Dateline: 9 October 2016
Spring of 2015
In the spring of 2015, I began replacing the roof on my house, as shown above. I initially wrote about it in this blog post. As some of you know from my book, The Deliberate Agrarian, I constructed this house three decades ago without a mortgage, relying on a $10,000 loan from my father-in-law. The house was significantly smaller then. We’ve expanded it twice since, managing to avoid bank loans each time.
I built the entire house myself, with friends occasionally lending a hand. Anyone who’s undertaken a similar project, working evenings and weekends around a full-time job, understands it’s no small accomplishment—even for a small house. Now, nearing 59, I recognize that such an undertaking was far easier in my younger years. My past capacity for strenuous physical labor and productivity is astonishing to me now.
To any young men reading this, if you possess the health and energy for prolonged, demanding physical work, know that it’s fleeting. Utilize your late teens, twenties, and thirties for the “heavy lifting.”
The original shingles I removed from the front roof were budget-friendly 20-year, three-tab shingles, long past their intended lifespan. While not yet leaking, the roof was nearing that point. There was also some plywood decay that needed addressing, as seen in the picture.
Having begun this re-roofing project last spring, tackling it solo, I realized I couldn’t complete it within a year. My mail-order business intensifies in early summer, plus there’s the garden to tend to. The summer heat also isn’t conducive to roofing. Moreover, my post-prime self now works at a much slower pace.
I resolved to complete the front roof in 2015, one side in 2016, and the remaining portion in 2017. After all, large tasks become more manageable when divided into smaller segments. There’s no need to rush.
Beyond simply replacing the roof, this project presented an opportunity to correct an issue that had bothered me since 1990.
Back then, two friends and I were adding onto the house, pressed for time. If I recall correctly, it was late in the year, with winter approaching. Plus, I was paying them by the hour, so efficiency was key. While framing the new roof section, we ended up a few inches higher than the existing front roof. Rather than invest the time to lower the peak or create a more aesthetically pleasing intersection, we left the connection between the old and new roofs looking abrupt and awkward.
This re-roofing project provided the chance to rectify that…
October 2016
The good news is my three-year roofing project is now complete, finished in just two years. I wrapped up the very last bit two days ago. This is a significant relief.
Now, come spring, I can focus on siding and painting the rest of the house. The two sides already sided and painted need a fresh coat, as some of the red cedar shakes are showing weathering, as seen in this picture…
The back of the house, as you’ll see in the next photo, requires extensive work to complete…
The siding in the back is unfinished and unpainted, while the remaining back sections are only covered with tar paper.
The goal is to finish the rest of the house, preparing it for sale.
I’d like to build Marlene and me a retirement home in the next few years. It would be a single-story design, spacious enough to avoid future additions, and ideally, it would include an attached garage.
Of course, I won’t be tackling this next house single-handedly. Recognizing my limitations, I plan to hire out the framing and complete the interior work myself. That’s the current plan, anyway. It may never come to fruition. I might be gone before I save enough to afford building another house. Nevertheless, it’s beneficial to have a goal.
And if it doesn’t materialize, we’re content to stay put.
Home sweet home, however humble…