My house needs a new roof and I am going to hire this done. That hurts.
My house was a little 900 square foot "fixer-upper" I bought in 1971 for $8,375 (no typo there, that was the cost). The roof then, when we bought it was in bad shape, 900 square feet of moss and failing roofing. I was a school teacher then, had no money and no construction experience and really no tools at all. I bought a hammer and a box of roofing nails and nine squares of three tab composition roofing. Twenty-seven bundles, each weighing about 80 pounds, placed one at a time on my shoulders and up the ladder we went. I had never done roofing before but it is pretty simple and the directions are on the package. My first roof! It was summer and I had the summer off from teaching. My neighbor saw me hand nailing these shingles one at a time and wanted me to put a roof on his house!
Then his neighbor saw me and so that summer went, one roof after another, each bundle hand carried up the ladder and each shingle hand nailed! I was strong by the end of that summer!
Two years latter I tore most of it down. We decided to seriously remodel the house beginning with the foundation which was missing. I have told this story in an earlier blog. I was teaching school. My wife was in England. I was getting drunk with my neighbor and saying stuff that I can't remember. I came home from school the next day and half my house was gone! What remained was the living room and the kitchen and a bathroom without any walls! I must have said something!
Anyway, we remodeled and added to the house, keeping the remaining 400 square feet and adding about 2000 square feet. A fun summer project and I learned quickly. Now, this new house took 28 squares of roofing. 84 bundles, each weighing about 80 pounds and up the ladder we went! Another bigger box of nails and each shingle was hand nailed, one at a time!
I have since put on hundreds of roofs, finally bought an air compressor and nail guns and, for a few dollars more have the roofing delivered on the roof!
But now it needs it again and the existing roof needs tearing off. Simply, I can't do it. I am 66 years old, a cancer survivor (my other blog) and have horrible neuropathy in my hands. I do not have the strength! I do not like growing old.
My house was a little 900 square foot "fixer-upper" I bought in 1971 for $8,375 (no typo there, that was the cost). The roof then, when we bought it was in bad shape, 900 square feet of moss and failing roofing. I was a school teacher then, had no money and no construction experience and really no tools at all. I bought a hammer and a box of roofing nails and nine squares of three tab composition roofing. Twenty-seven bundles, each weighing about 80 pounds, placed one at a time on my shoulders and up the ladder we went. I had never done roofing before but it is pretty simple and the directions are on the package. My first roof! It was summer and I had the summer off from teaching. My neighbor saw me hand nailing these shingles one at a time and wanted me to put a roof on his house!
Then his neighbor saw me and so that summer went, one roof after another, each bundle hand carried up the ladder and each shingle hand nailed! I was strong by the end of that summer!
Two years latter I tore most of it down. We decided to seriously remodel the house beginning with the foundation which was missing. I have told this story in an earlier blog. I was teaching school. My wife was in England. I was getting drunk with my neighbor and saying stuff that I can't remember. I came home from school the next day and half my house was gone! What remained was the living room and the kitchen and a bathroom without any walls! I must have said something!
Anyway, we remodeled and added to the house, keeping the remaining 400 square feet and adding about 2000 square feet. A fun summer project and I learned quickly. Now, this new house took 28 squares of roofing. 84 bundles, each weighing about 80 pounds and up the ladder we went! Another bigger box of nails and each shingle was hand nailed, one at a time!
I have since put on hundreds of roofs, finally bought an air compressor and nail guns and, for a few dollars more have the roofing delivered on the roof!
But now it needs it again and the existing roof needs tearing off. Simply, I can't do it. I am 66 years old, a cancer survivor (my other blog) and have horrible neuropathy in my hands. I do not have the strength! I do not like growing old.
