This was the most productive day yet, even though the weather has remained cold (20-32 degrees) and windy.
Before the contractor arrived, Gretchen and I surveyed the work area and discussed how we might best accomplish what was needed, so there would be no omissions on the contractor’s part.
Now that the kitchen ceiling has been removed, it was possible to see additional storm damage by looking up at the underside of the roof. There were broken and punctured sheathing panels and a broken standpipe.
It also looks like the lighting fixtures installed by the original builder were substandard.
Going outside and looking up the slope of the roof, I discovered that the shingle removing activity had left hundreds of nail heads protruding from sheathing all over the roof.
I reviewed our discoveries with the contractor and it seemed that he and his men had not noticed much except the protruding nails. I got his agreement to handle all of the things we had noticed, before continuing to apply tarpaper and installing the skylight.
Gretchen and I left them working away and went to get new recessed ceiling lights. By the time we returned in the late afternoon, the roof has been covered with tarpaper, the skylight vault was framed in, and the broken standpipe had been repaired. They had even covered the roof with plastic against the possibility of rain.
We didn’t discover that the skylight was still not installed until after they had driven away. That got us looking at our task lists again to see if the project was on schedule.
There are a lot of tasks left which require the use of a man-lift and I am not sure that the contractor has given them the priority required. It seemed like some work was started in the kitchen when all hands should have been working on the roof.
As Gretchen suggests, the freezing weather and wind make kitchen tasks seem more attractive than working on the roof. I will suggest that there will be plenty of time to work on the kitchen when the roof is completed.
We will address that on Saturday morning by reviewing the remaining tasks and what resources he requires to finish them. If I let this contractor do the math, I think he will concentrate on roofing tasks and not let any of his men get diverted into working in the kitchen. He still has a chance of completing the roof while he has the man-lift, if he stays focused.
We will see if we can make that happen…