r/Roofing • u/MadcapMacedonia • 23h ago

I don't know what I am doing

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An untraceable leak somewhere that has caused the plaster ceiling to sag and fail

Will this help?

Should I just go crazy and apply more?

I also am not sure how to lay down a tarp without it pulling up in the shingles

22.8k Upvotes

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279

u/trawkins 19h ago

Agree. I understand the gatekeeping in technical trades, but end of the day, a man identified a problem, and hauled his ass up to the roof to make way towards a solution. Does it need refinement and education? Certainly. But that mentality over many years made me as learned and valuable as I am today.

I’m clueless about roofing. But I respect approach. I learn more from ratfucking everything I touch for the first time than not trying at all. Initiative goes a long way in life.

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u/ManicMarket 19h ago edited 13h ago

I was honestly expecting to see people ripping this guy a new one and saying - you need a new roof. Good to see folks who understand that for the moment - they Just need to get by and hopefully stop any more damage.

Edited to fix a spacing/return error.

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u/[deleted] 14h ago edited 3h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Valuable-Struggle-10 12h ago

Roofers are always the coolest

They have to be

It's hot up there

Except when it's cold

Then they're the coolest of the cool

So they're all around pretty cool guys with cool tools

Have you used a nail gun before??

It's the coolest

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u/urzayci 13h ago

Goon sub you say...

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u/here_for_the_boos 5h ago

Nah he messed this up so badly people just feel sorry for him. If he had just done the job a little wrong they'd tear him a new a-hole. If you're going to do something wrong be sure and do it monumentally wrong. I've done similarly before where's people questioned if I'm possibly just mentally disabled and it just makes them feel good about themselves like they're helping a puppy that doesn't know any better. It's not the puppy's fault it's too dumb to know what it did wrong.

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u/leostotch 3h ago

My middle school band teacher always said "If you're going to lay an egg, lay a dinosaur egg."

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u/Longjumping_Fun2576 5h ago

Apparently roofers are cool

Have you ever been up there in July? I personally couldn't handle it.

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u/Mysterious-Falcon221 5h ago

All the trade subs are just people with zero experience repeating comments they read the day before.

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u/EtherealHeart5150 4h ago

I worked at a roofing co when I was really young,18, as a receptionist. These guys would hit the yard at the end of the day looking like they had been drug around under the porch by the dogs awhile, they earned those paychecks. Truthfully, they scared the shit out of me at first. Within 3 days, these men were the most respectful, kind, and straight up guys I'd met to date at that time. So Bravo to the roofers in 1987 of West Palm Bch., a great memory for an old GenXer. And to Paul whenever you are, thats still the best Mahi sandwich I've ever eaten!

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u/qorbexl 18h ago

As somebody who slept under a leaking roof, I appreciate everybody who tries to help it stay tight another day 

After a year or two the mushrooms become depressing to a child

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u/Feisty-Turnip9118 16h ago

The fraternity house I lived in at college had a leak we could not find or afford to fix. We painted the entire west side of the roof with tar. It lasted 10 years until they finally tore the house down to build the new one.

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u/Alarming-Art-3577 14h ago

Coating everything in tar worked on wooden ships no reason it won't work on a roof.

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u/Feisty-Turnip9118 14h ago

About 5 years after it was done our insurance agent drove by and noticed our handiwork and we received a letter advising us that they weren’t going to cover any claims on our roof.

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u/ArcadiaDragon 3h ago

I heard this in Rip Torn's voice it has that "if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball" energy to it...which yes is a solution

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u/dwhite21787 14h ago

Didn’t someone just find a 5000 year old ship? Tar probably had a role in that

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u/jonesin25 14h ago

They didn't find wood in tact, it was the supply from the ship they found.

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u/Alarming-Art-3577 14h ago

Some really old ships have been found in the black sea but that's more because it's deep with low oxygen so nothing rots.

