The "Old School slate school" is now in session

Hey guys, I have been working on a slate repair for a few days and managed to get some pictures at the same time. My son got the good ones, but they do show some details that you may be interested in. If this works, I will be posting a lot of pictures of different jobs as we do them. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. Thanks!

http://picasaweb.google.com/crookston.john4/KCollegeSlateRepairs#>>>

It's the same stuff I see all over Va, OS. "Some of the slates are chipped and broken, but it is 45 feet down to the ground and I have to pull everything up by hand. I am going to use what I have on the roof before I haul up anymore. Sorry about that!" I do that at times also. I couldn't tell in the pic, but I would have bibbed above that 4th' slate because the chip gets pretty close to the keyway. Nice work, BTW.>>>

I use the hooks on occasion, but mostly just nail and bib. Hard hat? No. OSHA and I went around on that back in '72 or'73. They finally agreed with me and decided I was right. If a plane, or the sky fell on me when I was the high spot, the hard hat wouldn't really be a help. They rewrote that rule. They did close the site down for 4 hours while 'deciding'!

BTW, I got a Rent-a-Roofer client with a slate roof about the same pitch. I told him to use a hook ladder. After I taugh him how to use a cutter and a hammer, etc, he owned up that he alwasy sent his 80# daughter up there after school to do all the work! No scaffold, no hook ladder either!>>>

Not knocking you, btw. I like what you're doing. The past week, I've been on 3 slate roofs with hooks. The slate were nailed so tightly, the hooks chipped the bottom center of every slate they held in place. The spot would chip out when sliding them in. Seldom see one done correctly.

Just before dark, my current client called from his rooftop, 40' up. I had left the ladder tied off, and all the hook ladders up there. He was inspecting my work and the chimney guy's work. Wowser! At least he complimented my repair work and was happy that my description of his roof matched what was there too. The call really had me worried he'd fall. You know I lighten my hook ladders. And a rookie can dislodge one easily.>>>

"How come you had to do this? did the flat roof guys try to pull up the slates to install their roof? the white roof didn't look new."

They didn't use a ripper Mike. They just broke them out of there. I see it often. >>>

No telling what was in their minds, assuming they had minds! :unsure:>>>

re the flat roofers: as a rule, when you think 'monolithic' you have no concept of or patience for lots of little pieces. I liked Old School's comment "I'd be happy to take it apart for you." That's the deal. If you don't understand the pieces, then please don't touch them. It's not ancillary to your work. It's not peripheral to your work. It's not incidental to your work. The flat work and the slate are both in fact incidental to the interface. It is surprising how few people understand that. When I was a first year apprentice working on a school job, the crew I was the lowest-ranking member of came in after the hot roofers mopped on the membrane. In the morning everything was cold and hard. We loaded the bundles of shakes and started rolling felt and laying them up. Tromp tromp tromp. By the end of the day, the damned hot roof was soft and hot again. Sweating, working. We cleaned up our debris at the end of the day. We even dug the metal bands up out of the tar. You know, not all of them, just the ones we had accidentally stepped on hard enough to press them in deep. Only 3/8 to a half inch though. I mean, not clear to China. Where is China? Who cares? Shakes looked great. What's the problem? Boss comes out the next day and says who the hell did this? Some mistakes are to my mind not worth making again, ever. Not so with everyone. There are guys who've been 'doin it like this for years' and have no interest in anything better. No guilt, no shame, no pain. Nothing.>>>

You look like a NASCAR driver with all the ads on your hat and shirt. You must be raking in the endorsement dough.>>>

You would be surprized at what you can get away with if you have on a hard hat and are carrying tools. People look at you like you know what you are doing and don't ask questions. We park right in the way and load the trucks and people apoligize if they have to walk around us. We always tell them that we are working above and to look out. They listen too.

The flat roof was installed over a foam tapered insulation system so it was quite spongy and easy on the knees. The only problem was that it was all wet and soon, so was I. I mentioned in the album that I had called the company tht did the flat roof. The guy I talked to Emailed all of his estimators and told them of my ability and offer to work with them if they had any hard roofing to deal with. One called this morning and I have a job to go and look at in Grand Rapids, Michigan next week. I guess they are listening! That is good.

We try and look professional on the roof and on the jobsite. The hats and glasses are company policy. The shirts make us all look alike.

>>>

If woody and I wore the same T-shirt, you might not be able to tell us apart either. But after awhile you could. woody has an attitude. I don't. That's why when we work together we like to move in and move out. j/k>>>

The hard hats that really get the rexpect are the old metal ones with the brim that goes all around. I wish I still had mine, handed down to me from my Dad. It was last seen doing dog water dish duty in 1987.>>>

As luck would have it, I just ran across a guy wearing one of those yesterday. Heavy equipment operator. His family has been around here since 1853. Maybe he's still waiting for the right dog. lol.>>>

You would be surprized at how often you hit the hat on something or something bangs into it. I just make it a habit to take off my regular glasses and baseball cap when ai stop the truck to do work and put on my safety glases and my hard hat. A company policy and a habit.

I went over and finished it up today, except for a bit of caulk on a flashing and I also have to take down the last load of scrap slate from the roof. I dis take some finished pictures and also a picture from the ground to give everyone a perspective of the building. I will add them to the post later.

I have also started a nother "cold roof" job and will be taking pictures of the process to post when we are done. It is really quite complicated but simple in priciple. Film at 11:00>>>

I actually wouldn't be surprised because I have put in quite a few hours wearing them myself. I'm not intending to fault you for taking the position you take, so long as we avoid passing any universal regulations without due process. What I would like to interject goes back to Mike's point about the knee pads. If every time you touched your knees on something it sounded like you had your head in a barrel and someone whacked it with a mallet, you would be surprised too. The head is structurally designed to take much more abuse than knees are, though I grant you it would be difficult to do much without either. I am sometimes a bit surprised at some of the hard and fast positions you take, but after seeing you on the board for this many years I am certain that you are a good man with high standards of both morals and professionalism. That said, if you want to be consistent with the drive to perfection, and I suspect you do, where other people might take offense at this, I am sure you won't, as none is intended: The word,'Surprised' has no 'z' in it.>>>

I can spell almost any word in the English languege at least 3 or 4 different ways. Quite a feet,feat,fete; isn't it?>>>

yes it iz Diversity rules.>>>