The Roof. The Roof. The Roof is On...

...actually, that's it.  The roof is ON.  Finally!  We've known for a while that we needed to replace our roof.  It was about fifteen years old (for twenty year shingles, that's pretty old), and it had sustained wind damage from a few major wind storms AND Ike.  Since we didn't want to drop $6K (+) on our already over-improved-for-the-neighborhood house, our plan was to DIY the thing.  We put it off.  Then we put it off some more.  We saved about $2,000, hoping to get it done for around that much, and then we put it off just a little longer.

That's when a few things happened.  First, Pat started working crazy long hours at work, then his dad went into the hospital.  Between work and visiting his dad, his nights and weekends (our planned time for replacing the roof) were full.  The roof problem became more urgent when we noticed three new leaks after a heavy storm.  Then his dad took a turn for the worse, and I just couldn't imagine bugging Patrick to work on the roof while he was dealing with his new grief.  I decided, on a whim, to get an estimate from a professional roofer.  I knew it was a long shot, but I thought maybe I could find someone who could make a deal to get it done for somewhere near what we had saved.

Enter Jon Simmons.  Or you can just call him Roof Hero (not his company name, just me being a dork) for short.  He came out, and instead giving an estimate like I expected, he told me some pretty great news.  Our insurance might cover the obvious wind damage!  I was pretty skeptical.  I figured that since our roof was so old, the insurance company wouldn't want to pay to replace it.  That's why we didn't file a claim when we first noticed the damage.  He encouraged me to try anyway, so I did.

First, I called our former insurance company (we changed companies in May, another reason I didn't expect them to pay) to initiate a claim.  I explained what our roofer had told us: there was significant wind damage on our roof.  I didn't know exactly when the damage had occurred, just that it had been that way for more than six months (because that's when we noticed how bad it looked) and less than a year.  I swear the adjuster sounded like she was laughing when I told her that I wasn't sure when the damage happened.  I thought that would be the end of that, but then she scheduled for an outside adjuster to come look at the damage.

Roof Hero had a guy come meet the outside adjuster, which was great, because I was free to take care of Madison the whole time instead of holding the end of a measuring tape.  I kind of figured we were spinning our wheels, but it didn't hurt to try.  The next few weeks were so awful with hospices, "arrangements", and a funeral, that we pretty much forgot about the roof/insurance process.  So when our claims adjuster called me one afternoon to tell me that we were approved and she was mailing a check, I had to sit down for a minute.  Well, more like thirty seconds.  Then Patrick, Madison, and I did a happy dance all around the house for about ten minutes.

Once it was all said and done, we only had to pay our deductible (about $1,200).  Not chump change, but still less than we planned to spend if we did the whole thing ourselves.  We opted for black max-def architectural shingles, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it all turned out.  The roofing crew came less than a week after we got the paperwork back from the adjuster, and finished everything in a day and a half.

That's enough words.  Take a look!  Before...

And after!  There may or may not have been a few other major changes.  Just do me a favor and pretend you don't see those until I blog about them, 'kay?  Thanks.

 Let's try from another angle.  Before...

And after!  Also evident in the after:  our grass is recovering pretty well, but our back porch is still junked out.  I blame the constant projects. 

Before...

And after!

Last one, I swear!  Before...

 And after...

 

I've thought for a while that I hated our house.  As it turns out, I was wrong; I just hated our roof!  I'd still like to move to a larger house in a better neighborhood (and we will, hopefully soon), but this one's kind of starting to grow on me.  I think when we move I might actually feel sad about it for a while!  But then one day, Pat will be using the bathroom, and I'll need to go, and I'll use the other bathroom (because there will be two!), and I'll feel all better.  Something to look forward to!  : )

I forgot to mention: Roof Hero (Jon Simmons) had no idea that I would post about his job, so I was definitely not given any perks for mentioning him.  However, if you'd like his contact information, I'd be glad to give it to you!  Full disclosure: he gives $100 for referrals.  But I'd refer him anyway.

Happy Wednesday!
-Kelli