Here is how the south side of our home has looked since its completion during 2014.
Our patio with its new roof complete and ready for your comparison. Now we can look forward to shade in the Summer and a dry patio during the Winter.
A nighttime view.
Plan showing the elements that were added.
Looking south from the dining room before work begins on the patio roof extension during October of 2024.
Same viewpoint a week later with primary framing completed.
Lumber and other material begins to arrive. The larger timber, which is laminated, will form the ridge, while the smaller will become one of the ledgers along the porch’s sides.
Modifications to the existing structure begin with the removal of an existing sheet steel roof panel. Cutting into the siding will admit ledgers to support the new roof.
This video has workers raising the garage-side ledger. Voices heard come from their radio. Early-morning temperatures are a chilly 54°.
Later in the morning the house-side ledger is raised into position. This is a 12-second video with audio.
The massive laminated ridge is lifted using hand-cranked hoists.
Our new roof will extend to the outside edge of the patio, and provide shade and shelter from sun, rain, and snow.
A plank across the near end of the ridge is temporary.
A 6×6-inch upright supports the outboard end of the ridge.
End of a day during which a goodly amount of progress was made.
Rafters are added, and will support sheet steel roofing panels designed to match existing paneling on the rest of the house.
By mid-morning, almost half the rafters are in place.
Showing the “pony wall” that brings the ridge to the correct height.
The new ridge must transfer the load from each of its ends into the Earth. To accomplish this, a second upright is required to match the first. For this to happen, the patio’s concrete is sawed open by José, soil is removed, the new upright is installed, and concrete is poured. The white-colored pipe with an elbow was connected to a downspout, which is no longer needed due to the new roof.
The new wooden upright can be seen at top center. A steel anchoring box is secured to the bottom end of the upright. At the right is freshly-sawed patio concrete. A small square of composite siding is visible in the upper-left corner, and is flush with the bottom of the upright. José is about to pour concrete which will fill the anchoring box, securing it to the patio.
Notice the obsolete drain has been capped off at the left edge. As freshly-mixed concrete is poured into the pit, it will envelop the “rerod” (reinforcing iron) already embedded in the existing patio concrete, securing everything together to complete the load-bearing properties of the ridge. Comment: it’s this care and preparation, enforced by inspectors from building and safety departments, that help our structures survive or minimize earthquake damage.
Concrete finisher José mixes mud that will fill the pit he has dug to support the ridge at its northern end.
José is self-employed.
José begins the troweling process to smooth the still-soft concrete. This is a 26-second video with audio.
Three views of the rafters, pony wall, and ridge, looking to the left.
Looking “straight on.”
Looking to the right.
It’s time to cover the ceiling.
Lamps and a fan will be added. This is the last time you or anyone else will see the laminated ridge.
The ridge is now covered by siding.
Remember the 6×6-inch upright that supports the inner end of the ridge? Here’s how it was blended with everything else.
The framing crew is based in Bakersfield.
Nacho the painter has arrived!
He wastes no time getting to work.
Closest to the camera is a section of the original roof. Farther away one can see the bare wood of the new portion.
Looking Northwest at the new roof, soon to be covered with sheets of steel to match the original roofing.
A section of the new roof on an overcast morning looks marvelous. We encounter works of art entitled, for example, “Still Life with Pears.” On that basis, we are calling this New Roof with Bucket.
A view northwest captured from a vantage point close to Old Town Road as an airborne raven appears from on high.
Another view to the northwest, this time from our entry porch. Our driveway, shop, and water tank are seen near the center. At left, farming implements are parked beneath the oak tree, and include a hay rake, a disc harrow, and a 1934 № 7 McCormick-Deering sickle bar mower, the latter which we use for weed control.
