leak shows up long after the rains have stopped as a rather interesting,
rust colored stain against the white plaster. And then of course when
it is actually raining, there are those not-so-small streams of water
pouring from the ceiling or running down walls and across the floor.
To get to my roof, first you have to go into my house - carrying your
tools and buckets of cement for repair - up my stairs, past my bedroom,
into the back room, step up on a wooden chair, then crawl over a small
cement sink and out a small 30 x 30 (or so) window, brushing millipedes,
snails and spiders aside. It is no easy trick getting through that
window either: any way you fold yourself has its own problems and
pains. Then you can climb up on the roof using the neighbors concrete
wall as a step. Once on the roof you must tread very carefully, trying
to put your weight on the thickest part of the roof tiles, which are
generally old and brittle since I told the Bosnians to go ahead and use
the old tiles when they redid my roof three years ago. So, every time I
climb up there to try and put cement or mastic or rubber sheeting over
leaks that I have found, I end up breaking another tile or two and
adding to my work and risk of future failure. (And, of course, this is
just the backside of the roof - - the frontside, with its own problems,
is too steep for me to contemplate repair.)
As always, Slavko has been an incredible friend, helping to locate and
review my problems, come up with creative solutions, list the supplies I
will need for repair and even drive me to the hardware store to pick
them up. Of course, as he pointed out, the right answer is to redo the
roof, again.
My plan is much simpler than that, however, and a great deal cheaper.
(And I think he suspects it.) What I want to do is spread some cement
around, call it good, and get the heck out of here before the late
autumn rains start. Then it will be 6 - 9 months before I have to face
this again!
4 comments:
I only wish I was there to help you.
Although being on that roof would scare the heck out anyone. Please be careful.
Maybe the reason why the Bosnians did a lackluster job on your roof was because they were scared out of their minds up there.
chaz
didn't you learn anything from Clear Lake, tarp and tires made do for many years there, though the neighbors might not like it...
To Chaz: this work is much easier than the stuff you are dealing with!
To Clear Lake: ys, i did. that's pretty much what i'm doing, if you look closely. course i am using cement instead of tires and the plastic i'm using costs an arm and a leg but believe me its the same principle and i'm only hoping it works as well as at Clear a!!!!!!
p.s. Clear Lake - i only have a couple of neighbors that can see the back roof of my house. that's where the language barrier comes in handy. i don't hear any bitching from them.
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