High Flying Electrifying Adventure

Before you start, know that we are getting a new roof in March. All things mentioned below are temporary. Don’t judge.

gap between siding and house

There has been some leaking in our garage for a while, and it has done a number on the ceiling. Since it is actually in the garage and not in the house, it has not been a priority but we wanted to get it fixed as soon as possible. We had a roofer come out and look an estimate. We reluctantly followed with a foray on top of our MCM. As a former mountain climber heights don’t bother me, but as a former safety professional I do know that an inordinate number of home injuries occur from ladder use and that over 50% of falls from greater than 10 feet are fatal. I’d hate to be a statistic. Stacy does have some height issues. There was an incident when she first moved in and got on the roof and then could not get down. She was rescued, thank goodness not by the fire department.

While up on the roof we found the source of the water entry. Previous residents had covered the outside with this thin stucco stuff over a layer of styrofoam insulation. Great for energy savings….bad for keeping the MCM house original. That’s another issue, the problem here is the electrical conduit pole was mounted by someone through that stucco. It has not held well and is pulling back that stucco and the original plank siding underneath. See the photo and you know where our water problem is coming from.

YES! duct tape

This meant another trip to the roof, and another climb up the ladder. With stacy on the ladder cutting and handing me strips of aluminum duct tape we were able to close off the gap fairly well. It won’t hold long but it only has to last until March. Did I mention it was cold and windy up there?

I grew up in West Virginia, and this is what we call “redneck engineering.” But we did prove the universal theory that duct tape can fix anything. The good news is that unless you intend to land on our roof with a helicopter you won’t notice it. Still, we are looking forward to March and a new top on our MCM abode.