One of the first items on the to-do list was to fix the chimney and roof. After a hundred years of wear and tear, it had started to crumble. And by crumble, I mean the top quarter had fallen down in a wind storm and right through the roof. Even before we closed, Kevin got up there and did a light patch with some rolled roofing to keep out the worst of the rain.
But this hole had made an excellent front door for the raccoons, which they didn’t seem to want to give up. They ate right through it. So our next move was to leave the radio blasting all night in hopes of relocating them.
Memorial Day weekend Kevin started at the top removing the chimney down to the roofline, while I caught bricks from the ground and stacked them for ‘later use’. Many of the bricks were so loose all he had to do was pick them off the top – no hammer or prying required.
Once we got it level with the roof, he worked for a couple hours tearing out old rotted wood and shingles, patching with heavy plywood, tar paper and roofing. Great work, right?
Here’s what we found the next weekend. They tenaciously tried to get back in. Another round with tar paper, roofing AND wire mesh
– I’ll let you know next week how this goes….