Starting at the age of 15 in 1973, I spent several years doing construction work, including building fences (such as this one at my mother’s house in Tampa as shown after a rare snowstorm in 1977) and swimming pools (such as this one, where I’m dumping a wheelbarrow in 1977). At the age of 62, I helped out in a type of construction work in which I had no previous experience — installing a metal roof. It was interesting to see some of the problems that can arise in roofing and how to deal with them. The existing shingle roof had been leaking along a line on the back side of the house where the slope changes. There was a slight valley in the shingles where water could collect and seep through. While removing the old shingles, we discovered that there were two layers of shingles (the bottom layer may have been more than 40 years old) and that water had damaged parts of the roof. Shortly after starting, I slipped and landed on a nail that penetrated deep into the palm of my right hand.



A water damaged piece of the roof has been removed.



Further water damage that was discovered near the back edge of the roof has been replaced here.



Drone view that shows work in progress on the back side of the roof and a chute that was used to transfer the old shingles to a dumpster.



The roof is sealed from rain after the gray underlayment is installed. This material provides good traction, even when wet. A strip of ice and water shield is installed along the line where water leaked through the old roof.



Ice and water shield was also installed near the back edge of the roof.



Additional water damage was discovered along the front edge of the roof.



After installing new wood, a drip guard was installed to protect it from water.



Installation of the first piece of the metal roof.



Installation of metal flashing along the joint where the slope changes.



A seal around a vent tube.



The upper part of the roof overlaps the flashing, which overlaps the lower part of the roof. Under the roof, there is a joint between the PVC vent tube and the original plumbing vent. The U-joint was installed to eliminate the possibility of leaking at that point.



It rained lightly just before the front of the roof was installed. Since metal roofing doesn’t provide traction when wet, a ladder was anchored on the snow guards and used to climb up to install the trim on the sides and the ridge cap at the top. I nearly fell off the roof after slipping on a wet spot.



The dumpster being taken away after the roof was completed.



The final task of the project was to install new gutters.







Splash guards were installed to prevent water from overshooting the gutters at inside corners, where the flow is concentrated.