Hi Adele,
This blog is about sharing creativity with you. Sometimes creativity comes in forms that we wouldn't consider artistic, but a creative approach is used none the less. Having an old and declining house causes me to use the right side of my brain to solve challenges frequently. I would like to think that I used a creative approach to my recent roof repairs. Our old and wobbly house has some ancient trim outside that has needed replacing for a long time. Since the weathered and rotting wood is at the very peak of the third story, the difficulty was in getting at it safely to fix it. I have pondered this for quite a while and decided that I would tackle the challenge this summer.
So I conceived of a platform that would fit between our house and the flat roof of our neighbour. I measured and built this structure and hauled it up the narrow space between our two houses. It was a long way up and a heavy thing to hoist but I somehow managed to accomplish that task. Unfortunately, I discovered a design flaw in the platform as soon as I tried to put it between the two buildings. It didn't fit! The distance between our two buildings wasn't the same at ground level end roof top. And it wasn't possible to the lift and move the structure along the length of the roof line. I should have known better. I find that I often have to do something first, discover all sorts of mistakes that I made and do it over again. So back to the drawing board, but this time I had to adapt it up on the neighbour's roof.
With some major adjustments, the new version fit well between the buildings and allowed me fairly easily move it along the length of the house. Now I can walk out safely, high over the alleyway and start the replacements on the old wood. That was still a complicated job with the 100 year old wood containing a century of hidden treasures including lots of dust, crud, old squirrel residences and an active wasp's nest right at the peak. I removed the unwelcome guests and pulled away the old boards. The old wood is quite beautiful in it's own way, grey and weathered. I saved some for a possible artistic project to come. Lovely as it was, it just wasn't doing a very good job of protecting the insides of the house.
Their was some fun of getting the old boards and detritus out. I came across some splendid old wasp's nests; their intricate combs of grey paper-like material are so beautiful and delicate. The treat of those little finds was offset but the shear dirtiness of the task. Many years of coal dust and debris covered me as I pulled off the old to make way for the new. Of course I managed to choose the warmest days of the summer to be up on the roof. It was literally too scorching to touch the roof with exposed skin and metal tools became too hot to touch too. I had a new found respect for roofers who go up and do this everyday. Lots of water helped but I still got some nasty headaches; my brain was melting!
One pleasure of being up on the roof is the view. I've been able to see the street and surrounding neighbourhood from a brand new perspective. People walking by, squirrels scampering along the shingles, birds pecking and chirping from the nearby branches. I was up there this week as the sun was setting and the moon was rising. It was a lovely scene.
The task is getting close to finished and I hope to complete it tomorrow. When I'm done, I won't miss the heat and the leaning over edge of the roof with a three storey drop, but I will miss the view and the quiet, contemplative time up on the roof. I'll also miss the pleasure of tackling challenges and finding solutions to the repairs difficulties. (To be honest, it wasn't all quiet and a pleasure. There were many choice curses used as particularly difficult boards or siding was attached) However, I'm not too worried about those absences with the completion of this job. With an old house, there will always be the next task that needs doing and the unexpected crumblings that will be calling out for attention.
As you can see, in this last photo, the job is progressing.
The platform is seen here being used for getting in and out of the house through the window to Leslie's studio. That fading and peeling window trim is the next little challenge that will rise up for repair.
Good wishes and hugs to you,
John
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