Carpenter Ant Damage at the Closet Bump Out!

Day #124

May 31, 2020 – The last section of the old roof that needs attention is the closet “Bump Out”. The exposed roof rafters in this area are clearly rotted so I know that a repair is necessary. This morning I started to demolish this roof. In a very short time it became evident that we have Carpenter Ant damage.

Closet Bump Out
Roof demolition at the closet bump out.
Carpenter Ant Damage - Outside Corner
Carpenter Ant Damage – Outside Corner
Top of Wall
Carpenter Ant Damage at the top of wall at the closet bump out.

Unlike Termites, Carpenter Ants don’t actually eat the wood, they burrow through it to create their nests, called galleries. The burrowing process leaves a very fine sawdust behind. The top of the closet and outside wall contained large amounts of this sawdust.

Carpenter Ant Damage
Carpenter Ant sawdust build up in the top of the closet.
Carpenter Ant Sawdust
Carpenter Ant sawdust in the closet wall.

With the damaged wood removed I re-framed the exposed roof rafters, installed new plywood wall sheathing and new roof sheathing.

Closet Bump Out
New roof joists.
Closet Bump Out Framing
New wall sheathing and roof rafters to repair the Carpenter Ant damage at the closet bump out.
Closet Bump Out Roof Framing
Fascia framing.
Closet Bump Out Roof
Roof sheathing installed.

After the plywood roof sheathing I covered the closet bump out with 30 lb. roof felt. This will keep it dry until the new metal roof system is installed. This is the last section of the existing roof that needed to be fixed. The next major task is the installation of fully vented aluminum soffit underneath the roof overhang around the entire cottage.

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