10 - Roofing

After we received a point of contact from one of the concrete guys for a roofing team, we had a plan to get the roof completed.  We had all the roof sheathing and felt rolls on hand.  The 4x8 foot, 5/8 inch thick, 70-pound Advantech sounded less than exciting for just my wife an I to try and hoist up onto the roof with a 12/12 pitch (a 45 degree slope).  I think the roof needed about 30 sheets of Advantech to cover it, give or take one or two.  We were really relieved that we were able to get a roofing team lined up--this project seemed a bit more than my wife and I could handle by ourselves.

We had actually called Hammond Lumber, before we even started on the wall framing, to pre-order a roof kit--but we didn't set a firm delivery date.  Once we got the roofer lined up, we called Hammond Lumber and set the deliver for the day before roofing started.  The roof kit came bundled with all the trimmings: 26 panels of 29-gauge Master Rib at 18-1/2 feet long by 3 feet wide, screws, edge trim, rake trim, roof cap, and closure vents.

The roofing crew showed up around 8am and immediately began working.  Tim (the roofer) had a six-man crew: four on the roof, a man on the saw, and a ground guy to move material up to the crew;  that last guy was the one with the concrete crew who put us into contact with the roofer.  Keep in mind, this crew showed up on a Saturday!  They started cutting and installing sheathing.  First one side, and then the other was done, then they rolled out and installed the felt.  The roofing crew was efficient, motivated, and professional--we were extremely impressed with their work and it was obvious they were very experienced at their jobs.

By 6pm, the entire roof was covered by Advantech and one side was coated in felt.  It's usually not that hot in Maine, but the day the roofing crew came, it was clear, blue, and a very warm day...it was in the high 80s.  I bet that up on that roof, it probably felt hotter. They worked from 8am until 6pm Saturday without even really breaking for lunch.  The crew slammed sports drinks and water all day.  We cooked brisket and sausage, brought up from Texas by my dad, and a few of them ate it up between tasks, but they didn't stop for more than 5-10 minutes.  

After 10 hours, the crew called it quits and promised to return in the morning on Sunday to finish up. They were back on site at 9am Sunday, and rolled out the felt on the second half of the roof while the guy on the saw started pre-drilling metal roof panels--this is key because every line of screws runs straight across the roof.

After the first side, they knocked out the next one and installed the vents, ridge cap, and the trim.  They finished up around 1pm and loaded up all the ladders and gear they brought and left the site.  The roof looks great!

All we needed to do at this point, was to finish the wall sheathing on the upstairs and install the house wrap to get the structure ready to face its first Maine winter.  We were pretty plaesed withn how it was starting to turn out.