While it was nice to say good-bye to all the work that went along with the ex-house in Titusville there's a part of it that I miss. I miss the sweat and playing with tools and sounds of my lawn mower, trimmer, and leaf blower, well at least I think I do. I think what I miss is the physical activity and tiredness that went along with it all. Not having to do it is nice, but when I want to go out and play in the dirt and it's not there I'm kinda left with an empty feeling.
So as we continue setting up the new place in Cape May, and going though stuff from the old place down here, and stuff we dragged down from Titusville, I took the opportunity to do some much needed preventive maintenance. That meant I could use my new telescoping ladder, some hand tools, and my pressure washer. Hey, I wasn't building an addition but it was fun to break a real sweat again.
These Park Model homes, like tiny homes, line the streets at Cape Island Resort. In a way they remind me of the old bungalow lined streets of Shore towns like Keansburg back in it's heyday. Ours was built in 2007 and the previous owners, times two, did the bare minimum as far as upkeep. Connected to these tiny homes are what they call Florida rooms which are basically additions with a hard top with either screens or windows around the outside. While most people focus on decorating and enjoying the space there's lots of work to be done to keep them in good shape.
Rain and water are killers for these type of structures and most people just caulk and re-caulk the seams over the years. A new friend of ours just hired a roofing guy to slap on roofing gunk which ran her $400. I wasn't having any part of that so I went and purchased roofing tape and covered all the seams. This type of tape is a one-shot product, once it hits something forget it, so applying it is challenging to say the least.
Then there are the two roof sections. They're covered with asphalt shingles and lucky for me there's two layers. Usually that's a pain but in our case it's a good thing. On the back raised section the last layer has seen its day, well years ago. They say a way to tell if you need a new roof is when the shingles start to curl...well...
...how's that for curling? Luckily the original roof layer is fine but that top one is shot. Between the roof pitch, almost none, and the bake that is has endured they need to go, in fact both layers need to be ripped off and replaced. That same roofing guy who is the roof God at Cape Island get's $3,300 for a new roof on these Park Models, again, not for me.
This is an easy job and I think the hardest part would be getting rid of the old shingles. My plan is to lay down a new metal roof which will help with drainage and hold up from the weather. That might be a late fall project or one for next spring.
The front section is in better condition. It's two layers spend most of the time in the shade and the lichen and moss have called it home for years. While most people would say never power wash a shingle roof I felt okay with it because of the double layers.
I can't help but wonder if the black socks and shoes are a sign that I'm getting old. I remember seeing old men from back in the day sporting the same get-up, only they had on a white -t-shirt and not a past it's life Columbia fishing shirt.
Besides looking horrible all that green stuck between the shingles can't be good for drainage so anything I removed as far as asphalt still was better then it was. After a few hours I was tired but
did have some sense of accomplishment going on. Then it was off to re-cleaning the windows and replacing the screens, like 30 of them, since they seem to ever have been removed and cleaned.
Theresa was busy all day inside and by 330 we were both done and decided to do what locals do down in Cape May away from the tourists and crowds. We hit the Happy Hour at Lucky Bones, had ice cream at Fleck's, and then grabbed Luke and headed to Town Bank to sit in our old Tommy Bahama (yard sale scores) beach chairs and watch the sun set on the Delaware Bay.
The big push of crowds seems to lessen down here in August and last night almost felt like it was fall. They say the locals summer begins here after Labor Day but by then we'll be in South Carolina and won't return to Cape May until late September. Luckily we held onto some electric heaters as I'm sure we'll be needing them and some sweatshirts when we return. And when we do I'll be sure to have some kind of fly rod set up in the back of the Suburban.