Roof for Oil Tank

I've really fallen very far behind in writing blog entries and sharing photos lately due to really lousy health for much of this year.  Well, actually, I've fallen behind due to lousy health through much of the pandemic!  I've honestly lost track of how many times I've had the virus at this point.  

Frustratingly inaccurate COVID tests have also clouded my memory of how many times I've actually been very sick.  You need to test about six times before you get a positive result which pretty much renders the tests useless.  While people are testing negative (IF they even have enough of a moral compass to test at all), they are going to work and socializing and spreading the virus even more.  This pandemic has become a bit of a blur of illness, death and nothingness so I honestly can no longer remember how and when I've been sick.  This period from January 2020 to today has been a blur of nothingness.  What I do know for sure is that I've been down far more months than I have been up and around during this long pandemic.  

That being said, just before Adam came for a visit in early October, I managed to get a long overdue project completed.  

On the backside of the house, we have our fairly new oil tank and gas tank.  I haven't done any renovations on this side of the house yet but that is one of many items on my long to-do list.  The new oil tank was placed right under the edge of the roofline where icicles grow to dangerous lengths and weights.  We needed to protect the new tank, the glass gauge and the plumbing lines from falling icicles and snow.  

We had to purchase this new oil tank a few years ago and the fuel company advised us to put a roof over the oil tank when they did the install.  Well, I finally got that little project done.  Some of our neighbors have actually been denied service until they put a roof over their oil tanks.  Our oil company, however, wasn't as demanding so I had a little time.   

I designed a small timber frame roof structure to fit nicely over the oil tank.  This timber frame fits in with how we have been renovating the house and I certainly wanted this little structure to fit in with the rest of the house.  

Lowes finally had some lumber in stock...  still at absurd prices but it was in stock for a change...  so we purchased what I needed for this relatively small project.  

Fortunately, I had a few good health days and the weather cooperated so I was able to complete this project in about two days...  well, it was really two half days of work because half days is about all I can handle now even on a "good" day.  I also played around with sketching design ideas for about a month beforehand.  I knew I wanted to keep this design as simple as possible but design it to fit in with the rest of the renovations.

I started drawing up designs that tied in with the existing roof structure over the house.  I came up with a few designs but they were overly complicated.  I wanted something simpler but still looking nice with correct proportions.  I then decided to build a separate roof structure that tucked in under the soffit of the existing house roof.  

As you can see in the photos, I haven't installed new siding on this side of the house yet.  We have a plan that involves removing all three windows visible in the top photo and the photo at right and then installing four or five newer, larger windows in slightly different places.  Once the windows are installed in their new locations, then I can side this backside of the house.  

On the first day, I managed to cut and assemble the heavy timber support frames.  Actually, I even managed to install these two heavy timber support frames by myself.  Sheila was at work on that day so I came up with a solution which would allow me to install both of these timber frames by myself.  I ended up with some bruised and sore shoulders but I was able to do it myself.  

The next day I cut and assembled the frame for the corrugated metal roofing panels.  After assembling the wood frame, I cut the metal panels and screwed them to the frame.  Sheila was at home on this day so she was able to help hold this assembled roof panel in place while I screwed it to the timber frames.  Having two extra hands made this quick and easy.

Overall, this was a pretty easy project and it looks nice.  It will look better when the siding is installed and everything is painted but it is looking better already.  The oil company hasn't been here yet to fill our tank but I'm sure they will be happy to see the roof structure too!