Got the tarp off!

The last thing that needed to be done before Zac comes sometime later today to knock down the shed was to remove the tarp from the roof. I use the word "roof" loosely. When I built this shed some 40 years ago (well, maybe 36), I had grandiose delusians. It was going to have two stories, with the second story being a study for me, complete with a little balcony, and an outside stairway. So I built the "roof" for the first story as a floor for the second, complete with 2x8 floor joists every 16" and OSB under-flooring. Also, the horizontal tree trunks that anchored the joists extended several feet both front and back to provide a structure I could build the balcony on in front and the stairway in back. I can remember lying awake at night imaging how I would do it all and imagining myself using this neat little study that would be like a tree house. Well, that second story never got built. Lack of time, or money, or both. And of course, the first winter, I had to do something to make that  "roof " waterproof to keep all the stuff inside the shed dry. So I put down building paper, covered that with driveway sealer, and just for good measure, covered all that with a tarp. It was a good roof, it didn't leak, and I had built it so strong with all those joists, it didn't matter that it was flat - it could hold a huge snow load (something you have to think about in Vermont).

Over time, the tarp had to be replaced. That became a necessity every 3 or 4 years. Eventually, those horizontal tree trunks that extended beyond the "roof" rotted because they were untreated and unprotected from the elements. They either fell off or I cut them off - and thus are not in evidence in photos today. I intended to take down this shed 3 years ago, but it has been put off year after year. Just too busy. One year I even moved everything out and put all the stuff in a dome tent, thinking that the shed would come down that year. But it didn't, and everything came back out of the tent and into the shed again for the winter! 

Meanwhile, the tarp, which was by now several years old, was getting compromised. It was held down by concrete blocks, plus a few staples here and there and some string through the eyelets and nailed into the side walls. All very expedient and usually done under pressure of time. However, water was getting under the tarp through thin places or outright holes, rotting the OSB board in places. I did not dare go up onto the roof anymore, which I used to do all the time, for fear of falling through. 

So anyway, this morning I put up a ladder, pulled the concrete blocks off (which I could do without getting on the roof), pulled the staples free, hooked into one of the eyelets with a long pole that has a hook on one end, and pulled that tarp off ! It was indeed in sad shape. Covered with branches and leaves and full of holes. Now the roof is down to the building paper. I'm hoping that Zac can remove the roof more or less in one piece  so we can salvage a bit more lumber from it, but John says that isn 't strictly necessary to build his hermitage. I can always get more kindling out of it. I think in the end, we 'll have very little that will have to go to the landfill, for which there is a fee. 

The tarp, being held down by cement blocks. You can see the building paper underneath. 

                The way it looks now, sans tarp 

 

View from up behind the house. Removing the walls and exposing the posts and beams has made clear what sad shape the shed is in. It's really tilting to one side. It looks dangerous but I don't think it is actually about to tip over. But it sure looks tipsy!

In an earlier post, I mentioned using a "come-along" to build this shed - making it possible for me to do it all by myself! Some readers of this blog may not be familiar with a "come-along" so here's a little essay:

 

  

 

This is a "come-along" - (a wonderfully named tool! It does what it's called!).  You pull out the cable that is wrapped around the drum in the middle (the cable extends about 6 feet), attach one hook to something you want to pull, the other hook to something that is immovable, and then use the handle to wind the cable back onto the drum, one ratchet at a time. It's amazing what you can do with this tool. I have pulled a truck out of the mud many times with one of these, and once, I anchored one end to the branch of tree above the truck and attached the other end to the truck axle, and literally pulled the truck up into the air with the come-along, so I could put rocks and boards under the wheel and drive it out. I can't bear to get rid of this tool even though it is unlikely I'll ever use it again. The truck is long gone. But -  you never know!!