Just-In-Time Roofing Project

          Alan (son) and Liz (granddaughter) spent the last warm day of Autumn putting a new roof on the farm shop.

          We're sooo glad we got it finished before the wind, rain, frost and snow moved in.  What a relief!

          I'm fairly certain the shop roof hadn't been touched since my dad built it around 1975.  That makes it 38 years for those old shingles.  Amazing!  Twenty to 25 years is generally considered the maximum life for this form of roofing.

          Admittedly, the old shingles were worn out, but nearly four decades is almost unheard of.  Earlier this summer I'd noticed several spots where time and weather had worn through the asphalt/fiberglass backing and pinholes were showing the plywood sheeting beneath.

          I patched those spots with roofing cement to avoid leaks until a time slot materialized for the roofing project.  A few weeks ago, old friend and master handyman Atlee Burkholder helped tear off the old roofing, replace the drip edge and lay down "ice guard" underlayment. 

          He's a big fan of the sticky-backed ice guard and assured me, "It will be all the roofing you need for a year or so . . . if necessary." 

          We did have to wait a few weeks, but once we got started, Alan, Liz and I had the shop's new roof buttoned up in about four hours. 

          Alan gained lots of roofing experience during high school summers spent with his granddad.  Liz learned the skill over eight annual stints to the gulf coast area, rehabbing and rebuilding storm-destroyed homes.  That's how she spends her spring breaks.

          And I . . . became the gofer.  Running tools, cutting starter shingles, using the front end loader to lift bundles of shingles to the roof's edge.

          Another clear sign of advancing age - - roofing role reversal.