Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
peanutmom_gw

Need some encouragement, badly!!!

peanutmom
14 years ago

The good news is that I finally know what style my house is, the bad news is that my frustration level is through the roof- literally.

We started on our roof last summer, and had to stop due to weather. We thought we had everything sealed up tight. I'm guessing that the wind storms we got might have had something to do with the leak we found yesterday. I came downstairs to find a wet spot on my kitchen ceiling. I kept thinking that it couldn't be the tub. I finally got DH to go upstairs and remove the access panel to check. When he did, he said we had a leak, but it wasn't in the bathroom plumbing. We had a leak in the roof that was running down DD's closet wall and onto the kitchen ceiling. Needless to say DH spend about 2hrs up on the roof patching the hole and the rest of the afternoon tearing soggy old drywall out of DD's closet. Normally I would help, but I was downstairs babysitting my two nephews and trying to keep DD (who is 2) from beating up the boys for playing with her toys. I'm not sure which of us was more stressed out. After all of this was done, we ended up with three sacks of wet insulation and soggy drywall. We now have 1/4 osb covering the holes in the closet wall and ceiling, hoping it will dry out so we can fix the mess soon.

I know this doesn't sound like the end of the world, but we have been dealing with my being laid-off and my husband having scarce work due to the shortage of landscaping jobs. I'm getting frustrated because we don't seem to finish anything before something else goes wrong. I'm ready to scream. We have a garage full of drywall to work on the bathroom downstairs, but we can't get to the work of ripping it out. (We don't like doing that when the kids are here due to the danger of lead paint.) And we have a garage full of roofing materials that we can't put on because 1. my husband works when the weather is nice, leaving only rainy days to work on anything. 2. we no longer have access to a manlift/ awp to get the materials where we need them. (The roof has a 11/12 slope on the sides and this isn't somewhere I want to climb even with roof jacks) 3. DH and I are doing all of this ourselves.

The only room in our house that didn't need tons of work was DD's room and now that needs the closet gutted, and redone. I don't know much longer I can deal with all of this. We haven't even been able to get to finishing the trim in our bedroom downstairs. Probably better any way because the drywall cracked everwhere we used fiberglass tape.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I might think this is funny in 20yrs. but now it is a huge headache.

Comments (6)

  • kimkitchy
    14 years ago

    First, take a deep breath... Everyone is healthy, yes? There's been a leak, but not a flood. You have a DH who capably fixed said leek. You have multiple unfinished projects and that is indeed overwhelming! I've been there... correction, I AM there! Remembering your prior post, you are thankful that you have a house and not a trailer (I'm there with you, growing up in OK I've always had this bad aversion to living in a trailer... something about tornados!). You are going to be fine. Just hang in there. Try to find one manageable project to focus on, and finish that. Maybe the downstairs bedroom trim, is a good candidate for that. If you finish one thing you'll have a real sense of accomplishment, even if it is a small job. Also, get outside and work. Garden, rake, generally clean up weeds, dig in the dirt, plant and play outside. It truly is theraputic and cheap/free. By the way, if you feel like screaming, have DH watch the kids for awhile and go out on a country road and SCREAM, then run for a mile (or as far as you can). You'll feel better. We all feel like you do sometimes. You are not alone and we're here to listen. Take heart and focus on your family, that's the most important thing we all need.

  • peanutmom
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you for your thoughts. I am feeling somewhat better now than I was earlier. Here is one small detail, we found out that the leak wasn't fixed or not completely. Although on the bright side, it is a small run instead of the full blown stream of yesterday. I have a feeling this good mood has something to do with the fact that I got a call back on a manlift that I left a message about. It is just up the road from where I live and it is the lowest price I have heard of yet for a lift. We can get started as soon as the weather clears and we get the money together for the lift. Still going to have to fix drywall in the kitchen, but the good news is that I haven't gotten it finished yet anyway. I wonder if homeowner's insurance covers stupidity.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    14 years ago

    You might be better off (and less frustrated) if you bit the bullet and hired a professional to replace the roof. It's my understanding that patches don't usually work very well, and if continued leaks are ruining new drywall and other new work inside the house, it's understandable that you're going to get very frustrated very quickly.

  • peanutmom
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Carol, I should clear up the fact that we are not patching the roof, but replacing. We actually have old tin on our roof with nothing under it and poor insulation. We have been remodeling on a shoestring since I'm laid off and DH has little work. My husband is very qualified to do the job, he has worked construction for years and worked for another home contractor after that, plus he has done contracting on the side. He knows what he is doing, and I'm a third generation diy'r. My mother remodeled so many homes when I was growing up that I thought everyone's house smelled like fresh paint when they moved in. LOL.

    But I do have great news!!!!!!!! A neighbor, and God bless him and his wife, bought a manlift for his contracting business. Do to the fact that he has a day job and business is slow (and he has a generous heart), he decided to let us rent the lift for 500$ and we can use it as long as we need it. This is actually working out very well. My husband was off all of last week due to the wet weather and soggy ground, so we got 1/4 of our roof done. That is a huge improvement. And - no more leak!!!! We actually got more done in two days than we did in two weeks using a ladder to get on the roof.

    I couldn't be happier. We are finally making progress and with generous friends and neighbors, we will get the roof done. I can't wait to post some pics for showing off. It already looks great. I have to say sometimes God does answer prayers with a really loud "yes".

  • blackcats13
    14 years ago

    Oh peanutmom! I'm sorry to hear of your troubles but glad to hear things are looking up! I think kimkitchy gave you some great advice for next time you get stuck (sadly there's always a next time, isn't there?) I know I feel so much better just getting 5 lawn chairs painted (except my hands hurt!!). A couple of weekends ago we got our basement cleaned/organized and that made a HUGE difference to me. Sometimes it's the little things, ya know? We are still working on getting our new roof (unfortunately we can't do it ourselves) and worrying about it, but at least there are some small things that have been accomplished.

  • peanutmom
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Blackcats13, Things are indeed looking better. I have been working on our kitchen, but that came to a halt due to the fact that I am certified to run said manlift and many other kinds of machinery. LOL. Plus I frequently need to be the extra set of hands (and don't tell DH), and sometimes the voice of reason and patience. I almost always see the easiest, fastest and safest way of doing things. This has helped DH keep his sanity more than once. Lots of experience and the ability to learn almost anything. I love new experiences and challenges. BTW- I saw your chairs. I wish I had thought of that. I gave away a set a few years back because I couldn't stand the white anymore. Guess maybe I should have thought color. Oh well, water under the bridge. Thanks for the post. I love reading some of the things you write.