Fixing the Black Box Roof
Even before the workmen moved into the Black Box to begin work on the interior, we knew that the first thing we had to do before the summer came with its rain and heat was to fix the Black Box roof. So even while Arsenic and Old Lace was going on, we were checking out the roof to see where the water was getting in. Brian Reckley and his team did a complete inspection.
The good news: the roof was not as bad as we thought it might be. One of the main problems seemed to be collection of leaves from the trees which lodged in the grooves of the roof and attracted water when it rained. The other was the guttering: the main places water was coming in was through the walls where the gutters, compromised by age and tree roots and other activity, leaked against the concrete. So they cleaned off the roof, painted it with all-weather sealant, and pulled the gutters away from the walls.
The verdict: we waited with bated breath during last week’s rain. By that time renovation was ongoing in the Black Box, and that was the test.
Spoiler alert: THERE WAS NO WATER AT ALL!!!
The Black Box is now watertight and dry!