It. Is. Done. (The Roof That Is)

We actually finished the roof over a week ago, I just haven't gotten to updating the blog. My husband asked what I wanted for my birthday? I said, "to finish this stupid roof." Stupid roof finished. In a drizzly rain. On my birthday. But, it is done. Woo hoo!

Before we can get rid of the dumpster, we need to complete the interior demolition. Since this building had been a doctor's office, it is cut up into a bunch of little examining rooms off of the main hallway. This photo may not look like much, but it represents the brute labor of removing 2 of the walls to turn 3 rooms into 1. There's more sheetrock pulling and 2x4 smashing to come before all the walls are down, but it's looking more like a garage already!

The Weather is Wonderful!

The weather is wonderful! Or so says the fortune cookie we got recently. Maybe in China! We started work on the garage roof almost 2 months ago. As we may have mentioned, it keeps raining. And raining. In case you don't believe us, here are some hard facts from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg for June 1st through today. At least 27 of the last 42 days have had measurable rain. Measurable to the tune of 13.26 inches! And that doesn't include the rain we fought in May. We just have the ridge and chimney flashing to finish, but guess what, it's raining again!

Roofing Interlude: The Zimmerman House

We were so close to finishing the roof, we could taste it. Just 2 more swaths of roofing felt and the accompanying shingles and we'd be done. Not even a days' work. And...we got called out of town rather suddenly. 

While we were gone though, we got to see an impressive brick ranch house - the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Zimmerman House in Manchester, New Hampshire. If this had been the little brick ranch next to our house, you can bet we wouldn't be turning it into a garage! The Zimmerman House is a Usonian house and is similar to the Prairie Style that he is known for, but smaller and (supposedly) built for the common man, though the price tag would have been rather steep for most when this was built in the 1950s.

I loved the Garden Room where there were troughs to grow plants just inside and just outside the windows to make it feel like you're outside even when you're inside. 

Because the house was built into the land, you could reach the roof in the back. The roofing was supposed to be cedar shakes, but the city wouldn't allow that so it is clay tile instead. And, yes, in true Frank Lloyd Wright fashion, it did leak.

A fun interlude - now back to making sure the garage roof doesn't leak!

Roofing the Garage: Days 5-6

Finally! We were home for a DRY weekend! We finished the front of the house to about 2 rows below the ridge on Saturday and the back to just below the chimney on Sunday. Woo hoo! The end is near!

Just as exciting, we got the person who is salvaging metal from the building to clear the overgrowth (and poison ivy!) from the alley between our house and the garage. Since the alley is owned by the town, we asked them if they would chip the brush and haul it away for free if we cleaned up the mess. They agreed and the work was completed this weekend too.

Now we can see the garage from our house - much better for security. We're just hoping Tommy didn't get a killer case of poison ivy from his hard work!