With the rains starting a lot earlier this year, we wanted to fully secure our roof. Last rainy season was particularly intense, and even though our roof held up, it requires ongoing maintenance. We had to check for and replace broken roof tiles which were letting in water numerous times (turns out our contractor bought the cheapest tiles possible).
There have been a few areas of the roof that have been a problem from day 1. They are on 3 sides of the building and are all close to the edge. The calciboard and wood that is under the edge of the roof seems to be getting wet because we can see fungus growing in certain places. We had a few roofing contractors out with suggestions on how to fix it, ranging from replacing all the roof tiles to changing the angle of the frame the roof. Unsurprisingly, all their options involved significant expense.
We sat down with our team as they are the masters of getting stuff done efficiently. So they took out our scaffolding, which we were storing by the side of the house (unsightly, but we knew it would come in handy!) and went up to have a look. They also climbed up from inside the house into the roof area to investigate.
After much discussion, they said it could probably be fixed by simply adding a sheet of 1 metre deep piece plastic under the tiles, along the edge of the roof. It seems that water is getting in and pooling on the top of the calciboard, creating the fungus.
They were confident they could fix it easily and cheaply so it’s worth giving them a chance!
I’m not sure if their scaffolding technique would pass Occupation Health and Safety standards but the team had no concerns (eeeek!).
So up they went on the scaffolding to lift up the tiles and place down a sheet of plastic close to the edge of the room. They also put 5cm of plastic over the edge so that the water could run down the plastic and off the edge.
Over the last week, they have been moving around the edges of the roof and fixing them up. So far, so good.
We’ll also use this time to fix up the top of the feature wall which had been made too flat, and allowed water to pool. Pak Slamet plans to get up on the room with some cement to create a ramp that runs the water off to the side. We’ll put in a pipe or gutter that will drain the water away and off to the side of the building.
It’s looking good so far but we haven’t had a big storm to test it out yet.  The one way to know for sure will be to check after the next heavy rain!
I’ve realised we’ll need to get access to the roof and second floor from the outside in the future, so I think I think we’ll be holding onto the scaffolding for a while to come.
While they were up on the scaffolding, it seemed wise to take advantage of the situation and do some touch ups. The iron window frames have been looking a little weathered so we had the team repaint them.
When I can, I love getting a special piece of art. Something that captures my attention. When a friend left the island a couple of years ago, she was selling 2 stunning paintings. Thanks to a surprise present from hubby, they now hang in my living room, and I absolutely love them.
Recently, I had a fascinating chat with with Budiman Ong from Ong Cen Kuang for the Bali Interiors Stories podcast. One of his incredible pieces was so memorable, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. And, low and behold, I had also been looking for a large light for my living room.
Sometimes, the planets align and things are meant to be! The universe was telling me I need that light! It’s simply stunning. I am thrilled with it!
My kids recently celebrated their birthdays. They turned 9 and 6 in the same month. Even though the world is going through an incredibly tough time (particularly here in Indonesia), we know how lucky we are to raise them on this amazing tropical island.
Sheila
