The Honest Courtesan

Another break in the rain gave me another opportunity to get some more steel up on the roof.  I was able to cut and weld into place the remaining cee purlins for the southwest leaf, then before I had to quit for the day I was able to wrestle another roof panel into place and fasten it down.  As you can see, I got lucky this time because not only was the length just about perfect, but also the angle allowed me to use a full panel without cutting an angle off.  The rest of this leaf won’t be quite as easy; I’ll need to cut angles at both ends of the panel.  But it’ll be easier than the west leaf, because though it’s hard to tell from this picture, the pitch of this one is shallower so I can clamber around on it without sliding down the slick metal, as happened often in doing the last section.  Also, Grace bought a new MIG lead which is 50% longer than the one that came with the welder (15′ vs 10′), so now it’s easier to reach the high points than before, and once we’re done with the sections above the hot tub I’ll have more flexibility with ladder placement when welding or cutting areas I can’t reach from one of the existing rooves.  All these factors should make the very next section, the southeast, the easiest one yet, then before we move on to the complicated northwest section we’ll install caps over the gaps between existing sections, and watertight seals between the bathhouse roof sections and the adjoining rooves of house, cottages, and shop (with gutters to carry the water away to downspouts); when that’s done we’ll have a lot more area that will stay relatively dry.