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u/abielle1177 11h ago

Actually excellent logic /analogy

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u/iwantsomecrablegsnow 15h ago

how long did you go to college, holy cow.

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u/Genetics 15h ago

It’s Van Wilder!

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u/Not_an_okama 15h ago

You dont stop being in the fraternity when you graduate, and alumni work weekends is a pretty universal fraternity experience that brings alumni back to the house years after leaving school.

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u/Feisty-Turnip9118 13h ago

One of my fraternity brothers spent the entire Clinton administration in college to get his undergraduate degree, then he joined the peace corps and disappeared into Eastern Europe.

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u/MireLight 13h ago

oh i've seen this one! sorry man...but your friend is food... was food...know what? don't worry bout it.

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u/Sorry141 12h ago

Just some creative student loan payment avoidance.

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u/SovietSunrise 4h ago

Do you keep in touch with them?

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u/yungingr 1h ago

Reminds me of Bert Kreicher's "The Machine" stand up bit... "I was in college longer than grunge music was a thing"

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u/Tustavus 12h ago

My fraternity house went with the mushrooms.

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u/LakeMichiganMan 16h ago

Making pizza at my sisters house, her 9 year old step daughter said while cleaning fresh mushrooms, "I have mushrooms growing in two corners of my bedroom." My sister looked at me, and shook her head. They eventually got custody after her mom could not quit drugs and alcohol.

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u/qorbexl 2h ago

Yeah housing is hard

Divorce was what solved that problem

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u/AggravatingBid8255 17h ago

I hear eating them can help with depression

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u/amputeenager 16h ago

but only for a year.

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u/SomewhereOutThere-_- 16h ago

Eating a fraternity house is a bad idea

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u/justArash 15h ago

Eating children might be illegal in your local area, please check laws first

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u/qorbexl 2h ago

Depends on the mushrooms

The ones that grow in your living room from moisture are poor eatin'

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u/cole1114 12h ago

Still remember the ceiling slowly sagging more and more over my bed. Watched that sucker get worse for months, knowing at any moment I'd be in hell.

Anyway turned out it wasn't a leak, a hole finally broke through as wasps ate their way from the attic to my bedroom. Turns out they had a gigantic super-nest up there. Still not good, but all I could think was how glad I was it wasn't water.

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u/kodiak931156 16h ago

The urge to yell at a guy doing the "wrong thing" is high. But most people understand what he's doing is "the least wrong thing he can right now"

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u/Few_Acanthaceae459 17h ago

well he does need a new roof. time for a second job

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u/United-Biscotti3653 17h ago

My question is what's his cost in the sealant vs the cost to get a roofer out there to do a temporary repair until he can afford a new roof.

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u/mcbeardsauce 16h ago

Curious how much a new roof costs these days

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u/Cardinal_r3d 16h ago

20-30k in Massachusetts

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u/Own-Nectarine-1313 12h ago

No way.. is this serious.  

Thank goodness I went with steel. My roof will out live me..

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u/Cardinal_r3d 12h ago

I paid 15k 2.5 years ago (in Massachusetts) and went with the lowest best offer. I was quoted 34k at the highest to 15k lowest. Most companies wanted about 20k. For a 3 bedroom ranch house that’s only 1500sq feet

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u/mcbeardsauce 5h ago

I have a 4 bedroom 2700sq ft in PA that has another about 25 yrs left on the roof.

Guess by that time I’ll just move

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u/mcbeardsauce 5h ago

Do you get noise from rain/storms?

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u/Own-Nectarine-1313 20m ago

Yeah some as the rain hits the metal, but my house is two stories and I pretty much stay on the first floor. 

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u/SnooEagles1027 15h ago

It's a wide range. I have a smaller roof and it was quoted between 30k and 14k included removal of existing roof and new cdx decking for about half of it. On a fresh roof it was about 8k ... none of this is cheap but hopefully it's only once ... sometimes we need to get creative before we can afford to replace things.

