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Don’t know if anyone remembers that Gordon Lightfoot song but me.
Today was a strange one. There was a lot of disrupted sleep from the ground-shaking roof-wrecking thunderstorm. Water came in down the sides of the chimney and ran down the walls of the upstairs bathroom…luckily, I guess, the upstairs bathroom walls are back to the studs, so it was easy to get at and clean up. We had to rush upstairs and do an emergency wick job to direct the water into some containers and into a makeshift bathtub thrown together of cardboard and contractors’ bags. I am so fortunate that I married a sensible man.
I guess we both laid there and worried all night because he was up at the crack of dawn to take stock and get the fans running so our attic wouldn’t mold. I got up with a headache and so nauseated that I idly wondered if I might be pregnant. I dosed myself with a half-cup of coffee (because I am that much of a junkie), grabbed a bucket, and went back to bed. Three hours later, I woke up feeling punky but not sick to my stomach any longer. I had a dream that Betsy had to come walk me back home from the driveway of the local Toyota dealership. I was barefoot and in a blanket and she was very kind to me, taking me by this interesting house with Mother Goose friezes all over the top on the way back to my place. Whatever that means…
Kid had been out of the back porch painting some papier mache creations that we had laying around. She is happy as can be with some art supplies and free rein to create. When that project concluded, we cleaned some house, did some laundry (got fooled by a passing shower and so our clothes got an extra quick rinse, but now they are drying nicely) and made some bread. I have all the ingredients for strawberry jam, so the only question is whether to make freezer jam (easy — straightforward) or regular jam (somewhat more involved, but longer lasting an accomplishment).
It’s going to be salmon steaks, a salad, and fresh bread and butter for dinner. I haven’t really felt like eating anything today, but that does sound sort of good.
So, not an earth-shattering day of grand accomplishments, but a nice little house day. Considering that I thought I was coming down with the flu as day broke, I am satisfied.
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I don’t know what it means. I drive a Toyota, which is weird, if you didn’t know that. And I certainly would be willing to walk you home from anywhere, slowly, so your feet would not get cut.
Comment by Aunt B. June 15, 2009 @ 4:52 pmI drive a Toyota too, which I guess was why I was at the dealership. The Mother Goose stuff must have come from falling asleep wondering if I was pregnant.
Comment by bridgett June 15, 2009 @ 6:36 pmBridgett:
If you still have plaster and lath the mold thing is much less likely to be a problem than if you have gypsum drywall. In any event, if your homeowners is covering the roof damage, then other damages that are caused by the water should be covered too.
Comment by democommie June 16, 2009 @ 6:06 amDemo, the roof is old and needs replacing; we’re saving up the money for it, but we haven’t gotten it together yet. The storm merely was in the right direction to blow the rain up and under the slates. It happens a couple of times a summer. However, it’s good to know that the plaster/lath combo is less susceptible to mold problems than drywall. Does the drywall just get soaked and the cellulose in it feed the beasties?
Comment by bridgett June 16, 2009 @ 6:33 ambridgett:
I think the short answer to your question is a qualified “yes”. It’s probably the paper that’s the culprit, for which reason some sheetrock manufacturers are now selling paperless drywall.
If you have a slate roof and it’s leaking, you might want to look at this website and some others on slate roofing. Let me know if you have any questions.
Comment by democommie June 16, 2009 @ 7:06 pmThe first question is ….uhh…where’s the website?
Yes, I have a slate roof. Part of the hold-up is that we don’t know if we’d be money ahead to get it repaired and ride out another ten or so years on this one or to tear the roof off the sucka, so’s to speak. Few roofers around here want to fuck with slate, except to break it off with a crowbar. Plus, roofers are the screwballs of the building trades, the guys you can reliably find in a local bar at 6 am getting lit up before a long day. I don’t trust them as a class of workers and I’m too new in town to know who to call.
Comment by bridgett June 16, 2009 @ 7:16 pmbridgett:
Sorry.
Here’s one:
http://www.slateroofcentral.com/
and another:
http://www.neslate.com/
I know a couple of guys who do slate, but they aren’t travelling to the Albany area.
Roofers, hot toppers, fencing and replacement window contractors all bear watching. Slate guys tend to be a bit classier than asphalt guys. If there is a local C of C or historical society, you might check with them for who’s a good contractor.
Comment by democommie June 17, 2009 @ 2:20 pmYou have a slate roof? Lucky girl. We always stop and admire them when we’re doing field work. Of course, admiring them and actually having one are two entirely different things. Personally, I wouldn’t want a wood shake roof back on my house, even if that’s what was there originally.
Comment by listie June 18, 2009 @ 1:14 pmI’m with the paper as culprit crowd. My time servicing homeowners insurance has helped with this…it’s been hard to convince customers to go with ‘paperless’ drywall, but it is a real thing, and does limit mold issues (and others)
Comment by imfunny2 June 18, 2009 @ 8:09 pmDemo, you have provided a list of all the contractors that we have/will need. John is so suspicious of fencers that he did our fence himself just to keep from having to deal with them. My father hated hot toppers with a passion…would roar like a wounded lion and tell them to get the hell off his land when they came to the door with their “we just happen to have a little extra left over in the back of our truck” routine. The windows got replaced by the city before we took over the house as part of our “holding down the hood” grant, but they were screwballs.
The dry-out job has been complicated this week by the fact that it won’t fucking stop raining. Do something about that, will you?
Comment by bridgett June 20, 2009 @ 9:20 amPer your request: The next three days are s’posed to be our reason for living here.
Comment by democommie June 22, 2009 @ 7:04 pmSo far, so good. Should have thought to ask you earlier.
Comment by bridgett June 23, 2009 @ 7:03 am