We began planing and building our log home in April 2008. It is now nearly October and we are just getting the roof on.

So what’s the hold up?

Our team is only two strong and when it comes right down to brass tacks, our team is only one strong, with a helper. Eric and his helper. A girl. Me.

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Before I get too far into this post I need to clarify one point. We have had good friends coming in to help us build this log home, giving their time and expertise freely and consistently offering to lend a hand. Our team is in fact, much more than 1 + girl - but we are the primary builders here, this is our work and responsibility, and our friends have very busy lives already.

Because they are our friends we know precisely how busy they are and try not to call upon them too often.

Our two dearest helpers (Richard and Dagny Musclow) are already running two very successful businesses (plus one start-up on the side) and have their own home and rental home maintenance to attend to. Nonetheless they have been at our building site weekend after weekend hoisting and heaving, planning and getting dirty alongside us.

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Back to the Builder and A Girl Story…

Somewhere in a city Chapters book store there is a new release on how to build a home without killing your husband, or how to survive a home building project and stay married, or something along those lines. My sister saw it and I heard it referenced somewhere else as well. If you know the title, please send it to me in a comment below.

The point is: this book is about husband, and wife, and a contractor.

The summary is: keeping your marriage alive when all you do is fight over the construction crew, materials, and color of a fresh home build or renovation.

My point is: Good grief! What is a marriage based on if you are going to fight with your spouse every day over such issues and you need to buy a book on how to get through the joyful experience of designing and building your own home? Especially when you have a contractor or builder managing all the nitty-gritty details!

I thought all that, two months ago.

Today a different take on the ‘joy’ of building a home with your mate.

Now I’m not saying my marriage is any different than the next one, but I am rather shocked that through the first five months of standing by and working alongside my husband not one harsh word has been spoken or major disagreement launched.

And I have laid Pex tubing till my fingers bled.
And I have hoisted my end of log, after log, weighing over 300 pounds each.
And I have moved countless sheets of plywood over my head.
And I have manouvered 20′ 2×12s from ground to floor to sill.
And I have stood in uncompromising positions (and unattractive positions for that matter) in dangerous places, during this build.
And I have also invested an entire summer, hours, days, weeks, weekends, months - of time, often sun up till sun down, on a project that I had no interest in. (”Let’s just buy a house with our rebuild fund.”)

But I’ve also learned to say “no” and that is where the trouble started.

“No, I’m not doing that.”
“No, I can’t lift that over my head.”
“No, I won’t just jump up on the rim of the house and hold that heavy wall in place while you secure it.”

This onset of ‘no’ and ‘can not’ adds a different air to the build and it isn’t the chilly October winds coming in. I’m starting to wonder if that book my sister saw might have some value after all…

As soon as I learned to say ‘no’ trouble ensued.

We’re on the toughest part of the build - the roof - and there are just some things that I cannot do - psychologically or physically.

I can not. Period.

On the very first mention of “I cannot…” my husband grew short with me and I shot it right back at him. So you see our marriage is no different than any other.

Eric is actually a very patient man. Most of the time he explains what needs to be done and how we’re going to tackle it. Sometimes the explanations make zero sense to me - remember that five months ago I had no idea how a rafter was any different than a joist, they were just lumber after all.

As he twisted his German head around to glare at me I simply placed my hands on my child rearing hips and yelled back, “Hello! You’re building this house with a girl! A GIR-r-R-R-L.”

I forgot to add in “…and a 45 year old girl at that!”

I guess he thought that since I could carry my end of a 300 pound log and was a tireless worker that I was just another guy…

If I haven’t said it enough yet, this roof and all the angles upon it have slowed us down considerably and sucked the wind out of our sails. With one large shed dormer, one normal window dormer (which will accommodate a reading nook for Veronica), one hanging window dormer (for balance and light), one large roof system over the center hall, and the 12/12 pitch roof for the remaining areas - this is the most frustrating part of the build to date.

The only saving grace to this roof style and all of the quirks that come with it, is that it will be a work of art when completed and increase the resale value of our home should we ever decide to leave.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch…Work Presumes

It is a small wall, but an integral part of the roof. Transitioning the 8 foot high ceiling in the loft to the slanted cathedral ceiling over the kitchen, the vertical 2 x 6 lumber shown in the image below will eventually be covered in siding from Freymond’s Lumber on the outside and either tongue and groove or drywall on the inside.

