Thursday, April 4, 2013

Roof, roof

No, that's not my dog impersonation. Ivan is fixing the roof over the kitchen today! Two friends drove two hours to help get'erdone. Only it won't be completely done because we don't have enough chapa. It's a specific style (we bought a bunch used and it was almost -- sooooo close! -- enough to do the whole roof (bedroom and kitchen), but we ran 1meter x 2-1/2 meters short :( Ivan checked all around town, and then went to Cordoba yesterday afternoon and looked all over there, but came up empty-handed.

This morning he had a brainstorm, but too late to do anything about it today. The kitchen roof needs three strips of chapa, each strip one meter wide by a little over 6 meters long. We had enough to do two and a half strips, so Ivan was hunting for that elusive last 1/2 strip. But he realized instead he can just do the entire last strip with a slightly different chapa. And he did see at some at one of the places he checked in Cordoba yesterday.

So the plan is to do what he can today while he has the help, and in the next couple of days we'll go back and pick up enough to do the final strip.

After the rainiest spring/summer/fall in many years, we look forward to having a more watertight structure! It doesn't leak every time it rains (must be the way the wind is blowing?) but it happens often enough that we're anxious to have it fixed.

Getting the roof over the kitchen fixed is not the only roof-related item on Ivan's "to do" list. He has to also install flashing and I'm not sure what else. And figure out what's going on over the bathroom, because we're still having issues in there too.

Don't you think fixing an existing building is more frustrating than new construction? Because you have to fix previous mistakes which, we are finding, can be significant.

I guess we'll find out! We're hoping to be able to start on the new house next year. Then we can compare the experiences.

Thankfully the skies are clear and no rain is expected until Sunday. I am so over the rain! I think this must be what it's like in Ireland... or Seattle, maybe. Seems like we've had as many rainy days as sunny days over the past few months. Happy we're heading into what is (typically) the dry season.

But even if it's not as dry as in past years, at least we'll be a little better prepared for the rain. Yay for solid roofs!

6 comments:

The Bug said...

Great idea Ivan - and it will probably look like you meant to make a fancy design :)

sara said...

Yay for husbands that can do that kind of work!!!

We've had water issues at our house too, but are going to have to hire someone to figure it out. :(

Skoots1moM said...

go, Ivan!!
I hate water issues; so hard to find sometimes...have a great weekend!

Elizabeth said...

It’s always convenient to have someone in the house who knows how to do fixings. Also, it was a good idea to repair your roof before the rainy season. Less hassle! I just hope that you’ll soon find enough chapa to get everything done. Good luck to Ivan. :)

-Elizabeth Hoffnung

riTa Koch said...

Buen plan.

Lhoyt said...

I admire the 'can do' way in which Ivan approaches things and then is able to live up to the promise of that attitude. Good going,Ivan!