I don’t do roofs. I don’t even want to get on roofs. I can’t believe roofers do roofs. They have my respect for being tough enough to work at heights in temperature extremes year after year. They are made of far tougher stuff than I am.
Weather delays
I knew the roof was long past needing replacement when I bought this foreclosure, but have been waiting for it to stop raining and get warm enough to put a new one on.
It was supposed to be upper 40’s today (only hit 35) and in the 60’s for the next three days with sunny skies. 40’s is okay for ripping the old shingles off, but warmer weather is important for putting the new shingles on so the heat of the sun with set the shingles.
I found an absolute sweetie of a roofer who has steadfastly refused to start until he was sure I wouldn’t get rained on during the process and the temps would be warm enough for the shingles. Integrity and a good price on the roofing job. I feel very lucky to have found him.
Lessons learned
I have always been proactive about roof repairs and found out today the price of delaying. The original roof had been put on with no tar paper under it (I have never even heard of that) and was 3 to 4 years past needing replacement.
The roofer told me I was lucky in some ways — there were wet spots (we had snow the last 2 days) but he could tell the moisture had soaked into the sheeting and not gone through to be dripping on my ceilings and damaging the drywall. That’s the good part.
Because the roof wasn’t replaced when it should have been the water got into the sheeting on the roof in places and made the wood soft so they have had to tear off areas of plywood and put new down before proceeding.
Shopping for a roofer
I talked to a lot of roofers before I hired this man. He was highly recommended to me by a couple people who have lived in the area their entire lives. They were right. He’s honest, concerned about doing things right, and charges a reasonable amount.
The other estimates I got were bizarre — to the point I started wondering if I had sucker tattooed on my forehead. I checked in the the mirror and didn’t see anything. Not sure where they got the idea they could give me estimates for twice what it should cost and I would smile and say okay.
I figure this was caused by this roof replacement not being controlled by insurance. Then they would know what insurance would cover. Now there were trying to perform a little highway robbery, only I wasn’t going along.
Summary
Important things learned:
- Whether covered by insurance or not, do not procrastinate about doing a needed roof replacement. The longer you wait, the more damage and the more it will cost.
- Shop for roofers. Get several estimates and talk to them. It’s not just about price. It also matters that they want to do things the right way. Make sure it’s the same quality of shingle from each quote so you’re comparing apples to apples.
- Be patient. Shingled roofs should have a chance to seal in warm weather when installed and that will most likely need temperatures in the 60’s.
- Be prepared for the noise. Ripping off shingles and replacing them is a noisy business. It’s a little annoying for a human, but might be stressful for pets so be aware of how it’s affecting them.
Not the most exciting dollars you will ever spend on your home, but it’s the cap that protects everything that resides below it. Money well spent.
