Saturday, March 31, 2007

Blood, Sweat and Tears

OK, so that is a title of a band and not a song but still in the same general theme. I don't know, maybe it is a song too. Anyway, my computer is wanting to be ugly to me right now and not let me download new photos so I am having to depend on photos I just happen to already have in the computer. These are a little old but hopefully I will have things straightened out soon. We are almost done with the roof. Just putting on the final trim and flashing. My finger, a nail and my hammer all met in the wrong combination here and that's where the blood is from. Metal roofs are a little aggravating to work on as they can be very slippery and trying to hold a bunch of stuff and keep from sliding around can be difficult at times. I did start to name this post "Things We Said Today" but what I said after I did this probably would not be good material to put up. I have been told by other construction workers that I have a dirty mouth. I have tried to curb that habit as much as I can. It aggravated me more that I was dripping blood all over my new roof than anything else.
The ridge cap was easy to put on but I need to find something to stuff under those open areas between the ribs to keep bugs and wasps etc. from getting up there and nesting. They make a Styrofoam weatherstripping that is made in that configuration but it is solid and does not allow for ventilation. Because of the way my roof is insulated, with the Iso board immediately under the roofing, the ribs serve as vents and I don't want to clog them up. I need a porous material that will allow air to pass through but not holey enough to let bugs etc. Make sense? We thought of something like Brillo pads (the plastic ones) but I'm not sure. Any ideas?
I'm getting down to picking colors and stuff like that. We are just about ready to close up all the walls and the block and stone wall under the house should start soon. My septic system was approved and I am getting bids on that now. I think I stated before that Alabama has recently passed a law that homeowners can no longer install their own. That sucks but in a way it's nice that I will not have to do that. Maybe I will have some photos soon of the tiles going in the bath and stuff. I'm still arguing with the BFA over that but I think budget will win that one.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, when a construction worker tells you you have a dirty mouth, that's something to be proud of.

I was wondering about those gaps in the ridgecap as I looked at the photos. Could you cut some wire mesh (like fencing fabric with a tighter weave) the right length and then bend it and slip it in place so the convex side is on the outside?

R.Powers said...

Ouch! I hope your finger has stopped throbbing.
I was catching up reading multiple posts. I liked your description of where you live now. Reminds me of an attic apartment I had once.

Rurality said...

I didn't know that about the septic tanks. But I believe it after seeing old gas station tanks used that way!

Sorry we have not made it back over again. I thought we might yesterday but we took too long truck shopping and grocery shopping.

We picked up all the packing peanuts, at least!

I can't remember you saying any bad words... maybe I'm getting so bad they seem normal though. :)

MamaHen said...

Shoot yeah, Pablo! But then it kind of sunk in and I have really tried to calm down some, especially since most all the guys call me "Ma'am" now.

MamaHen said...

Hey FC! Yeah, I got over it pretty quick and I like our little apartment; it will really make me appreciate the house when it's done.

Hey Karen! Yeah, I was hoping that ya'll would get to drop by. Thanks for getting those peanuts out of my studio! ;) BTW, old gas tanks are one thing I have never heard of people using. Lots of other things though!

Anonymous said...

The artist/writer Cathy Johnson wrote a small book about building her cabin in the woods (A Naturalist's Cabin), and she speaks of drawing blood when she is hammering some nails. She likens the drops of her blood on her floor to a sort of baptism and in the end, she is glad to have that experience and memory.

pablo
www.roundrockjournal.com

MamaHen said...

Hey Pablo! I may have to read that book for a new perspective. While I have really enjoyed the experience of building my own home and am grateful for the ability etc., I guess I have experienced so much physical pain and bloodshed doing the type work that I do that it's hard for me to see it as anything more than something to be avoided. I have to say though, that I feel that it does make me so grateful and appreciative of what I have because I had to work so hard (both on my real job and on the house) to get it.
BTW, your suggestion about the wire mesh stuff for filling the spaces under the ridge cap was a good one and we had thought of something similar. We may end up using that very stuff. I'll have to experiment a little with it.

Genevieve Netz said...

We built a 2-story garage with a metal roof and ridgecap that's identical to your photo. We didn't put in the solid molding under the ridgecap, and now we're having trouble with rain driving under it when there's high wind. I guess we're going to have to loosen up one side of the ridgecap at a time and install the solid molding and then put in some kind of alternative ventilation. A lumberyard here makes a roof vent for metal roofs.

As for your question about what you might use in your vents, farmers have a plastic netting that is used to wrap big round bales. It comes in long lengths, and I wonder if it might work, stretched long-wise and rolled? You could cut it to a size that worked. Just a wild idea that came to mind because I have seen my brother (a rancher) recycle some of that netting in various ways.

MamaHen said...

Hello Genevieve! You know, I had not thought about rain being able to blow up under the ridge cap; I'll have to look into that. Yeah, I think some type of plastic net or something similar is what we are going to use.