Having thought we’d have to put the roof works on pause until January, we had a few unexpected breaks in the rain and were able to progress a little.

The first job we wanted done was to get the second corner tiled so that we would only need one tarp to cover the unfinished bit. We were busy with that one morning – as usual Duran was on the roof and we would be passing him tiles as he needed them. If he ran out there would be cries of “TEJA!” and if you brought him an old one he didn’t like the look of, he’d say it was ugly and you’d have to go and find some pretty ones instead. If you brought one he took real dislike to he’d mutter to himself “this one is ugly like a demon”, but sometimes he’d use it anyway. I still haven’t worked out what makes an old tile pretty or ugly!

That day we did a bit but then over lunch when the boys were away it suddenly started raining and Dave and I clambered to get the tarps on as fast as possible, slipping and sliding on the tarp whilst the raindrops were soaking into the chipboard. A tiny bit of water came inside – nothing major, but it did put a halt to work that afternoon.

Last corner done

We took advantage of our rain days to go and buy a new power tool – a reciprocating saw to do the round holes in the roof! It’s great and I’m sure it will be put to good use after the roof is done too.

Then a few days later the forecast was for a clear afternoon, so we started at 1pm and managed to get quite a bit done. Dave was going to be leaving for the UK the next day and we didn’t want to do the hole-cutting without him because he’s the only one with the accuracy and patience to cut them nicely! So he was busy all day prepping and chopping and keeping the rest of us in line. We got loads done and it went very well indeed. By the end of the day, we had the sun tunnel, Velux window and chimney all in place and even got a bit more tiling done too.

Dave cutting holes

Three holes cut

Chimney placement

Once Dave had left, I spent the weekend harvesting and processing some garden veggies before starting up again on Monday morning with the promise of sunshine – finally! Having had a glorious Sunday as foretold, I was expecting to finish the roof on Monday. But we started under a blanket of cloud, spent the morning placing tiles in the drizzle and covered it up again to stop work at lunchtime because it was raining. It kept raining all afternoon and all night and the roads and paths became rivers once again. Ugh.

But today was good. After a misty start, the sun came out and we finished the top row of tiles with a beautiful view. All we had to do was place the final big tiles on the apex and we were done by midday! Then a neighbour came over with home made pizza and hot chocolate and we enjoyed a chat and some food before doing some finishing touches and cleaning up. And just like that, we have a waterproof roof – hurray! I won’t say that it’s finished exactly, there’s still quite a bit to do, especially inside, but the roof itself is on and the workmen are done so the rest is over to us…

Waterproof roof

-Anna