3 Larch Haven - Roofing Project

One of the things that was concerning for Arta before she left us was getting the roof replaced on the Lot 3 house.  She made sure that we promised to take care of this as soon as possible as the asphalt shingles were at the end of their life and she was concerned about damage from the build up of moss.  Last spring Richard and Miranda spent time gathering quotes from contractors and provided us with all the information, however Doral and I just didn’t get organized in time to get it done. Knowing it was a priority for Arta we made sure we had time this year to tackle the project. Ultimately, we chose to use Roofing by Dick Contracting from Wetaskiwin, AB, who happens to be my first cousin on my mother’s side.  Dan had done our roof in St. Albert 9 years ago when we moved there, and we were very happy with the work.

The first of the roofing crew (Ted, Melissa & Ethan Dick) arrived early evening on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.  While we waited for the rest to arrive, we decided to take a walk down to the beach.  Along the way homes were pointed out, family relations were explained, and train safety was conveyed.  On the walk back we saw Dave Wood coming down the path with some of his grandchildren.  We stopped to chat for a few minutes and during that time Dave commented to Ted that he didn’t believe that they would be able to do the whole roof in a single day.  Ted mentioned that although they could do it in a single day their plan was to work two half days so that they could enjoy some leisure time in such a beautiful location.  Dave said he still didn’t believe that they could do the roof that fast and would have to see it to believe it.  We continued our journey back with much of expression of amazement of the wonderous beauty around them.

The rest of the roofing crew and the main contractor (Dan, Jason & Kiera Dick) arrived just before dusk.  The very first item of business for Dan was to go up on the roof and check the structural integrity as well as do final ils to make sure he ordered enough roofing materials.  After that he pulled his crew together to discuss strategy and timing for getting the job done. As well as the unpacking of the materials in his truck into the garage.  The plan was to work from 8am – 1pm Thurs & Fri, however the crew agreed that they would like to start sooner on Thurs so that they could enjoy more of the Canada Day holiday on Friday. 

When Thursday morning rolled around the crew was up and on the roof at 6am to start demolition.  At one point we were told that Dan turned to Ted and asked, “Do you think there is a noise ordinance out here that we should be concerned about?”.  Ted laughed and replied, “I don’t think so.”, just as a train loudly thundered by.  

Demolition was pretty much completed mid-day.  Just before they finished Dan relayed that the shingles were definitely at the end of their life, however even though there was lots of moss, there was absolutely no water damage.  There was a little discolouration in one place at the front of the house where the water runs down into a corner of the small strip of shingles just above the door, but all it would need would be some flashing or tar.  

Shingles were delivered and lifted just prior to demotion being complete so the crew was able to roll right into placing new shingles as soon as demolition was done.  As the crew approached their scheduled stopping time the decision was made to keep going.  However, by 2pm the temperature on the roof reached 26C and being so hot Dan told the younger of the crew to be done for the day and go for a swim.  However, he and Ted kept working.  The two men kept working right up until there was hardly any daylight left.  Those of us who thought they were crazy to continue working so late believed that they must have wanted to show Dave Wood that it could be done in a day.  However, the darkness won out and they were forced to leave the rest for the next day. If only they hadn't stopped for lunch! 

 

Friday morning, July 1, was a slower start.  Dan let the crew sleep-in, but they were still back on the roof by 9am. After two hours they had the rest of the roof done, all the new vents cut and placed, completed all the ground clean up and had all the extra materials packed up.   To celebrate they ended with a big bowl of ice cream on the upper deck enjoying the view over the lake. For the remainder of Canada Day, they spent leisure time swimming, walking the property trails, playing board games, eating more ice cream, and consuming Sutherland donuts.  However, it was an early night for all due to the exhaustion they experienced from the previous day.

On Friday night Dan indicated they were planning on leaving at 6:30am and were just going to grab a bowl of cereal before heading out.  But for Doral that just wouldn’t do, so he and I got up at 5:30am this morning to ensure they had a hearty breakfast of waffles, strawberries, whipped cream, Bacon and Orange Juice before leaving.  This did put the crew a tad behind leaving, but as of 7am they were on the road.      

Now Doral and I look around the house and the yard to determine what the next big project is going to be. Everywhere I look, in every nook and cranny I can’t help but think of Arta.  I can just imagine what her presence would have been like had she been here for this project.  She would have had an individual conversation with each person on the roofing crew, asking them questions to get to know them, she would have had fresh baked break and she would have been walking around the outside of the house cleaning up the shingles that hadn’t made it into the dumpster or pruning back the grape vine to make the work easier.  For me Arta is ever present here and it is wonderous!

~ Anita (Treleaven) Johnson