The New Roof, Deck Cover Beginnings etc.

We bought a pressure washer and we spent a a bunch of hours on the roof cleaning it in preparation of sealing it. When we bought the house we knew it needed to be cleaned and sealed. We could see flaking paint on the balcony ceilings and some staining that looked like humidity - not active leaks- but still, we knew it needed to be done. So we cleaned it and have been waiting for dry weather in this not-so-dry dry season. Meanwhile Jeff started talking to people at work about their roofs and had a couple people come out to give estimates on the Danosa roof system. It is expensive but not really. With the sloped roof in San German I sealed it, I had to do it again in 2 years and each time it was about $1,200 and a lot of work on my part. The sun turns Crosscoat into shriveled up bits of elasomer or whatever the crap is. We figured this house would suck up a lot on the first round and need at least a coat a year being that it is flat. There were only 4 drain holes so Jeff did the best he could to add 4 or 5 more and they drained great - just right on our walkway or at the base of the stairs! The roofers gave us estimates to widen those holes and add pipes as well. The guarantee is 10 years so we costed it out and decided to do it! We went with Superior Roofing since they had a good presentation that showed us buildings they had done (Infotech and other commercial buildings) as well as the seguro, licenses etc. They also would move the solar hot water - something American Roofing wouldn't do. I dread having anyone work on the house because I know they won't be on time, may not even show up, will drop garbage, leave a mess, be rude and smoke or play loud music. They also won't do the job I would do. It is also a little more difficult when you don't speak fluent Spanish. I know enough but not specific words for "we want to tie that tube into this one," or "why can't the material wrap over this wall?" etc. Simple questions like "how do I secure the internet and TV wires to the new roof without voiding the warranty? Can I hammer the little nails into it?" become hard.  Anyway, the guys came out on Tuesday (rain chance 50%) and noticed how clean the roof was but blasted it some more. The guy didn't come prepared to make the drain holes, he didn't have the "order" for it and I thought "here we go again" more problems. Then they started priming with this nasty tar-like stuff, a huge rain burst came fast and black oil came down the drainpipes to kill patches of the lawn and splatter onto the side of the house. Great. How will paint ever stick to that when I repaint the house? Fortunately the rest of the job went smoothly. The guys stopped for the day. They used gas and WD-40 to clean the walls of spatters (and it worked) and planned on coming the next day. They came after the roof had a chance to dry and redid the rained on part of the primer and finished the entire roof and left. That afternoon it rained and water was sitting on the primer. In the morning I got up there and pushed the water around so it would dry faster. They arrived, on time, and started hoisting the material up!

They started cutting the material, then used a torch to melt the back and stick it to the primer. Essentially it was a lot like how they repave! The material goes up and over the false front of the house, up and over the rim and the water heater walls. Seams are staggered and not where walls join the flat roof. All the seams were painted with some kind of aluminum. The edges are cut and then torched so you don't even see any hint of it from down below and there is no way water is getting in there.

Here's how it looks! It is hard to tell, but it is shiny space-like silver. It should help keep things cool.

They even removed the solar water completely to do underneath it. It came out and went back in a couple hours but I did have a cold shower that night. They finished on Thursday after working from 8:30 am - 6:45 that night. This was really hard work and they didn't take the usual drive away lunch breaks or sit-around breaks. They staggered a quick 20 minute lunch. The solar water area looks like a solar oven where I can cook up hot dogs and eggs if I have to! (yeah, right)

This is the wall at the front of the house. The material wraps right over the top so there isn't anywhere water could get in. It is melted to the primer. They made big-ass drain holes and sealed all the edges of them. I have not seen anyone work this hard before. These 2 guys really worked, let me come up to look, did great detail stuff and were quiet and respectful. They cleaned up each day and paid attention to where they stepped, put ladders etc. The 3rd guy put in the drain holes and even re plastered the places cement chipped off (I figured I'd have to do that later). Seeing how they did it....the only way water is getting in there is if a whole seam comes unsealed (don't see how). I think it is awesome! I was skeptical and just wanted to do it myself but thanks to Jeff's investigation and pushing we have an excellent trouble-free roof and I can tackle painting the inside now! The next project is to put a deck cover over half the deck. The deck area gets a lot of wind and will be a great place to hang in July when it starts getting hot. A cover will make it a great storm watching/listening place and make a dry spot for the cats. Jeff is the handy-hubby who can do it all! This weekend he started the project after getting some design help from a friend.

This is going to make the deck usable all the time. I can see orchids and hanging baskets and a table and chairs already! And lighting. And pots of plants...

I'm still working on making the front a garden spot and it is coming along slowly. I have to figure out where to get rock. Taking out perfectly good lawn is time consuming and hard work!

It is all coming together. We've been in the house since xmas and it is almost ready for the wet season!