If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably already seen a couple sneak-peeks of the roof progress.  We’re making headway on the exterior face-lift and one of the things we’ve recently checked off the list is the new roof.

 

 

I mentioned our plan for a new roof here and we are thrilled that it’s finally come to fruition!

 

 

Before the new roof could be put on, we had to remove the old asphalt shingles and replace wood decking, fascias, and soffits where it had rotted in some areas over the years.

 

 

Also, due to the degradation of the original corbels, the outer edge of the roof line decking was also refortified and replaced.

 

 

Once all that was done, it was time for the new Galvalume roof to be put on.

 

 

 

Ratliff Builders were hired to do the installation.

 

 

The dual pitch of the roof added a little more complexity to the project, and they handled it well.

 

 

 

 

Here is the cute little roof covering on top of the dining room bay window.

 

Looking south, the East bedroom dormer pokes out of the roof-line.

 

 

The seam fasteners of this type of roof are raised about an inch above the roof surface, and this smooth continuous crimped ridge extends from top to bottom. There are no nail or screw holes on the surface of this type of roof, so no holes are present which are commonly moisture leak paths in traditional metal roofs.

 

 

 I was curious to know if the guys found any evidence of what the original roofing material was when up working in the attic and on the roof.  For example, I know that the Harrisburg High School used to have a slate roof because slate tiles can be found in its attic.

 

But knowing that the top level of the house at Hannah’s Hill likely burnt off sometime before the 1930s, and its roof likely completely replaced then, it makes sense that they didn’t find any old roofing material when up there working.

 

Going back through some old photos, though, I found that the ‘Little House’ was topped in French method asphalt shingles.

 

 

The French style asphalt shingles were made to imitate a slate roof of a chateaux.

 

 

 

If you squint and look closely, I see that the ‘Big House’ once had French style asphalt shingles in the 1960s too, although we’ll never know if these were also the original roofing material used in the very early 1900s when the house was first built.

 

 

 

Today, the metal roof feels right at home and I hope it will last a lifetime.

 

 

I hope you’re having a wonderful fall!

I’ll leave you with Blaine’s latest photo of southern Illinois he snapped when he was up working on the house last week.