Lessons Learned

Fall is coming.

The grassy areas are gradually turning a soft tan-gold. Pike's Peak, far off in the distance, doesn't wear its familiar cap of snow yet...but it won't be long. Here and there, a tree begins to mix gold in with its customary green.
Air's cool, with a hint of crispness.

I'm not sure if I would have put it all together...if I wasn't spending so much time de-shingling twenty or so feet up in the air.

The garage's west roof is about 2/3 clean. Why are we yanking the shingles OFF, rather than just shingling over them? Easy. Code says you can only have two layers...and we've got those already. That means everything comes OFF before the new stuff comes ON.

Sigh.

I've noticed some other things:

*The boards near the roof's peak have big holes and gaps -- enough to make you tremble when realizing you've been tromping over them! I thought these were the sign of a sloppy carpenter back in the 1960s, who covered up his hastiness with paper and shingles. He thought no one would ever know -- but forty years later, we found out.
THEN I talked to my dad, who tells me not only was that typical of old-time woodworkers...but the folks' 200-year-old barn shows the same thing! Turns out these gaps were meant to keep the roof flexible and give it what Dad calls "breathing room."
I guess you just make sure you don't walk anywhere near the peak!

*The power of two-- The same carpenter used a duet of nails at shingle joins, over and over. I can't budge both, even with a pry bar, unless I really work at it. On the other hand, if one nail is a little loose, it's a snap to pull it out. Then I can easily take out the second nail next to it.
Hmm...marriage. If I stand firm by Dave, the two of us can stand up to a lot more than if we try to handle things separately.

Oh, and I also learned that if you slide down a roof...you get a nail in the butt. Ouch.


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From the "Stupidity is Not Rewarded" Department:

The New Yorker who spends hundreds of dollars EACH WEEK on lottery tickets...and is cheezed off when his friend the doorman wins instead:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/nyregion/22super.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=lottery&st=cse&oref=slogin

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