A Roof for Marse

A couple weekends ago, Elijah and I went and helped our friend Marse put a metal roof on his new 16x20’ shop. I’ve helped install a number of metal roofs over the years, including those on my own house and outbuildings, and there are things about doing it that I really enjoy, and other things not so much. One of the main variables is always the “pitch”, or how steep the roof is. This is usually measured in inches of “rise” per “running” (or horizontal) foot- for example, Marse’s roof (and our own house roof) has a 10/12 pitch, meaning for every 12” horizontally, the roof rises 10”. Roofs this steep are difficult to hang on to, and you can’t easily stand on the metal. Fortunately, the sides of this roof were short enough that we were able to get the sheets screwed on without too much trouble- but the most strenuous and painful part came when we had to install the ridge cap. Elijah and I did this without shoes, as our bare feet gripped the metal better than the shoes we had. I was definitely sore for a few days from straddling that peak!

Marse has some cool plans for this shop- he currently makes his living as a remodeler and contractor, but really wants to move into building historically inspired and reproduction country furniture, something he has enjoyed as a hobby for a few years. He intends to finish his shop out in a very old-school style, complete with wooden windows, lots of hand tools, and a nice work bench and shaving horse. Of course this appeals to me greatly, and I am tickled to see his dream come together! A big thanks to Ms Daisy for keeping us so well fed that day! It was an honor to get to help get the shop dried in by getting the roof on it, and as the saying goes- it’s all downhill from there! I will definitely keep you all updated with progress on Marse’s shop as I can.