In Which There Is a Man Up on the Roof!

We had a big rainstorm about a week ago that brought down a few tree limbs in the yard, and it also ripped several of the gutter covers off the roof and tossed them down onto the deck.

My husband has been plotting and scheming to replace those old covers anyway, so he took the opportunity to run into Home Depot and purchase 15 new ones, each about three feet long and six inches wide, for a total outlay of about $31.

We've been out running around a lot lately, seeing the foliage colors. But finally on Saturday, we were home. Rain was expected later in the afternoon, but around mid-morning, we made our way to the rear roof, accompanied by two sizes of ladders, 15 new gutter toppers, and an assorted miscellany of other items.

My husband was job foreman and chief roof hand. I was ground crew, ladder holder, and chief step-and-fetch girl. He climbed up on the roof and removed the remaining gutter covers, then swept the leaves off the roof and out of the gutters.

The main gutter attaches to a bend in a pipe at the corner of the house. From there, another pipe carries the drainage water down along the side of the house. There was a blockage at the bend in the pipe at the top, which he cleverly removed with the septic snake.

Once the whole system was clear, he began the task of attaching the new gutter toppers. Each piece snaps neatly into place if you do it right, but the old gutter had some uneven spots, which complicated matters a bit in some areas.

And my husband reflected that it was easier to snap the covers into place when standing near the top of the ladder facing the roof. (Alas, neither ladder is quite tall enough to reach ALL of the roof this way.) Less so when standing ON the roof, bending over, and trying to slide them into place with his thumbs.

In the end, it was work that took about three hours total. It was a bit tedious being ground crew. There were tasks that I had hoped to get to around the house, but couldn't, because I could not leave my post. I had a book with me, but never really got to read much of it because I was stepping and fetching.

My husband was left with exhausted knees from bending over, and sore thumbs from snapping gutter covers into place. But in the end, everything that needed to be done did get done. And now we are weather-worthy and ready to roll again, thanks to the man up on the roof! :-)

The soundtrack: The Drifters, with Up On the Roof.