Roof Trouble

As big as Katrina was, apparently we were only on the very edge. At least the rain allowed us to test whether we had fixed our chimney. It tends to leak, nothing very damaging yet, but once I noticed a pool of water around the hearth. The fireplace is essentially useless anyway. When I moved in I piled some bad paperback novels and right-wing literature in there, topped off with a bio of W as a conversation piece.

I had been led to believe that Rob knew how to fix it, so we finally obtained a ladder a few weeks ago. Once I got up there, Rob denied that the landlord had ever given him specific directions on what to do. Apparently they had attempted to cover it by putting some bricks along the corners, and then placing a paving stone from the yard as a cover. Propping it up on the bricks, however, still allowed rain in on the sides, since rain rarely comes down straight. We had nothing available to cover the whole chimney.

Allen came over Friday and we decided to wrap some heavy trash bags around it. They are tied on with rope and weighted down with the paving stone. We thought we would have a hurricane to test it, but we got enough rain to know that it seems to be working. It looks pretty asinine if your eyes happen to stray up there, but I doubt anyone will notice. Neighbourhood Associations do not tend to form in the student ghetto.