Dan Antion

Too Busy to Bar? – #SoCS

In honor of Barb

It’s September and Linda G. Hill is tempting us with bonus points on Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Today, she gave us:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘round.’ Use it as a word by itself or find a word that contains it. Bonus points if you start and/or finish your post with it. Have fun!”

Around here, it’s beer time, but you’re upset.

“Where were you?”

“Just now? I was at Target.”

“No, last week. Where were you last week.”

“Seriously, Dan. He misses you when you don’t come around.”

“Aw, it’s nice to know he cares.”

“Corona?”

“Yes please. And, since I’m guessing he was missing me because it was my turn to pay, give the old man whatever he wants, Cheryl.”

“Well, in that case, let’s have a splash of that Bourbon.”

“Coming right up.”

“You still haven’t answered the question, where were you?”

“Up on the roof.”

“Does that mean I was too much for you to face?”

“Ha ha, with all due respect to the Drifters, no. It means that I was at a point in the project where I couldn’t stop.”

“You couldn’t throw a tarp over it and go have a beer?”

“No, I was at the top. I had all the shingles on and I had cut the slot for the ridge vent. At that point there’s no place to fasten a tarp without going through new shingles.”

“OK, I’ll let you off the hook.”

“Speaking of ‘being off the hook,’ they’re rolling through Corona pretty fast at that party out on the patio. This one and one more round are on the house and are marked as sold to you.”

“Aw, thank you so much, Cheryl.”

“Nobody drinking Bourbon down there?”

“Not from the top shelf. It’s a birthday party. The guy who organized it is only paying for beer, wine and well-drinks. I’ll be back with your ice and seltzer in a second.”

“Thanks Cheryl.”

“You’re welcome. You guys are easy compared to that party.”

“So, do I take it that the roof is done?”

“The garage roof is done. I’ll finish the workshop tomorrow, and the garden shed will take about a day.”

“Sounds like the bulk of this project is behind you.”

“Yes. The siding is on order. We’re almost ready to start that phase.”

“That’s easier, right? I mean, you will be working on the ground for a while.”

“True. I just have a little high-wire act on the two gable ends.”

“When do you plan to start?”

“I’ll start pretty soon, on weekends. I have more vacation scheduled in October.”

“Dude, you need a new travel agent.”

“Having this project done will mean lots of relaxing trips to the shop for woodworking.”

“Well, I hope this project comes in on time.”

“You boys want any food today?”

“Maybe since he’s buying, he’ll spring for a pizza.”

“He had pizza last week.”

“He wasn’t here last week.”

“Um, well, he was here on Thursday. I’ll just go put an order of wings in.”

“And leave me to deal with this? Thanks Cheryl.”

“How come you couldn’t have worked late on Thursday instead of Saturday?”

“I was still putting shingles down on Thursday.”

“So? Work is work. Shingles are shingles. What’s the difference?”

“By two o’clock, the sun heats the shingles to the point that you can’t walk on them without damaging them.”

“I think I see the problem.”

“What’s that?”

“You listened to the wrong Drifters song when you made your vacation plans – you should have opted for Under the Boardwalk.”

“At least the workshop roof was mostly in the shade. There’s a maple tree next to it.”

“Still, it doesn’t sound like you were having much fun.”

“This may sound silly, but I enjoy this kind of work. I nail down four courses of shingles and I’m twenty-two inches closer to the top.”

“Why four?”

“It’s easier to work in groups of four, because of the way you have to cut them.”

“I don’t get it.”

“The edges can’t overlap. You start with a full shingle. Then you cut six inches off the next one, then eleven inches, then seventeen inches and then you’re ready for another full shingle.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Not really. Once you have those first four down, the rest are all full shingles until you get to the edge.”

“Still, that’s a lot of hammering.”

“Hammering? Dan? Even I know how silly that sounds.”

“Oh, right, Cheryl. I guess he has a nail gun for shingles, too.”

“Of course I do.”

“The wings are almost ready. You boys want another round?”

