I have a storage shed in the back of my property. It was there when we bought the place. At the time, I replaced a few rotted boards and put some shingles on the top. That was sixteen years ago. A section in the back, just beneath the roof, has rotted out. It was one of the few sections that were okay sixteen years ago so I hadn't replaced it. Well, I'm not nearly as ambitious now as I was sixteen years ago, so I was going to pay someone to repair it but we've already used up everything we could possibly budget for that sort of thing having work done inside the house, and rebuilding another storage area for my lawnmower and snowblower. So I was going to have the shed fixed in the spring. Right now, it's filled to the top with bags full of insulation, salvaged from an insulation project we had done here this summer. I plan on using that insulation when I get around to completing the interior of our camp up north. Meanwhile, the shed is filled from ceiling to floor with that stuff. Ella, our three year-old cat, has learned that she can get in through the space that has rotted out in the back, and I've had to open the door for her a few times because she acts like she can't get back out again. Well, after I finally dragged myself out of bed this afternoon, I was adding some stuff to the compost pile, which is next to the shed. I was still sore and not feeling very well, but it had to be done. Ella was out there with me. Then I heard Ella yelling, and she sounded like she was scared or in pain. I thought it sounded like she was inside the shed, so I imagined she had gotten trapped beneath the bags of insulation. I called her, and she yelled again. A few times, and it sounded like she was inside the shed. So I opened the door, and removed every bag of insulation, about fifty of them. Some of them had broken open, probably from Ella rummaging around with her claws. There was no Ella in there, and she wasn't answering me anymore. I got my wife to help me look and after some calling, she came from somewhere down the tracks where she had probably been annoying squirrels or something. Damned cat. So now I have to pack all of the insulation back in the shed, and since several of the bags had broken open, I decided I'd have to double-bag them before putting them back in. Then, looking at the hole from the inside, I could see that the hole in the shed was larger than I had thought so I needed to do something about that too. If we still had a lumber yard across the street as we did until this spring, when they closed it, I would have fixed it proper but, as it is, it's not so easy getting lumber here because no one delivers to Millinocket and I can't fit a whole lot of lumber in a Chevrolet Tracker. I do have a very large tarp, however. So I spread the tarp on the roof, and tacked that into place, which should keep the rain and the snow out until this spring when I can pay someone to fix it right. Now, all of the bags of insulation are double-bagged, and they are not leaking. By the time I had finished, it was getting dark.
@Ken Anderson As someone wiser than I quoted in his signature elsewhere, I forget where......... "You do not own a cat. A cat owns you."
Ugh, that sounds like a royal pain. However, the insulation is probably costly, so maybe that was a guardian angel playing with Ella's voice, tricking you into doing what you needed to do, in order to save the insulation, and not end up losing that load and having to replace it in the Spring. I'm sure it was a lot of work and you're not doubt in pain now, but it's finished, and it sounds as if the tarp will hold until Spring, so at least you can rest assured with that and not have to worry about it, and she probably can't get in there anymore, either, so you won't have to be concerned about her getting trapped.
Tarps are a wonderful thing. I used several of them on the carriage house before the new roof. I say several because I couldn't get the right size to cover like I wanted. The first one was the skimpy blue which got ripped up by the squirrels trying to get under it I suppose. Once that happened then the high winds ruined the rest of it. The last one I purchased was on sale at Lowe's regular price over $100 sale price was $87. Best buy ever and did the job so well it stayed put until the new roof was installed.
Yeah, I always keep a few tarps around. I don't anticipate a problem in my lifetime, since we have a fairly new metal roof, but I used a tarp to prevent water damage while I was waiting for the new roof to be installed too. Like duct tape, they will always come in handy eventually.
It's still there but I am going to redo the roof this spring or summer. Yes, the insulation is still there, too.
In some ways, I envy those who can feel comfortable calling contractors to do home repairs & maintenance. This stuff can be a burden. But more often than not I've resented paying for marginal work that I sometimes have to go back and redo myself, so I just go ahead and do my own repairs without even thinking of calling in an "expert." At least we have the skills to do these things. Others ain't so lucky (like my friend who was raised in apartments and could not even replace a light switch in his own home.)
I did check the tarp last summer and determined it was good for another season, in my expertly lazy opinion. If a job is worth doing, it'll still be there next year.
I have an old shed on my property and started storing gardening tools & equipment in it so as to free up garage space. Then the metal roof started to leak. I tried patching it and replacing sagging 2x2 "rafters," but it was too far gone. Replacement roofing is EXPENSIVE!!!!! So I bought a huge tarp and put on it. The blowing wind caused the tarp to chafe against the metal roofing, and the thing was shredded in no time flat. Lots of money I could have put into tearing the thing down any buying a shed kit. What I can't figure out is how do these guys fix something up so it looks perfectly fine (and lasts only a year or so) when they're flipping property?