Fixing the House Roof...

Usually the things that I blog about are in the barn...fixing this...fixing that, but today it was time to get another project underway.  Our house has a slate roof just like the barn, and it was in need of some repair.  There were a few missing slates, missing snow catchers, and a couple of unused chimneys that did nothing but allow birds and bats into the attic.  I shudder whenever I see a bat in the house, and we've had  four of them in the house in the past week.

Early this morning, the Amish crew came to begin work on the roof.  They began by setting up all their ladders, and once they were set up, they took took down the first chimney top.  It was at the peak of the roof on the far left.  The bricks were removed and the hole was capped and covered with slate.  The guy told Jim that some bats flew out when they were working on it. We were still milking and feeding at the time, so I missed getting any pictures of the process.  The second chimney was at the peak to the right...

It amazes me how some people are so comfortable with heights.  You couldn't pay me enough to walk around up on that roof!

Near the bottom edge of the roof, you can see the row of snow catchers that they added.  This should help in the winter with all the heavy snow sliding off the roof in an avalanche...

Later in the afternoon, they worked on the north side of the house...

This man is repairing the remaining chimney...the only one that is functional in the house...

They are about finished with the house, and will need to come back and finish up some work on the barn roof on another day.

My hat's off to those who don't mind working in the hot sun on hot, humid days, and who don't mind working at those heights!

My only question now, is this...

"The bats that are now trapped in the attic...will they try to get outside by coming down through the house tonight?!"

More Roof Repairs...

Back in August we had a leaky spot in the slate barn roof repaired.  At that time, we also got an estimate for putting two rows of snow catchers on the roof.

There used to be snow catchers attached to the slate, but over the years they began to break off.  Without snow catchers, the snow rushes off the barn roof and crashes to the ground below...an avalanche of sorts.  The force of the falling snow damages spouting, lightning rods and the smaller roofs below, and creates huge piles of hard snow in the barn yard.  And oh yes...it sounds like a freight train and feels like an earthquake...that tends to spook the animals.  And the people.

The snow catchers should hold the snow back, allowing it to melt into the rain gutters rather than falling in an avalanche.

Yesterday in the rain, the guys came to set up their scaffolding...

Nope...you couldn't pay me enough to climb up and work on there!  You won't find any pictures from up top this time!

Jim found some pieces of Peach Bottom Slate in the shop that they were able to use...

This nifty slate cutter cuts the slate to the size they need...it's kind of like a large paper cutter...

Today was a much nicer day to be working up on the roof...

And of course there's always morning snack time...
 

Fixing a broken lightning rod on the roof of the outside pen...
 

And they're working their way across the roof...new snow catchers in place...
 

Tomorrow they will come back and finish, and clean up. 

We'll have to see how well the snow catchers work...with weather like we've been having, it might just be a while until they're tested!  

December 22...first day of winter...temps near 60*   Hmmmm...


It's better than snow, in my book!

Slate Roof Repair...

Wow!  What a beautiful day!

In fact, it's been a week of gorgeous weather!  Doesn't feel a bit like the August weather we usually have...we've been spared the typical end-of-summer heat and humidity, and been blessed with temps in the low 80's with low humidity.  It was actually cold this morning...someone had even shut the out-kitchen window and turned on the heater!

One project that got worked on today was repairing a section of our barn roof...and what a nice day for that!

One of our Amish neighbors has a slate roof business, and he sent some workers over to check out a section of our barn roof that needed repair...

The leak was just above the hay mow on the east side of the barn.  It was clear from inside the barn where the leak was (the recent rains made it quite clear), but a bit tricky to find from the outside.  He found it, fixed it, and we're good to go!

The Amishman who was there today also commented on the condition of the barn roof...he said it's one of the better roofs he's ever worked on!  The barn and house roofs are both covered in Peach Bottom Slate, which came from a quarry about 30 minutes south of us in southern Lancaster County.  It's a very high quality slate, and is original to the barn which was built in 1912!  The quarry hasn't been used for perhaps fifty years...so any Peach Bottom slate that you might find has most likely been taken off another roof.

Other than some minor repairs, we have been very fortunate...both Jim, and his Dad before him, have taken good care of it.

The next roof project will likely be to put two rows of snow catchers on the south side of the barn roof.  In the winter, the snow slides off the slick roof and comes crashing to the ground two stories below, sometimes damaging spouting and the barn cleaner elevators on the way down.  But that's a project for another day...

For now, I'll enjoy the beautiful evening watching the Phillies WIN their game against the Mets!