The gallery has some progress pictures, and some of the usual suspects. WordPress has been playing fast and loose with emails again. So, if you’re missing emails from Cheryl, check out her latest post here. I was going to feature the two songs by the Drifters (here and here), but in honor of Linda’s prompt I decided to go with Billy. Happy Labor Day weekend to all of you in the US.

Cutting away a strip to serve as a ridge vent.
I only had a few hours before the roof got too hot, but I got close to the top.
These shingles warm up fast in the sun. They get as hot as 165°f (74°c) and they get very soft.
Once that tarp was removed, I had to install all the remaining shingles and the ridge vent.
“Do you have to work on the roof today?” Maddie likes her shamrock. It’s one of the toys she inherited from our previous Setters.
The garage roof is done.
It looks like I’m at the top, but I have to bring the exposed part of the shingles up high enough to be covered by the ridge vent.
The Ridge vent is capped. We’re done here.
Maddie doesn’t seem too impressed with the roof. She’s watching a flock of birds.
The worst part of working on this side, is every dropped tool bounces into the neighbor’s yard. Oh well, it’s the only place to see this half of the roof.
I had to brighten this so you could see MiMi’s eyes. I’m pretty sure she’s saying “thanks for waking me.”
Wednesday’s work was called because of a nasty heat index.
Looks like someone found the bag of peanuts tucked away in the garage.
Weatherseal, felt paper, drip-edge – we’re ready for shingles.
The workshop roof is lower, so the garage roof serves as a nice shelf.
Not many of our sunflowers came up, but the ones that did are very pretty.
Looks like a bee is checking out the sunflower.
This shot is for Paul – Kinda reminds me of “The Monsters on Maple Street” – Twilight Zone.
Here’s a close-up look at how the set of four shingles keeps the rest from overlapping at the seams.
That two-foot strip and the ridge vent is all that remains on the workshop. It will be done later today.

68 comments

    • “A round of golf” – nicely done! That would take some imagination on my part. Imagining that my ball is on the fairway, on the gree, in the hole – all things that would never happen in real life. I hope you have a great round.

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  3. A cold beer sounds like the right solution to the heat index you were working with this week. You’ve made tremendous progress. Just think, you’ll be able to sit with Maddie and look at it knowing that it is DONE. Besides being done correctly, it also looks darn good. Hope you make good progress today. Have a safe one. :-)

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    • Thanks Judy. I should be able to finish the workshop today and still have time to get to the bar for a cold one. Maddie and I have been sitting.

      I hope you have a good weekend avoiding the tourist influx.

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  4. Nice job, Dan. 👏🏻I’m going to show this one to my own Mr. Fixit. He’ll be impressed. I’m so glad that part is pretty much done. But I know you have another project always just around the corner. Stay cool. Beleive it or not we have had mostly 70 degree early am temps here. The one you shared is what I am accustomed to from Louisiana, Florida and Costa Rica during their hot season. I love those songs. Tell your “buddy” if he missed you so much, he should have brought a bucket of cold ones to your house. 😉Thanks for mention. WP has been trying my patience here and there. Glad they let you back on board. Have a safe and (maybe) fun weekend.

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  5. The project looks great! A new roof is something we need to do around here too. Maybe if I show B your pictures, he’ll decide to DIY ours. Love the song choice! Bumped the Edgar Winter round and round ear worm right out of my head.

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  7. Lol. I don’t think “Thanks for waking me” is what MiMi is saying Dan!! And our Maddie and her shamrock is just too cute. Lookit that face! I would have to sit down and love her for the next hour.

    The roof looks grand! And if there were some catastrophic event (God forbid!), that roof ain’t going anywhere!! Not quite to the finish line, but close. Hope you can complete this project over the weekend and still find time for some fun with your family.

    The Editor took some great shots. Sunflowers are very pretty, especially like the photo with the bee!

    Wishing you a safe, fun, and at least partly relaxing weekend. Hope your friend is just fine.
    🔹 Ginger 🔹

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    • Thanks Ginger. The roof is now done. I’m heading over to conduct some research for next week’s post 😏

      MiMi did file a correction, but I can’t print it.

      The Editor is pretty good behind the camera. She’s been trying to avoid photos of my butt (but it’s a big target). Most of the photos today were hers, accept the ones I took on the roof with my phone.

