I almost lost the powershed roof.

And I don’t even know when it happened.

I happened to be up on a ladder inside the powershed Saturday, doing some unrelated maintenance. I looked at the roof over the door and thought to myself, “Why did I go to all the trouble of filling the holes left by the roofing with expanding foam, when there’s an inch-high gap the whole width of the building right under it?”

roof1
The answer, of course, is that there ain’t supposed to be no steenking inch-high gap, there or anywhere. You can’t even see it from the floor, which is probably why I didn’t notice before Saturday. No idea at all when it happened.

Looking to the right, in the direction facing the cabin…
roof2
You can see those two “rafters” have come up off their nails. Externally, the screws that bend the roofing over and fasten it to the walls have popped out of their holes.

Must have been a hell of a gust. This wouldn’t be the first utility building in the area to suddenly flip its lid, but it’s embarrassing to see how close it came to happening to me. The powershed is a repurposed pantry shed somebody else hired me to tear down, being non-specific as to what to do with the pieces. At the time I was scrounging more heavily for my materials than I do now. Also I’m a better carpenter than I was then but even when I assembled it in 2012 it was … not my proudest achievement.

Last month I rebuilt the powershed floor and thought I was done for the year. Turns out I also have some fairly serious retrofitting work to do on the roof before the next big gust comes along.

About Joel

You shouldn't ask these questions of a paranoid recluse, you know.
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8 Responses to I almost lost the powershed roof.

  1. Joel says:

    Yup. I have a line on some, for the repair.

    And before anybody says it, yes, the cabin and addition veritably sag under the weight of all those hurricane straps. 😉

  2. Kentucky says:

    Also . . .

    Nails suck.

    Deck screws rule.

    😉

  3. Matt says:

    Had a roof on an open shed (three walls) blow off in 2016. Got hit by a big dust-devil. Inspection revealed it had never had proper anchoring and was mostly held on with gravity. I am currently rebuilding it with 4 walls and a roof that will be over anchored.

  4. anonymous says:

    Do you have a coupla old tires you could throw up there (on the roof joists of course) to help gravity do its job ? I have a lean to shed against the house I do this and its helped keep its roof several times during cold front push throughs and even a hurricane (Cat 1 and came in from opposite side of building).

    Good luck with the repair.

  5. Joel says:

    I’ve considered old tires in the past, and maybe I should take another look at the idea. I was born in Michigan and spent part of my childhood in south Florida – both are mosquito country, and so I reflexively look on old unmounted tires lying about as a very bad thing. But missing roofs are also bad news, so…

  6. Judy says:

    Before Zelda mentions it ;>)

    Would those old unmounted tires become breeding places for pack rats? And is there a way to block them without adding the weight of concrete? Or would the tires be high enough the rats couldn’t get to them?

  7. MJR says:

    Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. The structure didn’t bust apart too much so it will be fine.

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