Well, maybe not that kind of fun, but not bad, nonetheless.
The re-roofing of twc central (RW) is progressing. Minor setback. Make a short story long(er):
Installing metal panels over the existing asphalt shingles: use 1″x4″ purlins over the shingles, screwed into the deck and joists below, metal panels installed on the purlins.
OK, no biggie, except… 1x4s at local hardware-cum-mini-lumber yard, or even at Lowes: WTF?!? That much?!? Nuh-uh, baby. Further away than local hardware-cum-mini-lumber yard store but closer than Lowes “fell off the back of a truck lumber yard”: reasonable, but… The store was way low on 1x4s but had a pot load of 10′ 2x4s for $2 each. Rip ’em down the middle? Nominal 1x4s. Close enough. Bought a passel of ’em; brought ’em home and began ripping ’em up.
Table saw died. *sigh* OK, replaced table saw (much faster than repairing the old one, although I have that in my hip pocket for a later mini-project: repair and sell) and began ripping again. Smooth move. I’m still under the cost of 1x4s at Lowes (let alone the “cat’s back-riding” local hardware-cum-mini-lumber yard) and have replaced a slowly-decaying power tool.
Still to go: installing the safety anchors (which I will be leaving on the roof permanently), the purlins and then the steel. Working on the first two on that list today, until the heat drives me off the roof.
The most fun thing in all this, so far, is that I’ve not done anything quite this physically demanding for the better part of two decades, and while I have the typical muscle aches–and my constant “Olde Pharte’s joint aches, etc.–to contend with, so far the pain’s all of the good kind: I can actually feel the good I’m doing myself. Like it.
Most UNfun thing so far: the buckets of sweat. Oh, it’s not all that bad in some ways, but having a puddle literally pour out of my sunglasses onto some work I’m doing is annoying, although at least that clears the puddle of sweat out of my field of vision. *heh* Playing in the attic (to replace a gas vent that needed replacing before the roofing went on) was interesting–like being in a low-ceilinged, stuffy sauna. Temps outside were 106F and in the attic? On fire, man. Going back into the unconditioned, ambient temp, garage from the attic? Felt like air conditioning. Chilly, dude.
As is Tradition for men in my family for carpentry or mechanicking work (going back as far as my paternal great-grandfather, at least), I have already offered a Blood Sacrifice to the Handyman Spirit. Yeh, yeh: I neglected to put my gloves on before moving the steel panels from where they were off-loaded to a better place for beginning to feed them up to the roof. Blood Sacrifice… What does not kill me hurts like the dickens for a while (and then fades into the background of a world of hurt *heh*), then heals… or not (so far all my past “Handyman Spirit Blood Sacrifice” wounds have healed, for various values of “heal” :-)).
Glad you’re accomplishing what you set out to do. Be careful to monitor your intake of fluids and don’t get too cocky about thinking you are not affected by the heat. I’ve found that working in confined areas of extreme heat, like inside the cabin of a car to make a key or remove and replace an ignition…about 20 minutes is a real limit. After that your eyes go fuzzy as does your thinking ability. Heat stroke is a real possibility so if you ever stop sweating stop and get some cool air, water and take the rest of the day off.
Oh, yeh, TF! I’ve spent about 30 minutes in the oven for every hour off, so far. Makes for slow going, but my Wonder Woman insists I not kill myself. Go figure. *heh* “Back in the day” (as they say)–oh, 40 years or so ago *heh*–I can recall a summer construction job, between a couple of years of college, manually digging for short plumbing runs on White Sands Missile Range. Morning and afternoon: set out with a five gallon container of water and expected to empty each one by the end of the day. Couldn’t do that anymore. 🙂 I’m just glad it’s still at the enjoyable stage. During my downtimes while still in prep for the metal installation, I keep digging deeper into construction recommendations for this kind of metal roofing from the pros who do it all the time, and I’ve picked the brains of the guy at the “fell off the back of a truck (not really; just priced that way :-)) lumber yard” who does a lot of metal roofing installations–including all the houses (mostly rentals) he owns. Fun learning “insider” tricks and tips. I like learning stuff.