The forecast for today looks promising with rain showers clearing late morning then dry for the afternoon and evening. This means we have a good chance of completely covering the roof and stopping the house getting so wet.
With only a quarter of the roof covered inside the house is still a flood.
Our plan is to cover the south east side of the roof, then the north west, south west, north middle and south middle. We can use Gordon’s roof ladder on the north face but on the south face we’ll have to screw lengths of timber to the rafters to create ladders.
Pete is screwing on timber so he can climb the south roof. Both faces of the east roof are covered and the north west face tarpaulin can be seen overhanging the top of the roof.At first we pull the tarpaulin on as best we can, then assess if it needs to be pulled up or down the roof so it overrhangs the eaves just right.Molly is screwing on lengths of OSB to hold down the tarpaulin…and, up a long ladder, so is Pete..Molly is now right on top of the roof, safe and secure on the roof ladder, fixing on the middle section of tarpaulin.Finishing off the north face of the roof…and the south face.Now that the roof is protected form the rain Molly can sweep the water off the mezzanine…and out of the house.We are tired but very happy that both our buildings are now protected from the rain.
There has been some rain this morning but we are quite relaxed about it because we managed to get the tarpaulins up yesterday. The forecast is quite good again so we are going to work on the detail for the bottom of the mega-shed roof.
We need to attach short vertical batons to the bottom with a double row of purlins and another baton running perpendicular, with a small gap between the main vertical batons. In this gap we attach a strip of OSB on top of which the rainproof membrane will lie.
To help us make sure we are understanding how to do this right we are checking it out on our work table.The batons have been nailed in place and the purlins are screwed through the batons into the rafters with 150mm hexagonal headed screws.Once the strip of OSB has been added the membrane can lie over it and hang down 100mm into the gutters (once fitted).
The point of this detail is to ensure good run off for any water that gets past the tin outer roof.
The light is fading fast so we are calling it a day. We’ve made progress this week but still no scaffolding or roof, that said we are much more relaxed about the situation now the rain can’t get in the house.
The leaves have already fallen and been replaced by water droplets on the branches.It’s been so wet, perfect for mushrooms.When Molly was at pilates at the community hall, Pete drove up to Duncan Bann’s Monument. It was a clear night with the moon and the stars out.
By Pete Ross
After years of living in a beautiful Victorian flat in Edinburgh, Molly and I have decided to sell up and build our new house ourselves in Argyll, Scotland. We have called it Gar Bothan which is Gaelic for warm bothy or cottage or hovel!!!!
It was so good to WhatsApp chat the other night, and looks like you have made a really good job with the coverings. The photos of the autumn changes you are experiencing are lovely.
Hi Nicky. We’re so looking forward to you coming up here and spending some time together, weather dependent on what we can do but good food, good chat and good times guaranteed. 😁💕
It was so good to WhatsApp chat the other night, and looks like you have made a really good job with the coverings. The photos of the autumn changes you are experiencing are lovely.
Hi Nicky. We’re so looking forward to you coming up here and spending some time together, weather dependent on what we can do but good food, good chat and good times guaranteed. 😁💕