THE DAY WE GOT A NEW ROOF

GOSH! Look what they did to our roof!!!

Definitely not a project one wants to undertake every 5 minutes

These concrete tiles were way past their best!

Although our roof was not leaking, the felting was very brittle and torn, the tiles were beginning to crumble and crack with age and the tile battens had begun to degrade. I had been thinking of replacing the 50+ year old roof for a few years and got a chance when our next door neighbour built his extension, including replacing his roof.  The builder gave us a very good price for upgrading both house roofs, so in the summer of 2012 he erected scaffolding round both houses and work began. The extension next door was well underway and when all the building work was completed there they started work on the roofs, ours first.  Fortunately they chose a dry day.  They did one side at a time so they could cover it as quickly as possible in case of rain.

That morning there was a thunderous noise on our roof and we saw 4 men throwing our tiles into a large skip.  Then they ripped off the tile battens and felt and began hammering new tile battens into place.  Maria and I went out shopping and just left them to it.

On this shot you can make out the new roofing felt which allows the roof to breathe much better whilst being totally impervious to water.  It is very strong but very thin and the idea is very clever.

Oh . . . . and look what they found up there!! Poor bird must have got trapped in the roof space somewhere.

Not in quite as good condition as our roof timbers.  We were very pleased to hear that these were in very good condition.

Once the battens were in place they proceeded fitting the new Double Roman tiles, which fitted perfectly and instead of cementing ridge tiles like they used to, they screwed in modern dry ridge tiles which also allow more roof ventilation.

Of course that gave me an excuse to be a boy again and climb up my ladder onto the scaffolding and have a walk round.  Notice the wrap round verge tiles, just above my hand, which are a great idea, since these allow no wind to get underneath and lift them.  Originally they used ordinary tiles and cemented the edges in place but eventually the  cement cracked and allowed wind to get underneath and sometimes ties blew off the roof in violent storms.  When I was younger I replaced and re-cemented many tiles in our street, after strong gales in 1987 and 1993.

(No it is not Quasimodo up there looking for Esmeralda, although you can't see my bluelights behind those shades!)

While the scaffolding was in place I applied another coat on masonry paint to the walls. This was much easier to do than on two previous occasions when I worked off just a ladder. I was in my element up there moving and throwing scaffolding planks around  whist cleaning and washing out all the gutters, then washing down the barge boards, fascias and soffits. 

I even erected a new TV aerial whilst I was up there.

We had a sun tunnel fitted into the roof to lighten up the bathroom and works very well and lets a lot of light through the bathroom ceiling.

And because our gate arch was demolished during the house extension next door they had to rebuild our gate arch at their expense.

It was interesting watching them do it and I got quite friendly with the 'bricky'.

And Mike next door asked me if I would paint his new masonry walls since he knew I used to paint houses, so I came out of retirement and did that for him, along with other work he asked me to do on a paid basis.

Well all this occurred nearly two years ago and it is a pity Maria is not here to share and enjoy the improvements but at least it is reassuring to know this roof will see me out by a mile and I wont have to worry about that.

I was quite sad when the scaffolding came down! 

 . . . . .and while I was up there I took down a bird box I made for Great Tit birds.  It is too heavy and getting a bit old and it needs renewing and 
re-siting to a more accessible place.  I will get round to that later in the year.

You can see all three compartments for these 'terraced' houses have been occupied - long overdue for cleaning and disinfecting.
Did you know birds will not nest again in a box unless the old nest has been removed.  There are no second hand homes in birdland - the birdie Missus' always see to that!

Remember this shot from a previous post?



Just got him going in.

I took some video shots two years ago of Blue Tits and Great Tits plus their chicks.  I hope to post that soon when my clever son shows me how to do it.

A YEAR ON, A JOB WON, ANOTHER JOB WON AND JOBS AWAITING

(Man working hard - please interrupt at once)

Jobs are beckoning in the garden and the remaining member of 'the heavy mob' will soon arise from his inactivity and from the ashes to tackle some much needed  renovations, screaming at him whenever he passes them by. With the warmer weather coming it will be a pleasure to venture outside again and do some destructive and creative work. I'm not sure which I prefer, destructive or creative, but I do like using that power kango breaker.  I will post some of these projects as they arise.  

Also I have a major project at my daughter's and son-in-law's house in Bath to share with his mother, also a recent widow, just three months after my loss which was equally tragic. We have a large hedge to demolish and some extensive gardening alterations which we can share. Perhaps we should clone ourselves into a small army - boy, don't we need them!

On Saturday 26 April a year will have passed since my darling wife, Maria, was taken from me. We had been married for 40 years.  During her illness and when she passed I felt as if  I had been hit with a sledge hammer, and still do sometimes, but the distressing flashbacks are becoming less frequent.  Quite frankly, I did not feel like doing anything right up until now, since my heart was not in gardening or extensive house cleaning or in anything, barring the absolute essentials of life. Gradually I am getting my life together and I hope things will become a little easier once the first anniversary has passed.  But life is very lonely.

Last year was very difficult and I dreaded being in the house by myself, but fortunately something told me to contact our local Dial-A-Ride service last July, just two months after Maria's death.  I had worked there four years ago for a while and I was astounded when the manager said the day before a paid driver had walked out and would I be interested in a six week contract.  I said, "Yes, when do you want me to start?".  He said, "Tomorrow, four days a week!".  It was as if Maria had been bossing the angels about because I had been prompted to approach Dial-A-Ride at exactly the right  moment.  

Further, my son secured a job without even having to try!  He had been looking for menial work for about three weeks, with no success and he was getting a bit depressed.  He wanted something to earn some money while he studied for his Open University Degree. Out of the blue, my next door neighbour, who runs a computer company, approached him and offered him more than a job, in fact a career!  He loves the work and it is entirely complimentary with his degree work.  He is doing very well there and they are all pleased with him. Strange - I wonder if Maria somehow had a hand in that?  Also, the other day I was looking for a new shower curtain and couldn't find one.  Something prompted me to open a cupboard door and when I opened it guess what fell out all by itself and landed on the floor? Yes, a new shower curtain! Isn't that amazing! I would not have been surprised if  her handwritten note was attached to it saying, "What took you so long? . . . . . and here is a list of things you need to do!"

Anyway, that Dial-A-Ride job lasted much longer than 6 weeks.  In fact they wanted me for 5 months and I loved it!  It got me out of the house and gave me a focus and you will imagine what fun I had with the passengers.  They miss me dreadfully. because regrettably, there is not sufficient resource available for me to continue there as a regular paid driver.  Two ladies cried!  Several complained I was leaving!  But I still drive for them as a volunteer every Friday and I always look forward to that. It was rather similar to my Ambulance days with the interaction of patients which was nice.  Always I loved making them laugh. I am looking around for something to keep me out of trouble for about 2 days a week.

In October I was blessed with the birth of my first grandchild, Peter, who is now six months old and doing very well. He started life at 7 lbs and now he is 17 lbs and growing fast.  Hasn't he got beautiful big blue eyes?  He is so alert, lively and inquisitive and likes giving big, sloppy wet kisses - Aww! dribble, dribble!  He had his first piano lesson the other day, walking up and down the keys! What a horrible noise.  I can see he is going to break a few hearts later, can you?

It is such a shame that Maria did not see him - she was so looking forward to the grands. Yet somehow I think she is smiling as she looks down from Heaven.

So, hopefully I can soon start to enjoy life again to the full, and give it a TEN out of TEN

 Until the next time!