      The real weekend had begun. I hope you’re enjoying yours.

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    • Thanks. My wife asked the same question. Well drinks are anything made without specifying a brand. The bartender just uses what’s at the mixing station, usually lower quality liquor. I guess you girls don’t/didn’t hang around bars much (or you had better taste).

      Roof is done. I’m safe on the ground.

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    • I prefer ladder jacks, but there’s no place to put them. The straight ladder is fine. The A-frame (Little Giant) wants to lean sideways. If you look close, it’s chained to the side of the garage. I could never justify the expense of pump-jacks. I’ve only ever used this stuff twice, sifting the house and on this project.

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  10. You know what I have in my head? Leon Russel singing ‘ Up on a tightwire’! Maddie is such a pretty girl, but MiMi is adorable! I love how her tail is curled around her. Ridge vents….we have one in our roof. They are really a good thing?

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    • Thanks Lois – I love that song. I’ve used it here before. MiMi really is a cutie, but I think she was annoyed.

      Ridge vents are a good thing, as long as there’s air coming in through the soffit (or a vent) to let the hot air escape.

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  11. Bonus points for mentioning “Up on the Roof” — one of my favourite songs! Ugh, all the shingles in this post remind me that once the firewood is done, there’s a building here that needs new shingles this year. Blech, work — it just never ends. :P

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    • I’m glad you like that song. Sorry about the reminder. I hope you have cooler weather (or other people doing the work). This was hard work but it feels good now that it’s done.

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  15. Applesauce, Dan. Such a gigantic amount of work! I really hope your going to give yourself a labor free Labor Day. Terrific collection of pictures. I couldn’t help chuckling about the tools bouncing into the neighbor’s yard — but I know… what a pain. Hugs.

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  17. The roof looks great! It’ll be nice knowing you won’t be complaining about the shoddy work the roofers did later, won’t it? Good job!
    I’m visual, so I like the photos. Reading the math lost me.
    Maddie <3 I reckon she gets to hang out in the yard while you work, and I bet there's always somethin interesting for doggo sniffin and regard.
    Lovely sunflowers! You'd think with a name like sunflower they'd appreciate a summer as hot as this one, but not so much.
    I hope you've got time for a cold beer today :)

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    • Thanks. I was off the roof by 1:00 and at the bar by 2:15 🙂

      Maddie doesn’t hang out when I’m working. She doesn’t understand how we’re both outside but not sitting.

      We planted tons of sunflowers. These are the only ones that grew, but they are making themselves known.

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  18. Woohoo, Dan. You’ve made huge progress since the last update I caught!
    I didn’t know about damaging the shingles in the heat. I figured the shingles got pretty hot though and I’m always a bit in awe of the roofers who work in the summer heat. What a tough job!
    Now I’m starting to wonder how much damage they are actually causing on the roof they are fixing.

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    • Thanks Joanne. You have to be really careful when it’s this hot. The shingles get soft and will tear.

      I am officially off that building. I still have to go over the shed roof, but it’s small, and short.

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  19. I loved this, Dan. I could go round and round 🙂 about the Drifter’s songs. The best! You are doing a fabulous job on the roof. Our heat waves, especially last week, haven’t helped. Worst in years.

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  20. Great roof ! I put a roof on once . During the first rain afterward my lovely wife screeched from the center of inside our house : ” There’s a leak ! She had a closet door open and there were drops of water on the floor . My heart sank for a few seconds , but then I noticed that her hair was wet .
    ” Were you out in the rain ? ” Yes , she was , and the drops were from her hair . ( Heart floated to the surface again.)
    Anyhow , I admire roofers . Please don’t mix the Coronas and the walking on your roof , though .

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    • Thanks Paul. The Drifters has some good songs. That one has been stuck in my head all summer. The hammer pic was an accident. I was fumbling with my phone when I took it. A little cropping and straightening and ta-da! I just hope it ends better for me 😏

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  23. Now that is some serious hard work you’re doing. At home, I was the one who would usually do all the ceiling cleaning because I was a teenager, plus I am skinny so I can climb up and down in no time. Do you do this annually? or only when the roof needs repair?

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