Repairing the roof in Pilerne, Goa

We headed to Goa to give the old homestead a look see. There is always work to be done in the house and this time one area of the roof needed work. So because we work on a terribly tight budget, we buy the wood and call in the workers and supervise the job. We are the contractors, we dont contract it out and lose more money.

So we drove down like we always do and called in the workers and got down to work. They came in very early as in Goa the heat on the roof gets unbearable as the day goes along. So the earlier the better. By seven the men had arrived and they hared up the roof like monkeys, lithe and fit and in no time were pulling off the old tiles to get to the rotten rafters.

The rotten rafters came down with a crash and clouds of mud and dust. We ran to cover the beds where our stuff was kept. The men worked fast and furiously. Pulling up the new rafters we had bought for them and with the kgs of nails hammered them into place.

Once the new rafters were put in place, the tiles came up fast and furious. Beautiful, mellow terracotta tiles. The roof was starting to look like a roof again, but many tiles broke while the work was being completed. Thats part of the deal anyway, thats why extra tiles are bought.

In the remaining days we began painting the windows so the house began to look good. It was a happy feeling to see the new coats of paint come onto the old main door and the mother-of-pearl windows. Dad would have been pleased. And I was happy I was there in the kanta season.