Building your own log home sounds romantic when you start planning but be sure to plan within your skill set. Although Eric is very handy and very smart - having never built a roof like this has stetched him beyond past experience. In retrospect I might have chosen a simpler design when I started laying out the floors and exterior look of this home.

Our architect, who is gifted in his work and extremely patient, replied to my query of structure and angles, “Larry, how am I supposed to build this roof?” with “You are supposed to hire a builder.”

Thankfully Larry didn’t end the conversation there. He did walk me through a large part of it even though I was hoping for more detail in the plans. At the end of the day I had to take everything Larry taught me and explain it to Eric - no small feat for a woman who is more of a computer geek, artist, decorator, cook - anything really - than a builder!

If we hadn’t been underinsured (no one’s fault but mine), we would have hired a builder - and we’d be in our new home already!

The busy roof design captivated our hearts when we dreamt it, thought about living under it, envisioned the home below it - but in the end it has sucked the life right out of us, chewed up our hearts and spat them out on the ground below.

Our roofing shingles are architectural shingles so in the ridges and valleys we are told to use the Yukon line of BP’s shingles in the same color to cap the ridges and protect the valleys.

Our valleys will actually be strips of steel - it’s easier and the elements will slide off these prime leak target areas easier. The main shingles will butt and overlap the steel and Eric assures me it will not be an eyesore (as I’m imagining it to be).

I think I saw these ridge vents in RONA yesterday for $11 a foot? Yard? Roll? (I’ll firm that up on Saturday when we do our big RONA shopping spree).

In the photo below I’m using an old Owens Corning advertisement (from June 1997’s edition of Country Home) to show you the ridge shingle application and the ridge vent directly below these shingles. This ridge vent that runs along the ridge beam is the application that will ensure we don’t need any of those ‘ugly’ turbines cluttering up our roof. (I think they’re kinda cool looking actually, but Eric says they’re ugly. Since he’s doing most of the roofing, I’m not arguing!)

The photo above highlights Owens Corning’s roofing selection and are (from top to bottom), Hip and Ridge Shingles, Ridge Vents, Shingles, Waterproofing Underlayments and their Raft-R-Mate product (attic roofing vents) directly above the wooden rafters.

As you might have read in my last post, there is a shortage of shingles in the USA and Canada.

Since we’re short on time we needed to choose a shingle that is readily available (not backordered for the next month) and located close to home. Thankfully our Bancroft Rona team came to our aid.

We ended up choosing a BP shingle from the Everest collection. Here’s what BP has to say about Everest shingles:

The new Everest shingle, like its namesake, is oversized and at the peak of perfection. This double-layer laminate shingle features a large nailing zone for easier installations and larger tabs for a bolder appearance.

With a choice of eleven stunning colors plus a 40-year warranty and added wind warranty up to 160 km/h (as per special application instructions), Everest takes home beautification and protection to serious new heights.

Sounds great to me! Oversized shingles mean it will go up faster and these dimensional shingles from the Architectural line of BP look stunning on any of the roofs I’ve seen so far.

They are reminiscent of weathered and stained cedar shakes - in some of the color selections.

Finding Roof Shingles in Our Area

For a few days, as our Rona Sales Rep made calls and hunted down various other stores and his supplier it looked like we had two options in color. Autumn Brown or Driftwood.

I personally loved the Autumn Brown and crossed my fingers for them.

Eric preferred the Driftwood.

Veronica said, “Um, hello? It’s a roof. Who cares what color it is?”

This is the least passionate and opinionated statement we’ve heard from Veronica since we started building! I’m not sure if she’s sick of making decisions or if she is just smart enough to know that we spend far more time indoors enjoying our home than standing outdoors revelling in the roof color!

Either way, here are the color samples…

Autumn Brown, Everest, Architectural Roof Shingle

Driftwood, Everest, Architectural Roof Shingle

Turns out, Eric gets his way. The only shingle we can get enough of, nearby and quickly, is Driftwood. Looking at them both now, I think this might have been the best match after all. The house is showy enough, and the roof if already busy with all it’s dormers, slopes and angles - a more tone-on-tone such as the Driftwood will probably look much nicer!