extended. And, I really did not feel like making a mess down in the living room and kitchen at this time.

With Felix and crew eager to put down plywood and underlayment, decision had to be taken. I sort of decided to keep it for now, but with the old flashing gone, one could actually "wiggle" the chimney a few inches back and forth, so it was clear it was broken somewhere down in the house. Possibly always been like that, or it might have happened during the 2001 earthquake. In any case, since we were now working on the roof, it was easy for me to remove the section sticking up over the roof, put new plywood down and finish the roof. I could tackle the section inside the house later.

It didn't take long to cut and remove the upper portion of the chimney, and gently toss the bricks down in the front yard. When done, it allowed Felix to install a short rafter, put down plywood, and finish the underlayment on the East side.

I just now had to convince the wife that we'd be w/o hot water for a day or so, or until I had a new B-vent pulled out through the basement and up along the exterior wall outside the kitchen. Two trips to Lowe's and it was done, and hot-water was again flowing on Sunday evening. Actually, with a 50-gallon heater, there was likely still enough hot water for a few showers, even w/o having the heater connected to the gas line. Contrary to popular belief, an older well insulated hot-water heater inside a house is not that bad. The current trend towards (very) expensive (and complex) "end-less" hot-water heaters is somewhat of a fab. We have never run out of hot water, and I think few actually does. And, what are the true savings if you instead use the "end-less" hot water feature and take much longer showers? Just more hot water down the drain and a larger gas bill.

The new B-vent does not look pretty, but it works and it'll stay until hot water heater moves back to the more logical spot where it was in the early days (then an electric heater) in the 60ies. And when we are getting to that area of the roof, I'll make the roof penetration and put in the flashing for a new B-vent. Then the major thing (roof work) is done, and I can focus on just relocating the heater (90% inside work).

Re-roofing has finally started

After far too long of a wait, Dick's crew showed up today to start tearing off the torch-down membrane and prepping the roof deck for our new standing seam metal roof.

Decided to go with a (very) local roofer and I hope it was the right choice, but he has been very poor in just being able to communicate a start day. Is a simple phone call that hard? But, I like him, I know where he lives (walking distance) and I really prefer doing business with neighboring companies - whenever possible. In this case, the price was in the ball park, so it should not be much to argue over.

In any case, today was a good day to start since the sun is shining and it is reasonably warm. Just hope that this will hold up...

After tearing off the old (but still amazingly good) torch down, and realizing that there are quite a few sheets of plywood to be replaced, see what one can find:


Why is it that Americans can not properly install insulation batts? OK, the house was built in the 60ies, but it is not THAT hard to cut them to fit properly. I saw evidence of same shoddy practicies all over when lifting old plywood sheets. In this case, really nog big deal since I will tear down the drywall, put in a dedictaed air/ventilation channel, and insulate the roof from underneath, the way it should have been done day 1!


Seems like wasps has been eating away on the insulation over the years...


Even some nice nests...


Does this really require a comment?


A few sheets that are to be replaced (or rather holes that are being overlaid with new sheets).


Sun beaten (but still VERY GOOD) Polyglass on the south facing side in the background.

Polyglass is the underlayment that we put on the roof in November of 2007. It has been holding up increadibly well, and yes, the sun has eventually burned off the green top layer, but the material (modified bitumen reinforced with fiberglass) is still rock solid (the green stuff is to improve adhesion between the layers). Polyglass is pricey (at ~$130/roll about 5 times more than #30 felt) but worth every cent (or rather dollar). Allowed us to do the roof at OUR timing, and not when the (normally installed) felt would require it. The Polyglass also survived a few December storms w/o moving an inch!

But, just to be 200% sure, Felix is putting a new layer of underlayment on the south facing side of the steep roof section, where you can see the sun has essentially burned off the entire green top layer on the Polyglass. Likely not needed, but better to be safe than sorry. A new layer also provides for an excellent integration with the coming torch down in the valley.

Upon further inspection and dissecting of the Polyglass, which is guaranteed for 90 days weather exposure in a Miami climate, I think it really could hold up as a roofing material for years in the Seattle area. Incredible stuff! Easy to put down, just ensure you have a clean roof deck, "peel-and-stick", and anchor with a few staples. Voila - waterproof membrane installed, a membrane that can handle water, wind, snow, and even a fair amount of physical abuse like walking, branches falling down, etc.





Another example of poorly installed batts. Is it that hard to make ONE cut for an electric wire?


New sheets placed and nailed down.


West side already covered with underlayment

And if I now have one common complaint about thss (otherwise pretty good) crew, that would be tha tis is imperative to ensure that nails/staples are well driven in and roof surface is flat/clean before putting on underlayment. I did spend some time going over the area, pounding down nails and putting on new patches. The underlayment is "peel-and-stick" so it is easy to do and holds up really well, but a "clean" and well prepared area is so much more important when putting on a metal roof, compared to the (much more) common ashpalt shingles.

If I would not have been up here, carrying the "hawk eyes", who really knows what it would look like underneath?