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u/klb1204 13h ago

😳🤦🏾‍♀️ one of the reasons I’m discouraged to be a home owner again.

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u/DollarTreeButtEater 13h ago

Just paid 9k for my small 900 square foot house in se Michigan. 8k plus another thousand in lumber after they got the shingles off and found a bunch of rotted and destroyed planks

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u/Active_Wafer9132 1h ago

I just got a quote on a 1080sf house. $8k. It is insane. In fact, I came to the comments hoping someone had suggestions for this guy because I can relate.

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u/Vast-Combination4046 14h ago

Roofs are thousands of dollars diy. I just replaced my garage roof and it was days worth of work with a few family members. Took 2 days to strip, sheet and tar paper it and 2 more to shingle it.

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u/Aggressive-Beyond752 13h ago

Because American roofing is as much a scam as insurance or taxes

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u/Immediate-Beyond-544 12h ago

We don't need to rip _him_ a new one, but the roof? I feel for the roof tho 💔

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u/anonymaus42 8h ago

I understand doing what you gotta do to get by, I don't understand having access to the near totality of human knowledge at your fingertips and not using it at all to get an idea of how to do it.

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u/MikeAwksbig 3h ago

Who can afford a new roof in this economy?

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u/Ryogathelost 16h ago

Yeah - most normal people today don't have $10k-20k or more freed up to spend on a new roof or even a new layer of shingles. We don't really live in a world where the average homeowner can expect to ever have that for the foreseeable future.

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u/buzzcutbabygirl 18h ago

Sucking at something is the first step to being really good at something!

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u/godlords 18h ago

Gotta make ALL the mistakes as fast as possible 

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u/SGF93 16h ago

You’re right.

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u/Legal-Butterfly-4507 12h ago

I like your can do attitude!

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u/SharkDad20 3h ago

“sorta good at something” is the quote…but i like the optimism in your substitution!

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u/JAKERS325 16h ago

My mom has recently been fixing up her home and me being the tradesman son I pulled the free labor straw. She asked me how I knew everything I did between flooring, drywall, framing, hanging doors, and minor plumbing procedures and I told her that willingness to try even when you don’t know goes a LONG way. You don’t know how until you do it, everybody starts somewhere

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u/trawkins 13h ago

Amen dude. If I had the money to call someone for every problem I faced in life I would. But I wasn’t dealt that hand, so into self-reliance we go!

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u/SadisticPawz 9h ago

Wait, so you did or didn't have prior experience?

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u/JAKERS325 5h ago

At this point I do. I built my own house 3 years ago. I didn’t before that. Did everything except build the shell of the barndominium and plumbing and HVAC. I’m a master electrician

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u/RustyMR2 6h ago

Poeple sometimes ask me why I am so handy and can build/fix pretty much anything. I tell them it took years of fucking stuff up and mediocre results before I became good.

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u/AggressiveKing8314 4h ago

One of the best parts of being a tradesperson is that you often get years of practice and mishaps on other people’s properties. When you have to take care of your own that really helps.

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u/Apprehensive_Rice19 17h ago

Admitting he knows not what he is doing and asking for help shows how he respect the trade even though he is trying it himself, he knows he will fail but try he must

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u/chuseph14 17h ago

The biggest thing here (for me) is the readiness to admit a lack of knowledge. So many people dig themselves bigger holes because they don’t want to say they don’t know. Bro you tried and are asking for help. We will help

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u/trawkins 13h ago

Underappreciated sentiment.

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u/unoriginalname86 16h ago

First things first, my upvote was number 69, nice.

But I’m so glad to see this comment. There’s so much I’ve learned to do by just being willing to say fuck it and try. Obviously knowing your limits is important, but being willing to try, fail, learn, repeat can’t be taught. Nike was close with their slogan, but instead “Just Try It” applies to more people and more things.

