When we bought the OB Gingerbread, the roof of the cottage was in sad shape. The shingles were old, curling and covered with moss. It was obvious that a new roof was in order. The picture doesn't really show how bad it looked, you will need to trust us!So, we hired a local contractor to remove the old shingles, repair any rot, put an ice shield layer
and top it off with architectural shingles. They did the work in March. In addition to the top of the house, they reshingled the roof of the porch. Because there are shingles under the pulpit porch, the upstairs porch was removed from the house...ouch. They had to cut it off the house! They were able to reshingle under the porch and re-attach the porch to the house. While they were doing this, we requested that they reshingle the top half of the front of the house. Barry and I had painted the shingles in the basement of our Marion house during the winter. We were able to put a coat of primer and 2 coats of stain on all 4 sides of each cedar shingle. As you can see below, we added rows of "fish scale" shingles. We even had the contractor paint the spire at the peak our incredible hot tomale red!
and top it off with architectural shingles. They did the work in March. In addition to the top of the house, they reshingled the roof of the porch. Because there are shingles under the pulpit porch, the upstairs porch was removed from the house...ouch. They had to cut it off the house! They were able to reshingle under the porch and re-attach the porch to the house. While they were doing this, we requested that they reshingle the top half of the front of the house. Barry and I had painted the shingles in the basement of our Marion house during the winter. We were able to put a coat of primer and 2 coats of stain on all 4 sides of each cedar shingle. As you can see below, we added rows of "fish scale" shingles. We even had the contractor paint the spire at the peak our incredible hot tomale red!
The transformation was incredible. The shingles are comprised of several colors on the house: red, blue, and green. Depending on the time of day and what angle you look at the house, a different color pops out. The architectural shingles provide interest with a varied pattern that makes it look like shingles on the side of the house. Because our house has the tallest peak in our area, our new roof really stands out.
Today we hosted our first official cottage event, a luncheon for the South Coast Instructional Technology Team (aka southcoast Tech Directors). After catching the 7:30 ferry to visit the West Tisbury Elementary School to see the exciting things they are doing with technology, twelve guests trooped to our little Gingerbread for some lunch and conversation. They christened our new Guest Book and stopped for a picture on our newly painted front porch before heading out to catch the 1:15 ferry back to Falmouth. All things considered, I was very impressed that 13 people in the little house did not seem claustrophobic! Let the summer parties begin.....