A Roof Over Our Heads

 Two years ago, Rick and I put a new, translucent roof on our screened-in patio ("porch") at the back of our Wisconsin house.  What a mistake!  While we wanted the light to come off the porch into our kitchen and dining room, what we did not realize was that the roof let in 97% of the UV rays that compose that light.  The porch not only got unbearably hot, but also it resulted in an unhealthy environment (think "greenhouse") and rewarded us with a horrible glare.  Who wants to have lunch when we needed sunglasses to see what was on our plates?  We could not read out there since the glare was so bad, and we really did not want to get more sunburned just by sitting under that roof. Additionally, the nine panel roof leaked no matter how much caulk Rick used to try to stop it from dripping water onto the patio during storms.

Thus, we decided to order a new roof for the porch.  We had had an insulated roof installed on our lanai in Florida, so we worked very hard to see if we could order the same roofing materials for this porch in Wisconsin.  While that Florida manufacturer refused to deliver materials to Wisconsin, we did find a company in Detroit, MI, that would ship us materials for a 3" insulated  roof.

The roofing materials arrived last week, and we safely got them into our garage.  Then a horrific storm hit Green Bay with 97 mph winds, and we lost power for three days.  That did not stop us, though, from working on the roof.  (Thank God for fully-charged batteries on drills!)  Lindsay rescued the food from our refrigerator and freezers, and she provided us with free showers and laundry facilities while we recharged medical devices, iPhones, Apple watches, and computers at her house. Thank you, Lindsay!

Clear skies greeted us as we removed
the old roof, leaving the superstructure 
on which to lay the new roofing materials.

We spent the first day unscrewing the old roof.  We both were armed with drills as we took apart the 9 panels that made up the old roofing system.  We hauled all of the old materials into the garage for future disposal.

Rick had to cut back the gutter system
to leave room for the overhang of the new roof.

Since the new roof has a 6" overhang on each side, Rick had to cut back the gutters on both sides of the porch and recap them so we would have room for the new structure.  Keep in mind that we were without power, so all cutting had to be with hand saws. We also spent part of that day just unpacking the new roofing materials. 

We sanded and repainted the top of the beams.

Day Two saw us sanding the superstructure and repainting it before we attempted to install the new roof. We have sturdy beams connected to the house with cross beams for added support.  While we really did not need the cross-beams, we decided to leave them in as added insurance against heavy snow loads.   Our first task after that was to install the new C-channel on the house to accept the panels for the roof.  

This view shows the three inches of insulation
in each panel of the roof.

Day Three was a 10-hour work day. We used drywall carriers to pick up each of the 4 x 12 foot insulated panels and carry them into the back yard.  Thankfully, the panels were only about 25 pounds each, but they were very awkward to handle. Then we unwrapped each panel, slid it onto the roof on the cardboard that protected it in shipment, and screwed each one into place.  As we added each panel, we watched the porch become more shaded and cooler.  

Three panels in place with two more to go.

The view from the inside of the porch with the panels
adding welcome shade.

Day Four was another long work day as we installed the side fascia and the front gutter/fascia combination. The weather did not cooperate as temperatures climbed into the 90s with horrible humidity.  We were both exhausted by the end of the day. 

Once the panels were in place, we had to go onto
the roof to caulk the seams and to tape them.  Unlike
the old roof, this roof fully supports a person's weight,
so we could walk on it with no trouble.

 We did not care for the design of the side fascia because it included a 2" high lip on the top.  While that probably was supposed to help channel the water to the front gutter and prevent rain from going over the sides, the only thing we could envision was the amount of leaves and tree debris that would accumulate on the roof.  Competitors of this company also warned that the 2" lip could result in up to 2" of water standing on the roof during heavy rains, thus creating a situation where the roof might leak into the porch.  My concern was that standing water in late fall or early spring could result in 2" of ice forming on the roof.  To avoid having to climb onto the roof a few times a year to clean off the roof, Rick took his Festool saw and cut off the 2" lip on the side fascia.  The fascia still looks fine, and we will not have to worry about debris or water retention in the future. And if a little water DOES run off the sides of the roof during a rainstorm, who cares?  It is a porch, not the main portion of the house. By the end of the day, we had the fascias cut and installed, and we also hung the front gutter/fascia.  We knew the downspout for the gutter would have to wait for today.

Our new roof should give us lots of relaxing time on the back patio.

Under a heat warning once again, we vowed to be finished with the roof by 10:00 am.  That did not happen.  Rick had to run out to get some specialized gutter caulk, and the less-than-standard gutter/downspout system fought us all the way.  However, by 1:00 pm, we officially declared the new roof complete!

Success!

Rick has declared that he is getting too old to do projects like this ever again.  I agree that this is the last major project that we will do this summer. This project was a lot of little, putzy steps that we had to complete before installing the major components.  The weather went from a couple of 50 degree mornings to the last two days of heat indexes of over 100 degrees. 

So was this worth all of the pain, blood, expense, and exhaustion? Yes, I think it was.  We now have a shaded porch that should not leak in the rain.  It will protect us from harmful UV rays while providing us with an open-air environment where we can dine, relax, and enjoy shaded conversations with friends.  An added bonus, of course, is that once again we have increased the property value of the house.  We plan to enjoy outdoor dining the rest of the summer and a shaded environment in which to relax.