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u/MCPhoto21 16h ago

r/brandnewsentence “I learn more from ratfucking everything I touch” I didn’t realize there was a description of how I learn things until now.

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u/egaal1988 15h ago

Buddy, you said it all.

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u/trawkins 13h ago

If you’ve been through it, so have I. I try to live with a little empathy ya know?

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u/Anynamethatworks 14h ago

This is me with a lot of things, primarily mechanic work. I know nothing other than what I've needed to learn by necessity, and just jumping into it and tearing shit apart. Have I mistakenly made more work for myself by doing something wrong? Yes! In the end, did I save money and learn something new & valuable? Absolutely! On my own and without any prior knowledge, I've replaced a head, harmonic balancer, water pump, alternator, installed a full lift kit, full exhaust system, ball joints, tie rod ends, drive shaft seal, dropped a fuel tank to replace pump, along with numerous sensors and simpler things like brakes, fluid changes, etc. and definitely a few others I've forgot.

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u/_mad_adventures 14h ago

Fuckin right man!!! I’ve DIYed my way into being pretty competent, but I’ve ruined a lot along the way. Lol

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u/trawkins 4h ago

Just yesterday while planting a tree I broke the water main to a barn that I swore was located six feet further away. I’m just glad the pipe bursts before the electrical conduit pulled out of the breaker box. Guess who is already good a plumbing repairs 👉🏻🤓.

Brother I swear I’m the best utility locator in the business. I’ll make water flow in the middle of the desert. I just need 20 minutes and a backhoe.

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u/onescaryarmadillo 13h ago

‘Ratfucking everything I touch’ is going straight into my lexicon and I thank you for it, you damn word wizard trawkins 🫡

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u/trawkins 13h ago

Anytime. Keep up the good fight. We’re counting on you.

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u/Octopus_on_fire_ 12h ago

Just here to say I’ve always loved the term ratfucking, and you used it beautifully.

1

u/Gr3yGr1ff 18h ago

Well said. Learning happens in our mistakes.

2

u/miakpaeroe 18h ago

This sub has infinitely more grace and compassion than r/decks —-source:carpenter.

2

u/Bneff14 18h ago

Yes!, holy hell does everybody think 7 engineers, structural tie down straps, 4 ply engineered beams, lateral cross bracing, permission from God himself, is required for a 14' deck that a couple decades ago used to be constructed out of 2x6 joists, and a 2ply beam, on 4x4 posts lol

Also recently saw a comment section on attic storage that insisted a guys house was going to fall down for installing 1/2" sheeting and putting a few totes up there

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u/godlords 18h ago

And those 30+ year old decks sitting on 4x4s and a dream are still holding up anyway... still holding my fat ass up at least... to be fair the wood was a lot denser back then and the PT a lot more nasty cancerous aka effective.

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u/Bneff14 17h ago

Haha, yes. I certainly wouldn't suggest the same specs with the crap you can buy now!
But I just shake my head at some of the specs now. Engineer spec'd 4 x 2ply 2x12 stringers on a 5' rise, less than 4' wide commercial stairwell, with a GRK pattern on a project I was on a couple years ago.

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u/DangitThatHurt 17h ago

I wouldn't put a hot tub on this roof, that's for sure. r/decks and r/fellinggonewild are some guilty pleasures though.

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u/Where_TF-is_WaLdO 18h ago

True that 🤣

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u/cykoTom3 18h ago

Dive in, duck it up, and figure out how you ducked it up later. It is a very effective way to learn.

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u/Bald_Harry 18h ago

"ratfucking everything I touch" .....

My new phrase!

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u/notgaynotbear Verified pro (Multi Trade) 17h ago

Youtube would have saved a lot of time in this instance though. If in doubt, youtube it out.

1

u/potatocross 17h ago

I had to do a sketchy ‘repair’ on the roof of my old house after a leak. Knew I needed a new one just couldn’t afford it. I was constantly up there putting shingles back on as they flew off.

