Multi-colored Semi-Charity Job

I bid this job 7 months ago for an elderly lady that lives on the same road as I do about 1.5 miles away. I never heard back from her about the bid but was passing by yesterday and saw that she still had the same tarp on the roof and she was out working in the yard so I stopped by. Come to find out she lives alone and on social security with no savings and just couldn't ever get the money up.

The original price was $950. I told her that I had about 5 bundles of loose shingles, a couple sheets of osb board and everything that would be needed to do the repair and offered to do the job for $250 using all leftover material of several different colors which is basically just the cost of the materials. She eagerly accepted and I went over and did the job today.

Turned out to be a real dandy and took 7 hours to complete. It's a mobile home with a front porch roof that was added later. When they built the front porch roof a plumbing pipe landed right in the center of the valley and they left it that way PLUS didn't put a pipe collar on it. Just smeared black mammy around it. As you can see in the pic's below it caused extensive damage. I re-routed the pipe out of the valley. There was another leak in the valley about 4 feet up from the pipe where they butted shingles together right in the center of the valley.

Try not to laugh at the mix of weathered wood and charcoal dimensionals combined with charcoal and autumn brown 3-tabs. :laugh: She really needs a whole new roof but this should get her by for a few more years. The part that I worked on can not be seen from the street or any neighboring homes. The damage got repaired and it won't leak anymore but let's just say that last pic won't be going on the website.

I am proud of you Chuck.

(THUMB'S UP, with double finger guns for added effect)

Nice, Chuck.

That's a true multi-colored roof Lefty! Looks like something I might have done back in my drinking days! :huh:

I always said I would never mix colors on a roof and never did until this one. Probably never will again! I will feel better when she calls me to replace the whole roof so I can get rid of the mess! ;)

Well, I guess I'm gonna have to go back over there, tear everything apart, flip the osb over and put it all back together. Man this is gonna suck! :laugh: Who's gonna pry up and hold the tear off shovel this time? Dag-Nabbit. :laugh:

Chuck Said: but whats the big deal?

First and foremost, the "big deal" shows you care. The manufacturer's stamp says "THIS SIDE DOWN ON ROOFS" and "THIS SIDE IN ON WALLS". If you go to lpcorp.com, that manufacturer warrants their sheathing for 20 years if it is put on right.

I can't believe the number of crap deck jobs I run into all of the time- from scrap pieces thrown in, to installers thinking they can free style their cuts without the benefit of a chalk line, to the grain of the sheathing parallel to the rafter causing a sag, and no clips and not enough fasteners. I have even run into houses that were decked entirely with the slick side up. Believe me, I would have strangled the guy who did those jobs if I could find him.

It is really rare that I ever see a deck job that looks like it was done from start to finish by a professional that cared.

It might not be too fun to co-habit with over the long haul, but one thing you have to say about natty is he's consistent. No slack for nobody no time no way no how! lol

Chuck, Here is a multi color roof. This is 2 blocks from my house.

I am going to get a better picture.

I'm with ya on those "smoothies" when it comes to a whole roof job. If I was redecking the whole house it would all be rough side up for sure but with just me on the job and only two sheets involved, I decided to put the treated side up. The last homeowner that watched me do a repair requested treated side up and I guess that stuck in my head.

When the wife came over, I told her not to step on the new wood. Just a few minutes later I had it all covered up with 30 lb. felt. If that's the only thing anyone can find "wrong" with the repair, then it must be a fair job. You would be hard pressed to find a more "colorful" job as well. :laugh:

I wasn't meaning to give you a hard time. We do install the plywood smooth side down, unless we have a cut piece that fits good smooth side up near the end.

The old shingles are so rough and the pitch is low that your repair would hardly stick out on the front of the roof!

When I do some repairs for a customer I tell them your neighbors may tell you that I do not know what I am doing. But what I am doing will not leak, it is just an unconventional way of doing it.

Great job.

What's the easiest and safest place to walk on a steep roof? In the valley. This work was on a 3/12 slope and in a valley. 1-story. In the shade even. :laugh:

The treated side is more water resistant but what's the big deal? Can you really put the stuff on upside down in the case of this lovely multi-colored job? :laugh: What's gonna be the big difference if we flip all the wood over? :silly:

We call them smoothies. "Damnit, watch that smoothie" on a steep tearoff.

Chuck Said: Natty, I put the slick/treated side up.

Why? I prefer to walk on the skid resistant side the way it was designed to work.

It looks like the guys who built the porch turned their osb up side down, too.

Natty, I put the slick/treated side up. These double wide mobile homes have 2 x 2 rafters made out of some incredibly hard wood. I'm not exactly sure what kind of wood but it's amazing how much they can endure before rotting. I did not have to scab the original mobile home rafters.

I put two 2 x 4 scabs on the front porch rafters and a 4 ft. long 2x4 notched around the underside of the middle rafter horizontally across the middle of the small piece of osb.

I had to get my wife to come by the job and kick on that bottom sheet of osb ( main roof side ) while i held up the front porch side of the valley with a tear off shovel. Well, actually we took turns holding and kicking until the sucker finally went under the valley far enough to land on that last rafter you see in pic 2 top left corner or pic 3 top right corner.

Thanks Guys. It wasn't total charity. It's been pretty slow this year so it helped us both out. It was done on a Saturday and I probably would have just hung around the house that day not doing much of anything else.

She was going to pay $150 on completion and $100 in 2 weeks. Her son came over about 2 hours before I got done and gave her $200 to go toward the repair. She paid me $350 on completion. 100 extra. :)