I have to say that I admire those of you who post daily to your blogs. I think have determined that my just isn’t that interesting. (of course we all know that isn’t true) I really do have a hard time coming up with stuff to write about. I mean come on, how many times can I tell you that this rain is slowly killing me. Yes, we are up to day 26, with no end in sight. My unofficial rain gage (a bucket on the back patio) shows about 6-7 inches since Saturday.
Now with 26 straight days of rain and an older house we all know that something has to go wrong. Yesterday I was putting on my coat to go back to work I noticed that there was this bubble in the wall where the ceiling meets the wall. That really can’t be good. Upon further investigation I realized that indeed the roof is leaking and the bubble is full of water. Fortunately, D was also home for lunch. So the following is how the next hour played out.
D: no that isn’t full of water.
L: oh yes it is!! Feel it.
D: ok fine.
D then gets a flashlight and climbs up on a ladder that is on top of a workbench to peer inside the attic to spot any leaks. (all this while in his work clothes)
Then a conversation ensues about who we should call to assist us with this little predicament. We try the church handyman, Chuck, but he is gone for the day. D’s dad is in Kansas, my dad and step-dad are at work. I walk to the neighbor’s house, but he is in Sweden. This means it is up to D and I.
D gets up on the roof and frankly our roof is crap. The gutters and valleys are covered in pine needles, the back side is covered in moss and the flashing around the chimney is not that great. D bounces around on the roof trying to find any soft spots. There aren’t any major ones. L then proceeds to climb onto the roof and do the same bouncing dance. We then manage to wrap a tarp around our chimney. Did I mention it was raining at the time? Shocking!
D then cleans out the remaining gutters and gets off the roof. Doesn’t this sound like fun?
So here is the good news. When I got home the bubble hasn’t gotten any bigger. I called my step-dad and he says put some kind of sealer on it. Ok, sounds good. I then call my dad. Dad says, put some kind of sealer on it. Dad says it sounds like a flashing issue, but he can’t come help us this weekend and it really is a dry weather project. But it isn’t supposed to stop raining any time soon!!!!
Dad also says to cut the bubble open to let the water out. D does so and the water that comes out smells soooo bad. Like rotting cardboard. So now we will have to replace the flashing around the chimney and drywall in our living room! If it isn’t one thing it is another.
Last night we made a pilgrimage to the local "mega home improvement store" and lucky for us they have just the thing! Wet application roofing sealant!!!! $5 later we walked out of MHIS happy campers. I’ll let you know next week if this all mighty sealant works!
Wish me luck.