Tuesday April 10, First day of Insulation Also

It was a busy day on Tuesday with large crew of Roofers and the spray foam insulation team also began work.  Johnnie Brown of ENERGY MASTERS and Ryan had a large trailer with lots of chemicals.

Getting this spray insulation done in the house to totally close off the envelope and seal all air leaks is going to be the biggest improvement to the energy efficiency of the house. 

Ryan had to totally suit up with a gas mask to try to keep the foam from sticking to him.  Looks like he missed his ear.  He got really hot up in that attic.

This is a great picture of the spray foam that has stuck to the attic rafters and the roof decking.  It is covering the 2x6 rafters entirely and down over the ends so that no thermal transfer can occur from the OSB or Metal Roof to the air in the envelope.  

You can't even see the bottom edges of the rafters.

This is the Solar Tub over the second bath.

The foam expands in about the first three seconds then doesn't expand any more.  This layer is applied to the Therma Ply backing which isn't much more than cardboard but it still allows the foam to build a 4-5 inch wall and drop down and cover the framing as well at the top of the wall.  This is still above the ceiling level.

Ryan did a good job of applying the foam so that it expanded to the right depth and even created a pretty pattern....not that anyone will see it but then you are looking at it aren't you?

Showing the thickness of the foam...which is at least 4.5 inches on this exterior wall over the back porch.

Ryan in his space suit.  I expected the chemicals to have a strong smell but they didn't.  Ryan also had to balance across the framing since there wasn't any decking on the attic. 

Notice on the top ridge, the foam not only covers the 2x6 boards (5.5 inches) but is also covering the bottom of the ridge board to what looks like about a depth of 2 to 3 inches.  Total foam: 8 inches.

On this picture you can see the outline of the rafters that have their bottom edges covered. 

Tuesday April 10, 2012 4th day of Roofing

On Monday, the Roofers didn't show as promised.  Today five Roofers showed up and the one guy that seemed to be new on Friday was not on the crew.  Maybe it just got too hot for him on that roof in one way or the other.  They began putting on the ridge cap.  I thought it wouldn't take them long but they worked all day finishing up.

The cracks at the corners aren't as obvious from the ground.

Looks good.  I am happy with the rock and metal roof.  Look how the ridges even match from one slope to the other.  I noticed that because in sewing, the pattern should match but I didn't think they worried about that in metal roofs.

East side.  My little Samsung camera is beginning to show some wear since the cover lens doesn't always open fully now.  I have taken almost all the pictures in the blog with this wonderful little camera.  Just cost about $200 but what a bargain and I just slip it into my pocket and go.

Back of house ... still have the trash piles.  But the roof looks good!

Probably isn't a good thing I can zoom in and look closely at the crack on the soffit.  It is sitting right on the ridge of the roof.  I don't know what else they could have done.  They added the extra strip of metal above it.  I will ask the Framers...any suggestions out there?

Same issue with the little gable.  Now whenever you guys come to my house, all you will be looking for are these cracks.   Consider it a design element! 

Walking the ridge putting on the cap.

I wouldn't do this job!

Friday, April 6, 2012 3rd day of Roofing

It really got hot yesterday for the Roofers late in the day.  It is interesting that in all the crews there seems to be one guy who 1. speaks English, 2. is the leader of the crew and 3. knows his job very well and is very skilled.  The rest of the crew would be totally lost with out this lead craftsman.  I found that to be true with the Foundation Forms, Concrete Finishers, Masons, Framers, Soffitt Crew and now with the Roofers.

The guy at the bottom is the lead and the top guy wasn't on the crew the first two days.  I noticed a definite tenson with much yelling from the lead guy today.  The second guy didn't seem to do things the right way as the other guy had on Wed and Thurs.  Made me nervous since they are sitting right on the edge of the roof.

Notice the lead is just supporting himself with the clamp on the little 2 inch ridge.

Now he is turned towards the edge and leaning down....yikes!

On this picture I noticed the wide gap where the facia met the roof had not been covered up.

This won't do.  I asked the lead to try to cover it up better..we'll see if they do a better job.

Getting hot on that roof.

This valley looks a little better but still not smooth like the other ones.  

Yes, a little relief from Roofing..Bluebonnets are just everywhere and the biggest mounds of them I can remember seeing.  The recent rains have been wonderful for the wildflowers in Central Texas.

They did a good job on the SUN Tube and the valley next to it.  I love these SUN Tubes.  They give so much light into the baths and no heat!