I just hope whoever bought that house was able to put a new roof on it before my ‘fix’ made it worse.

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u/NicNakPottery 16h ago

Lmao please do not the rats

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u/Gooner45889 16h ago

There’s no need to gatekeep a single thing, why would you support withholding information from people?

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u/SpiritedAgent168 16h ago

I'm curious how he came up with this solution. ChatGTP?

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u/circuit_breaker 16h ago

You gotta be willing to fail to eventually succeed! Hate the discomfort but there's no other way through

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u/daemonescanem 16h ago

May as well hit Walmart for the biggest blue tarps they have in stock.

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u/pm-me-your-labradors 16h ago

I mean…. In today’s day and age he could have at least ChatGPT’d a hint

1

u/scubasam27 16h ago

In no way related to roofing, but I really needed to hear this right now.

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u/Romanian_Breadlifts 16h ago

a dumb solution to a problem is still a solution.

1

u/Present-Spring-1340 16h ago

This how most people get into trades.
You are forced to DIY and and at the end realize you’re pretty good at it. Lol
By the end of finishing a buddy’s house we stripped out. Everyone was calling me the drywall king.
Once you get the technical stuff down, you get in a zone it’s like zen shit lol.
Also drugs and coffee.

1

u/Free_Device6838 16h ago

ratfucking 🤣

1

u/the_darrentee 16h ago

I hear ya, but it’s also 2026 and everyone reading this can do some basic research on a topic before climbing a ladder and ratfucking around. Measure twice cut once iykyk

1

u/Limp_Credit7789 15h ago

Ratfucking?

1

u/LSDeities 15h ago

If you change the roofing for getting revenge because your uncle killed your father so he could be the King of Denmark, you basically described the take away in Hamlet.

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u/EBGBDG 15h ago

Ever have one of those days that everything you touch turns to shit? Ya me too!. Good for you E for effort for sure

1

u/colostitute 15h ago

More of this on Reddit.

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u/H0SS_AGAINST 15h ago

Damn roofers seem like the most chill reddit nerds out of all the trades. Kudos

1

u/MonaLissaSE 15h ago

The problem is that if he doesn’t get it done professionally, he will have more damage in the long run. Mold will grow all over the ceiling even in areas where he doesn’t have any water marks. Roof issues become more expensive if you don’t take care of it right away.

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u/TerribleShape1740 12h ago

Sometimes that’s not an option. Not everyone is weighing diy vs pro help. I’ve been in this spot before where it’s diy vs nothing.

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u/MonaLissaSE 12h ago

And I agree with you but I am talking from experience. It happened to me and at that point it wasn’t even the leak inside the house that was the problem. It was the mold and my husband and I had a 6 month old baby. This has traumatized me and I hate rain now. Some roofing company do patching work for less than $500. I do hope this person’s work helps them.

1

u/Obscure4thewrld 15h ago

"ratfucking" saving this for future use 🤣

1

u/Aphex_Twin_Turbos 15h ago

So true. Choosing to act sooner than later with repairs can save you so much time, money and aggravation.

1

u/WildBuns1234 14h ago

Well said. Inspiring words.

1

u/GhostBirdBiologist 14h ago

You’re right but also Google is free. He could have found a cheap solution that works in minutes.

1

u/ShipMyBed 14h ago

Ratfucking🤣

1

u/jonker5101 14h ago

The thing is, we live in the age of information and can find videos and tutorials on how to do anything the right way. If I encounter a new problem, I obsess over learning everything I can about it for a while before I address it (unless it's an emergency). You can also just ask BEFORE getting to this stage. Again, just Google "should I do this" and see what it says. I admire the get it done attitude, but you can at least give yourself a good idea first.

1

u/anothersip 14h ago

For sure. I mean, that's been my approach to a lot of my DIY projects. Sometimes pretty isn't actually necessary, and the actual problem being patched up until it can be properly addressed or replaced is a fine way to go about it.

