From the archives: work
Re-sharing "Often work is fun, but sometimes it's just work"
Monday - and it very much feels like a work day. I’m a bit overloaded while prioritizing all I have ahead of me to finish out the year. Add in the holidays and some travel - all should be fun - but I’m finding it hard to get in the spirit. Rather Scroogian, I know. Still, it could be worse. And I’m slowly but surely getting there. So, while I get the work done, and get my holiday mood in check, here’s one from about three years ago where I reflected on this very challenge. ~JRC
Often work is fun, but sometimes it's just work
First published October 26th, 2020
Creating and writing don't always come naturally to me, so I must work at them. But that's part of the allure. Perfection, as we know, is impossible. But doing better than before - that is attainable.
It’s why I work - I love a good challenge.
While challenges can be rewarding, they can also be a pain in the butt. I encountered this the other day while working in - and on - my shop. It was a routine job - I needed to apply a waterproof roofing layer to the lab annex (the add-on 6 ft x 12 ft space outside the door). The stuff I used is pretty amazing - it's a peel & stick material that is lighter and easier to use than either asphalt shingles or hot tar.
Let me rephrase that - it's less hard to work with than other types of roofing.
The self-adhesive sheeting comes in 3 ft x 34 ft rolls that weigh about 60 lbs. It's super sticky - it can be applied to RV roofs and will stay attached going 70 mph down the highway. This high adhesion is a strength, but boy, is it ever unforgiving. Do you know how duct tape gets stuck to itself? The goo on the roofing is that sticky - but on anything it touches.
Getting it applied without wrinkles is a two-person job, at least. I stubbornly went at it solo.
The tackiness is only one challenge. As mentioned, the rolls are large and heavy, so rolling it out to apply takes a bit of doing. My annex, while sturdy, is not strong enough to walk on. So I had first to take down the two 4 ft x 6 ft panels. Inside my small shop, these things felt huge.
I then cut and attached flashing (thin metal strips that protect the edges from water). The process was straightforward enough. But again, it required some maneuvering in the cramped space.
You probably noted my roof sections are a foot wider than the roofing material rolls. The project would take a second piece on each panel to complete. That was fine, but getting the first lined up was concerning. I was inclined to put the material on flush with the edges, then roll it out, starting from one corner. But I soon realized this was a no-go.
The material was thick and heavy, even after cutting to size, and it moved around on me as I tried to peel and stick it down. Several times I began, only to get off the straight line by a small bit. Over 6 ft, a small mistake early on propagates, creating a wide gap at the other end.
Dang.
After several tries, I reconsidered my approach and sized the piece to overlap on all sides. It was easier to apply then, and I was able to get it on smoothly. I then trimmed the excess with a razor knife and straightedge. Doing the second panel was less challenging after what I learned, but it still took some doing.
With the big sections done, I now had to go back and cover the exposed one-foot swaths.
I decided to cut the long, narrow strips first, so I scoured my wood stacks for a suitable backer to cut on. I then placed this on the lab floor, rolled out about 7 ft of the roofing, and cut two strips with the straight edge. These went on much easier, owing to their manageable width.
With the bulk completed, I still had some details to address. I needed to create a slim panel that would cover where the two large panels come together. This I made from a strip of 1/4 inch plywood covered in the roofing material.
Making the strip meant dragging out the table saw, which I first had to make room for by picking up the roof project. Saw set up, I made the piece, and then reversed the process - I put back the saw and again laid the roof sections back down. While I had finished the panels, I still needed to line them up to drill holes for the strip.
Warning - if you are going to drill holes in a roof, be confident you are doing it in the right spot. I was - and I did - thankfully. But it took effort and time to measure and do it right.
With a little more fumbling about, I finished the build and reassembled my roof. All told it took about three hours. And it was exhausting. The work itself was mildly hard - lots of stretching and bending over. That, and some heavy lifting. But the real strenuous part was how awkward the challenge was.
As I started by saying, I love a good challenge. But challenges come in all shapes and sizes. For me, the fun ones are those where I must apply logic and ingenuity to overcome. And the ones that are a pain? These I have to muscle through to achieve. While they might take some thought, they are never satisfying, like a deep mental challenge.
My roofing job was a slog. And it was anything but fun.
The thing is, life isn't all fun. It’s life, and life sucks from time to time. We do things that we have to, not only those we want to. My roof was a "have to" kind of job. The slog made it painful and took me away from other, more rewarding work. But it had to be done.
Today, it rained. And the inside of my annex was dry. I'm thankful for that and appreciate that I took the time - no matter how taxing - to get it done before the storm.
With the rain coming down, I kept working.
Until next time.
JRC