Today felt like a bit of a step backward on the roof. I actually had to remove a panel from the first half I had already finished. When I put those panels on originally, about six inches of underlayment still extended past the last panel. Rather than cut a panel down to just six inches to cover that strip, I decided it would be easier—and cleaner—to trim off the overhang and end with a full panel. Since the extra length hung over the screened porch, it wasn’t critical to keep it.
Getting up on the finished side proved trickier than I expected. The metal panels were slippery, so I tied a rope to a tree on the far side of the roof for support. I also used foam pads I’d cut from an old mattress—an idea I’d picked up from roofers in Florida—to give me some grip on the slope. That had worked well until now, but with dust and debris on the roof, the pads didn’t hold.
As I sat there, reattaching the panel after trimming the overhang, the foam pad slipped out from under me and started sliding down the roof. Suddenly I was dangling by the rope with one hand, hanging there until I could get my feet back under me. The foam pad kept going, sliding right off the roof.
It was a very good thing I had that rope in place—it turned what could have been a disaster into just a shaky moment. Even so, it’s tough work trying to hold on with one hand while drilling screws into the panels with the other. I managed to get that panel back on, but the two panels left on the second half will have to wait until tomorrow.
