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blackcats13

my roof :(

blackcats13
14 years ago

Roofing company #2 came out this morning. I *really* like this company. The woman I first spoke with was very friendly, as was the man who came out and looked at everything. He climbed up a ladder and into the just big enough attic access, crawled to the front of the house, did a very thorough inspection. Climbed up on the outside of the roof, took lots of pictures. We knew we needed a new, tear-off, roof. The bad news? This one is completely shot. I mean completely. There are holes the PO filled with tar. TONS of areas with chunks of caulk 'sealing' it up (hopefully). Edges that weren't covered properly and the underpart is rotted. Oh geez. I guess that's what's getting done this summer, no waiting on this one. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can we have a hail or wind storm that damages our roof enough for an insurance replacement, but not the neighbors of course!

They are going to give us a line item by line item quote for that, extending our dormer towards the back of the house, gutters, other stuff so we can see how much we can just get done together this year. He also gave us a pamphlet produced by a professional organization they belong to that has advice about hiring contractors.

Of the 6 highly rated companies we called, only 2 are giving us quotes. Not responding seems to be fairly common. And the other place never went up (afraid of damaging it he said) or wanted to see it from the inside.

Comments (10)

  • cintimom
    14 years ago

    Poor thing. We are in the dilemma you are wishing for (wind storm resulting in a total roof & chimney replacements). We were running into quotes running all over the place (from $12k to 30k to replace the roof) and ended up joining 'Angies List' so we can go with a roofer voted superb by others in our area. We found a slew of roofers rated excellent and have 4 coming to give new estimates. If you have an Angie's List in the area, its well worth the $45/yr membership fee. Good luck!

  • blackcats13
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Yikes! Even wishing it would happen to me, I can certainly acknowledge the stress and problems it would cause! Good luck to you too cintimom! Yes, we are big proponents of Angie's List. We signed up when we bought our house :)

    The first place emailed me the unofficial, undetailed estimate of between 11 - 13k for new roof and gutters. Can't wait to see the detailed one there. But how accurate can that be when they don't know the extent of the damage under the shingles? And do they know there are 4 layers up there? I'm not sure you can tell that from the ground. The 2nd (mostly likely more $$) knows that.

  • autumngal
    14 years ago

    It sounds like the 2nd probably would do a better job. We just had our roof replaced, we had 4 different quotes, and went with the firm that had a unique combination of good price, good service, and good reputation. They weren't the cheapest, but their cost was about $500 more than the lowest. Their inspection was the most thorough- so we didn't feel like we were getting any surprises with them. So far, the roof has been great, there are no more squirels in our home (they covered the holes for us), and the cost was what was expected. We are very happy.

    We actually had our roof replaced in February, along with having some trees taken down, and because winter is a very slow season for both, got a good deal on both, plus quick work. Although it sounds like you can't wait for the roof, keep in mind that winter is slow for the construction trade and you can get lots of things done then for lots less. Good luck- I hope your roof damage isn't too much!

  • cintimom
    14 years ago

    I agree with Autumngal...the itemized quote seems much more all encompassing. You could also give the specs from that quote to another company to bid against (w/o giving them the price) just to see if the amt is in the same ballpark. That's how we knew the $30k was way too much. Best of luck! You're new roof will make your house shine!

  • peanutmom
    14 years ago

    I can only imagine the stress your under. My husband and I are DIY's who insanely started doing our roof ourselves. My husband worked for a contractor and knew what we were getting into. I however did not. Back to you. You need several estimates and it goes without saying that the cheapest often ends up costing you more. References do mean a lot. Make sure you find someone you feel good about because they will be there for a while and you want to know that you can go to sleep without wondering if they did it right. Good luck!

  • blackcats13
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well, #2 brought by the proposal and samples, etc last night. Their price for just the roof itself is within 2K of #1, and we like this company much better. Also, they are part of some program with the manufacturer that gives them a longer warranty on the shingles because of extra training and the like. This roofer has been in business for 40 years, highly rated, etc etc.

    They also gave us pricing on a bunch of other things we need. Gutters, replacing soffit/fascia, siding (which we are going with a different product when that eventually get that done), some window replacement (they are already vinyl), expanding 1 dormer so a 'useless' room can be made into a dormer, I think some other things too that I can't remember! Let's just say nothing has ever made me wish I were rich more then owning an old house has!

    They were totally understandable that this could very well need to be done 1 part at a time and not pushy in the least. All the things mentioned by others are there in the proposal - nailing/disposal, etc.

    So, while I would prefer to do roof/gutters/dormer now, we would have to take out a loan to do so and I just don't think I want that big chunk of debt. So I think we'll do just the roof :( read up on the gutters (maybe have them do it maybe not), and plan the dormer for in a year or 2. 1 thing at a time I keep telling myself.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    14 years ago

    Ah, but once you have that new roof you will LOVE it. There's nothing nicer than knowing your house is tight and dry when a huge rainstorm hits. And it will add to the value of your house, it's a good investment.

    Another nice thing about a roofing job... it's all outside work, and it goes quickly.

    Make sure you protect any shrubs you have around the house, by straddling them with a picnic table or something like that. Tear offs can be rough on landscaping.

  • cberhomengarden
    14 years ago

    You might want to rethink not doing the gutters with the roof. We were shocked to find that replacing our falling down gutters was very inexpensive. I think it was less than $500. Granted, our house isn't big, but we were so used to quotes for work being at least $5k!
    Plus, you can make sure with your new gutters that water is being directed correctly away from the foundation of the house.
    Just a thought.

  • jcin_los_angeles
    14 years ago

    Gutters are important. We made the mistake of putting on gutters first and then having a new roof put on a couple of years later, which ruined the gutters. Much better to do both at the same time. The new roof job meant taking off 3 layers of roofing. It was an incredible mess. Be sure to close all the windows!

  • blackcats13
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Yes, I keep telling myself, once the roof is done, that's one of the biggies done and off the list. Luckily we don't have any landscaping we care about yet (just standard evergreen shrubs).

    Actually, after looking up DIY gutters, it really doesn't seem worth it to do so. You are right, the cost isn't extravagant. Once you cost out materials, and factor in time and learning curve and 'danger factor', well, I think we'll just go ahead with having it done along with the roof.

    I actually got another well rated company to call us back, they are coming out tomorrow for measurements for roof/gutters. In the meantime, it's been a rainy week!