Valley on other side of little gable..looks smooth.

They did a good job of cleaning up the trash around the house...anybody want a tub?  just one little hole.

Thursday April 5 2nd day of Roofing

First day of roofing was slow but things began to move on the second day.

They were able to get both sides of the garage completed and started on the back porch.  Notice how much trash is still around the house.  I keep burning and putting in the dumpster and it just seems to grow....lots of waste!

This is the little gavle and I am concerned about the cracks right below the facia.  Roofer says it is the framer's fault.  Framer says Roofer should be able to cover it up.  We will see.  

Roofers have moved to the East side of the house.  Notice how close to the edge the guy is....and no safety line.

He as least had the stop block nailed to the roof..of course, now I have nail holes in the OSB/tar paper.

These guys were slipping and sliding around on the metal and the tar paper with just the clamps to catch them.

Front of the house at the end of the day.

East side finished

Back of house...trash still there and looks like another day will be required.

Wednesday April 04, 2012 Roofing Starts

Not much going on since the Home Tour...doing some cleanup and trying to get the deadbolts in the doors and trying to figure out how to put in the Great Stuff Insulation without it spreading all over the windows.  I made a mess with the garage windows and one of the things I learned is don't let it set up too long.  Too short a period and it is sticky and too long, it becomes rock-like.  I tried taping first with blue painters tape but that just tears when the foam has set.

I asked the "experts" at Home Depot and their suggestion is, "It just sticks to everything, if you find out how to get it off the windows or to keep it from sticking, let us know."  That was a lot of help.  Any suggestions out there?

I tried Acetone and a product called Lift Off and WD-40 on the dried-on foam and nothing is easy..most still leave a rough surface.  I am afraid to damage the finish on the fiberglass so I am being cautious about what I use.

I am trying now to tape the window frame first with some strong tape, spray the cracks, let the foam expand for about 10 minutes.  When it starts to harden and has kind of a crust on it, pull the tape off the window and the foam sticks to the tape and breaks at the edge of the window and the extra comes off.  The edge is clean.  Even at this stage, don't touch the foam because it will still stick to you and is terrible to get off.  I just drop the tape and foam attached to it on the floor which is covered with DOW Blue Board.  I have found that the foam will pop right off the DOW Board once it has dried.

If I could just cover the windows with DOW Board, that would be the solution to the sticking issue---but too much trouble and is expensive.

The metal roof installation began today.

This truck bed was the panel forming station for the metal roof.  The guy looks like he is just loafing but he is figuring all the lengths and size of the standing seams and widths to be built.

The metal panels just roll off these rolls and are formed by the folding machine at about 1 foot every 2 seconds once it gets rolling.

The valleys and peaks were previously formed and appeared to be out of a thicker metal than the panels.

They set up a track to keep the panels from bending as they come off the machine.

Once the length was cut, they were laid by length on supports on the ground...again they were careful not to bend the panels.

Lots and lots of clips since they seem to screw the edge of the panel on one side then overlap the next panel and lock it in so the clips don't show.

Just as they had the drip edge on and started putting in the valleys, they realized they didn't have a square to make sure the lines were straight...so off they went to the hardware store to purchase one...you would think they would have the tools they need when they arrive at a  job

The panels are stacking up...but still no square so they can go to work...I think they stopped for lunch --at 10am????

Work begins as can be seen on the Garage roof.  

These two guys were on the corner of the Garage roof--with no safety ropes.  The one guy was bracing himself on the vice clamp.  I would not have trusted it.  I asked him if he had ever fallen and he said, "Yeah, just a few weeks ago I slid off a roof and broke the Achilles tendon on the back of my foot."  The other guy is screwing in the clips on the next panel.

As seems to be usual, the guy on the ground who is doing the supplying of the materials (just as in the masonry work) kept things moving and was a great worker.  The crew is now over the back porch and making good progress but it was hot on that roof and about 4pm-hottest part of the day.

One thing I noticed they did was to make the last crimp at the valley on the roof to the exact measurements to meet the center of the valley.  This guy was doing it very efficiently and accurately...I guess anyway - as far as I could see from the ground.  The pipe sticking up is the pipe for the wood stove.

Moving on up the roof.  I can see some what is called "oil canning" or rippling in the panels but it is a metal roof and I don't mind it at all.  I like the fact the sun heat is being reflected, rainwater will slide cleanly off and it is durable and will withstand damage from hail.  I even find the pattern of the ridges interesting and artistic...

OK time for me to go home..I am getting a little strange.