Good-buy, VW

A nice man Michael found on ebay bought his VW. We hadn’t even tried to start it for years. We have so many projects that take priority over this cute, but needy car. I have fond memories of the Rabbit – I bought my first Christmas tree in it and drove it home to Fell’s Point with the top down... in the snow. Michael also has fond memories, but the only one I remember is that he was struck by lightning in it. I think that explains the electrical issues with the car, but that’s a story for another time.

The gent that bought it has the time and patience to get it back into fighting shape. After towing it away, he stopped by the following weekend to tell us that he got it started on the first try. I thought Michael was going to snatch the keys from him on the spot. He didn’t, and now we’re focused on our list of projects – one project shorter!

Raise the Roof

...and other "weekend" projects that took two months to complete.

We finished the roof in about six million not-so-easy steps literally consulting multiple books while on top of the house. I’ve highlighted the top 10 here.

1 & 2: We both worked to get the multiple layers of shingles off, and then the plywood. Demolition really is the most fun part, but this one made me nervous – what if we couldn’t put it back together?

3: We passed the point of no return when we got the plywood off. This picture was taken from inside looking out. We realized that this addition was certainly not to code with sistered 2 x 4s holding up the structure.

4: We fixed that by adding 2 x 12s and now this is probably the most sturdy part of the entire roof.

5: The view from the ground was scary.

6: But the view to the ground with all of the debris was worse.

7: Pretty new plywood was the foundation for our new roof.

8: And to be sure it stays nice and dry, we added ice and water shield. It’s a low slope roof and we over-engineered it. Quite proudly, I should add.

9: The shingles were the most fun part. We were able to match the rest of the roof and you can’t even tell we were up there. Well, except for the very important fact that the roof no longer leaks into the house.

10: We finished late one cold night. This photo shows our handiwork of adding in a light tube over the shower.

There is finish work still to be done and insulation to add on the inside, but the bulk of work on the roof was done just in time for winter. The good news is that we were able to do the project without damage to the house or ourselves.

The bad news? We now think we can do anything. A little fear in home renovation is a good thing, and we've lost it... at least until the next big project.