The Roof
June 25, 2004
And so it begins... our 18 year old cedar shingle (not shake) roof was way overdue for replacement. We're putting up a high-end asphalt shake instead. After looking at it on a similar house, it looks to be a great choice, and will be here long after we're gone. I only want to do this once, and didn't want wood. Metal was also a consideration, but at a 30-50% premium over what we're already paying, I just counldn't justify the cost.
June 3, 2004
After delivering not one, but two dumpsters to our driveway, actual work begain today. This is a shot of what the back side of the house looked like this afternoon:
Here 's a closeup of two of them tearing off the old shingles:
You can see they're roped off - that was one of the original challenges in finding someone good to do the job. There are roofers who won't touch this steep pitch.
As I type they're putting up the plywood that will underlay the new roof.
June 4, 2004
Here's a shot of those dumpsters I mentioned above:
You can see they're pretty big. If you look closely you can see they've started on the garage roof. Here's a shot of that in progress:
What amazes me is how these guys can clamber all over our 45 degree pitch roof. Here's one fellow hauling up a sheet of plywood as the backside of the house slowly gets covered:
For the record, shortly after I shot the picture and he worked the plywood to the left ... he dropped it. The sheet slid down and was caught by the gutter.
Whoops.
June 9, 2004
After a few days of rain (including an emergency trip out to re-tarp one spot on the roof that was leaking into the house) work resumed yesterday. Besides tearing off more old roof and installing plywood and underlayment, today we got the first delivery of actual roofing:
Installation begins tomorrow. Weather permitting, of course.
June 11, 2004
It's starting to look like a roof.
I came home yesterday to find that they'd covered a large portion of the roof with the shingles we had chosen. Here's a shot at the end of the day:
I'd been nervous about our choice - changing from wood shingles to this type of roof, even if it is "high end". I'm actually very pleased with the look, and breathing a bit easier today. Here's a closeup:
Besides the plywood and underlayment, there's all sorts of flashing being added, as well as a thick rubber-like film that's put down over the valleys. Then there's the shakes.
June 15, 2004
Some definite progress being made. Here's the backside again:
You can see that most of the roof is covered, and that things like ridge caps are in place in some places. They've moved on to the north side of the house, over our bedroom:
They've moved around front as well, and left us this new "ornament" in our driveway:
And here's the front view this afternoon, all torn open and being re-covered:
June 18, 2004
It's hot. But work continues. The roofers are making their way across the front of the house:
With luck we might have our back driveway and garage back over the weekend.
June 24, 2004
We got our front driveway back yesterday, and the back today. We also got our new skylights:
Yep. Two of them open.
And the roof is done! Here's a shot, and a close up, of the front:
Still a little work remains. Some interior painting around the skylights, and a new gutter above the kitchen window.
September 2004
Well, it's been a couple of months since the roof has been completed, and we're still very pleased. Not only with the look, but with the quality of the materials and the responsiveness of the folks who did the work. We had a couple of minor issues that were quickly taken care of after the job was "done".
For the record, the roofing company we used was Pacific Northwest Roofing Inc., out of Issaquah, and we do recommend them.
