Raising the Roof

Although we were hoping to put it off for one more year, it became apparent that we needed to replace the roof on the big barn. Not only were the number of Tidy Cat litter buckets serving as rain buckets multiplying along with the corresponding holes in the roof, but we discovered one big  hole far down on one side that had been allowing water to gush through in massive quantities into an interior stall in the lowest level of the barn. Since we have kept this stall closed off from the buffs, we didn't see the damage to the wood until it was too late. Lest we have any more nasty surprises, we bit the bullet. Here are some pictures of the 2.5 day project handled exclusively by our local roofers. The shot that follows is of the initial tear off of the old metal.

I wish I had a shot of the guy straddling the apex of the roof as he pulled up the strip of metal along the peak. My neighbor who lives in the house behind the barn said she was transfixed by the process but had to stop watching the guys running along the top of the barn after the metal was pulled off. A cop and a veteran, she's not lacking in courage but even she found it hard to take watching them work 3 stories up. Not only were they contending with the height and the lack of flat, level surfaces to walk on, they had to deal with many wasp nests in the rafters and some rotten support poles. And August heat.

This shot shows the only way up to the roof. That ladder is long and narrow! Bad enough to climb but to also carry tools and materials???? At least they didn't have to approach from the other side of the barn which would have entailed climbing the full three stories.

This is the barn with the new roof on. In many ways the new roof is not as attractive as the old one (mostly because it lacks the patina of decades of rust....) but it should function much better. The guys finished the 1.5 days before Irene was scheduled to make landfall in NC. Fortunately, it didn't affect us at all but since we didn't know that would be the case, we were glad to have a new roof over our supply of hay for the winter. One big project down, infinity more to go....