On Friday, we began stripping off the old, rotten shingles. We found just a single layer but I'd guess they were much older than the 25 year life expectancy. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the garage - and the roof - was built in the 1960's.
The first shot is of my brother, Bob, climbing onto the roof (already stripped clean at this point) with circular saw in hand to remove some rotten plywood decking.
Here (below) at the front of the garage (south), we found three very rotten sections of wood. We took those out and used and split one of the plywood sheets up to fill in with. We then bought a new 4'x8' sheet (1/2") to replace an entire section.
Here (below) is Bob removing a rotten section of plywood. What caused this? Two things, I'd say: rain gutters which have sagged (and which we fixed by backing them with aluminum flashing) and ice dams in the winter.
On the back side of the garage (west), here's Bob after we finished one run of tar paper. As you can see, most of the plywood decking is in fine shape - still smooth, dry and clean.
Here (below) is a wide view of the work we completed on Friday (05/22) and Saturday. At this point we have the entire roof stripped of the old shingles and new tar paper installed. You can't see it from here, but we managed to get some new shingles laid on the east side of the garage (the side facing Pinehaven).
The truck, by the way, was loaned to us for the holiday weekend. It wasn't being used and all we were asked to pay was gas and the dumping fee for the refuse we collected. It's good to have friends.
And here it is Monday (Memorial Day, 05/25) and Bob is finishing up installing shingles on the south side. We figured we'd walk there the most so we'd do that side last. The nail gun was a real time-saver. How hard it is to pick up nails when your fingers are hot, tired and covered in tar! It's real easy to pull a trigger.
Finally, a picture of myself as I looked for much of the job. Yes, I just kept putting on the same, stinky, dirty clothing day after day! When I pulled them off each day, I'd step directly into the shower and watch a river of dirt go down the drain. How shampoo and soap burns all of the blisters, too. I have three: one on my right palm, one on my left thumb and one on my right knee.
OK, I'm nothing to look at! But the idea is that you know you're going to get dirty, you're going to be uncomfortable and you'd better block the sun as much as possible. I know: I look like some old troll.
This is the final shot and you can see the last side of the garage is half shingled. We still had to cap five runs (four up, one across) but the job is close to completion at this point.
And here it is Monday (Memorial Day, 05/25) and Bob is finishing up installing shingles on the south side. We figured we'd walk there the most so we'd do that side last. The nail gun was a real time-saver. How hard it is to pick up nails when your fingers are hot, tired and covered in tar! It's real easy to pull a trigger.
Finally, a picture of myself as I looked for much of the job. Yes, I just kept putting on the same, stinky, dirty clothing day after day! When I pulled them off each day, I'd step directly into the shower and watch a river of dirt go down the drain. How shampoo and soap burns all of the blisters, too. I have three: one on my right palm, one on my left thumb and one on my right knee.
OK, I'm nothing to look at! But the idea is that you know you're going to get dirty, you're going to be uncomfortable and you'd better block the sun as much as possible. I know: I look like some old troll.
This is the final shot and you can see the last side of the garage is half shingled. We still had to cap five runs (four up, one across) but the job is close to completion at this point.
For my own knowledge, we used Owens Corning shingles: Supreme AR in Onyx Black. The algae resistance (the AR) is good for 10 years and the shingles are supposed to last 25 years (they're good for 60 mph winds, too).
I think that was my fourth and final roof. I don't suppose we;ll face a "next time" here as a new house roof was installed last spring and it's good for 30 years. I'd be almost 90 when these roofs wear out and I fully expect to wear out long before that.
