Dumpster #2

Removing this phase of roofing was very similar to the last phase of roof removal, with the additional task of removing the last phase’s roofing piled where the new roofing was to be installed. We gave ourselves and the BAB Warriors three days to get everything up and tossed into a massive dumpster.

Friday

Step one was to move the rig back into place and get the chute set back up once the dumpster arrived. We couldn’t have the dumpster delivered before the city was finished the regular pick-up of trash in the alley, so we really couldn’t get started with that until after 1 pm. While we were waiting for the dumpster to arrive, Amy helped to bring the needed tools up either by hoisting them with a rope through the roof hatch or a rope over the back side to the alley, if the item was too big to fit through the hatch.

Cutting and peeling the sprayed on roofing off then pulling up the 2x’s

We removed the 2x’s that formed the damn between phase one roof and the next phase. Once that was done, we could start to shovel the piles of material into buckets that would get dumped down the chute. Since we last piled the materials there, they had solidified in a monolith that required occasional chopping to loosen it. We could tell that we had started by neatly stacking the squares of roofing, but topped the neat piles will random bits of pitch and gravel which had melted and glued everything together.

Maren stopped by on her way home from work and tossed big pieces over.

By the time it was dark, we had made progress but had a long way to go.

Saturday

The morning crew, made up of Margie, Tom C. and Amanda, attacked the pile with shovels, buckets and wheeled carts of all types.

Eric and Nicco joined in and pretty soon the pile was looking less formidable.

Tom fired up the rip cart and started cutting the roofing

Once cut, the roofing could be lifted out in two layers- Nicco is using a shovel to get one out.

The top layer was about an inch thick solid square that resembled elephant skin.

The bottom layer, which was separated from the top by a layer of pea gravel, included some soaking wet insulation, pitch and loose roofing felt.

This layer sometimes stayed in squares but more often broke apart when picked up. It was very clear that this roofing was doing very little to keep the water out. We hadn’t had a serious rain in weeks, but when we stepped on the insulation, water would squirt out.

Tom had to occasionally go down and shift the material in the dumpster with a hoe to clear the area under the chute.

Greg and Kevin made up the second shift. By that time, the pile was gone and we focused on the roofing.

Tom kept cutting, we kept chucking.

Most of the roof was in the dumpster by the time they headed home. At that point, we decide that the dumpster was at capacity. Everything else that we pulled up had to go into a new pile on the remaining part of the old roof that will be future final phase of roof replacement. This time, we would separate the squares of roofing from the debris, hoping it will be an easier task to get rid of it next time.

Sunday

The bulk of the heavy lifting was done, but there was still much to be done. And, after two days of heavy lifting, we were moving a little slower.

This seemed like a much longer climb that morning.

Lea came by to help scrape up the remaining layer of insulation remnants and any large blogs of pitch.

Tom uncovered a large copper panel by one of the roof scuppers.

This must have been some early attempt at roof repair. Under the copper, the concrete was in bad shape. The leaks let water get captured between the copper and the concrete. Freeze thaw action weakened and crumbled the slab. All the loose material would have to be removed. This explains a lot. The area below this spot has the worst leaks. In the afternoon, Eric can back, this time with Tracy to help us wrap this phase up.

 

Tracy used the demo hammer to chip away the loose concrete from around the hoist beam.

The gap created in the joint between the two phases of the building expansion was filled with pitch and needed to be chipped out. All the leftover bits were swept into the pile.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fit everything in the dumpster, but this time it is a much more manageable size to deal with in the future.

You can see just how wet the material was- look at the water seeping out!

At the end of the day, the area looked pretty good.

The next steps are the arrivals of the professionals. The tuckpointer is scheduled to start on Monday. The sandblast crew returns later in the week to chip the pitch layer off to get the concrete deck ready for the roofers on the following Monday.