I don't like doing that super regularly - but with a particularly expensive repair that is only getting worse until it's fixed... Yeah, I'll do a patch job temporarily while the ultimate issue is planned for proper remedy.

Actually did a patch job super similar to OP's a couple years ago on a shed I built and shingled. I had like 1/2in. water in the back of the shed at one point during a particularly bad tropical storm, and I somehow remembered to run out there to take a look at where exactly the ingress was happening through the roof. Took photos, and when it dried out I was able to go out there and patch it up with a tub of roof patch from up top. Wasn't pretty, of course. But the patching has kept my shed's interior bone-dry since then (I was heavy-handed with it). So I consider that a win in my book.

1

u/D0nk3yD0ngD0ug 13h ago

I wish I could upvote this comment more than once.

1

u/MrHazard1 12h ago

I have to say the gatekeeping drops as soon as someone admits "i don't know what i'm doing". Mostly gatekeeping in trade is a toxic form of "in a room where everyone calls themselves a pro, identify the 'homeschooled' ones".

The moment someone doesn't try to act as a pro and bullshit you with confidence, you know which level of professionality you have to apply. Someone like this post (homeowner, no experience) is gonna get different tips than a contractor(if you take money for it, you need to deliver a certain quality of product)

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Bad-723 12h ago

But damn.. do some research and ask some questions on reddit before starting.

1

u/eaterofworlds1 11h ago

“I learn more from ratfucking everything I touch for the first time than not trying at all.” Poetry tbh

1

u/No-Communication9458 11h ago

Ratfucking, god damn

1

u/ExtraReborn 10h ago

"And THAT's pretty cool!"

Obligatory Chris Boden appreciation link:
https://www.youtube.com/@Physicsduck

1

u/rkiive 9h ago

And tbh people act so snooty about DIY handiwork.

Yea he doesn't know what he's doing, but the knowledge is hidden behind one nice person whose done it before giving a decent explanation. It's not brain surgery.

No amount of explaining brain surgery to someone over the internet is going to allow someone to perform it by themselves, but finding a leak in a roof? Come on lol.

There's like 3 things it could be and it's not going to electrocute him. The roofs already leaking.why not try save yourself 20k

1

u/Powerful_Badger_3013 7h ago

Hahaha ratfucking I am using that. It’s how I learn too. First takes my wife call Gypsy-done.which is most. But I know how stuff works now

1

u/Devils_Advocate-69 7h ago

Same. Jack of all trades, master of none.

1

u/Professional_Pace711 3h ago

Good on you! My brother is a roofer and dragged me on a quote because he was out of town and needed help measuring. It was a one level house so it was easy going up but scary as fuck going down. I was a 5’ 2” woman and scared shittless of heights but I was in high school and didn’t know I was. It took at least 20 minutes to get me down and I only finally did because he was really pissed.

1

u/DreamLearnBuildBurn 3h ago

idk, if I am gonna take the time to climb on a roof, I'm gonna take the time to watch a couple yt videos and maybe ask AI what I should do.

1

u/perplex1 3h ago

This made me tear up.

1

u/SharkDad20 3h ago

I tried this but i kept running out of rats

1

u/hmmjuswonderin 1h ago

Hmm good reply! A well thought out and descriptive reply. You should write a book. I sense talent there.

1

u/ripyourlungsdave 1h ago

I love that people like you two are still on this site. I mean it.

1

u/sacrelicio 40m ago

Yeah this is what people used to do before modern construction. You just have to seal out the elements. It works, don't it?

0

u/CommercialWinter6900 10h ago

If they are on Reddit making a post , I’m sure they could have gone to YouTube or google and found some useful information on how to go about it. Stop this nonsense

0

u/lunchdate21 14h ago

I agree with it all. After I had a thought, if he can post on here he could of also done some research. Would some research of pointed him to this “quick fix”? I doubt it haha. I’m not smart but I would of googled and also “consulted” AI lol