Our house is the same age as sweet Emma.
This means they'll both be 18 on March 27. In the Florida sun, shingles have a lifetime of somewhere between 15 and 25 years, depending on the shingles you can afford. Ours are hanging in there, but lately, one and then another had slipped free and slid to the lawn.
I checked them and it was a case of never being stapled on all that well, so today I took two replacements up my steeply pitched roof and repaired the shingleless section.
My super ladder could not reach high enough while matching the angle of the roof unless I elevated it a few feet. My solution was to back the trailer up to the house and set the ladder in it. I felt this was better than bungeeing two ladders together :)
I secured it with ropes to prevent lateral sway, ratchet-strapped it to the trailer, and piled some cement boulders on the foot of the ladder to make it stay put.
It worked.
The roof is repaired.
The shingles are much lighter and don't match the old weathered ones.
It's on the back side of the house so I'm not stressing over that little detail.
It really wasn't bad up there. The ladder was so stable that you could relax and enjoy the moment.
I love it when a plan comes together.
22 comments:
aaack!
I always wanted a red toy Jeep...
Sorry I haven't commented lately - I am reading, I just don't generally get the chance to type anything (same reason I haven't been updating) because a certain little Miss is unhappy when not being held. Bah! Babies sure are demanding little critters ;) Good thing they're so darn cute.
I am just kinda assuming that Mrs. FC wasn't home to see that....?
This is why I refuse to have anything, other than ground-level support, to do with the roofing of my new house. The photo alone makes me dizzy.
Kathy A,
It just looks aaack, it was more like coooool.
Mrs. S,
This one is my toy and everybody here knows it.
We know you're busy. I drop in and read too.
ThreeCollie,
Actually, I'm not allowed to do stuff like this if she's not home. It's in our prenup, line 54(a)section 2.
Deb,
I wish I had the confidence and knowledge to reroof this baby with a green metal roof. It just can't be that complicated.
It took a few seconds for my eyes and my brain to work together on this picture. Looks scary . . . and way too high up for a mortal.
I can see why Mrs. FC would want to be home when you're attempting something like this. And it does sound as if you took plenty of safety precautions.
However, my hub will never, ever see this post as long as I live... lol
and that's because i'm well familiar with Shands!! :)
Debbie,
It's really safe the way I have the ladder tied off and I just saved a bundle fixing it myself. Roofers have high insurance rates and they have to pass that on to the customer.
Not this time :)
Laura,
I even carry my cell phone up there with me in case I slide off and have to call her to resucitate me.
heehee
You are such a boy scout. I like the green house window.
I think you're knots!
well, if you can do this, you can do the metal roof. very clever arrangement.
I hope someone was home while you were attempting that dare-devil roof repair.
(How stupid of me...someone else had to take that picture...or you are mighty fast) *LOL*
Vicki,
Actually I never was and am guilty of poohpoohing their organization ... mostly unjustly I must confess.
What skills I have are all OJT.
Pablo,
Superb! The pun lives!!
roger,
thanks. i value your construction opinion. i am still looking for a "how to do your own metal roof in the 140mph hurricane building code zone"
aaack! indeed! I don't 'do' heights too well. I really look up to anyone who does.
Sophie.
"look up"
heehee
is that really what our hurricane thingie is?? *wondering if I should have worried before I was 40*
Sandy,
Mrs. FC took that one.
Mel,
It's what we are, you might be a few mph less where you are.
Augh FC, you're killin me man! Sometimes you have me up in a bunch with all the things you do. Don't go an get yourself killed now!
P.S.: I don't care how well you had the ladder secured :-D
HTeen,
Calculated risk = a rich life.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Danged clever!
I'm afraid I have a considerable fear of heights. You won't be catching me doing that, nono, not for any blog photo.
Just by coincidence, I ran across this site of impending ladder disaster, through Presurfer.
(Although I really enjoy Presurfer, the above link produces some popups that are really annoying. Just X it out, but don't try clicking on "cancel" - you'll just get more popups. Don't you hate that?)
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