Roof On!

This is the view of the back of my house from on top of my shop roof.

My roof is finished! Brand New 30 year roof, any color I wanted as long as it's black!

I got the recommended three estimates and that was an interesting process.  In years past I have been on the other end of this process, one of those giving out the bids.  This time I was receiving them.  I knew because 25 years ago I put the roof on myself, that it takes 27 squares and one bundle to complete my roof.  Two of the estimates said I had 30 squares, that is a ten percent overage!
The low bid was Steve Williams Homes, LLC and I found him honest and likable.  He bid the job at $5,551 and the highest bid was for $7,100.  I took Steve's bid but raised it to an even $6,000
and he was a bit surprised by that.  He repaired a little rot in
the sheathing and replaced some downspouts without charging me extra.
So it was a fair deal all along.  He had a great crew and they
were in and out in 4 days, leaving a clean job site.

It is inspiring to have this new roof.  I am already replacing some
wooden railings on a back deck and look forward to painting my house
this summer.

Moss is the destroyer of roofs in Oregon 

It is still only February but I have already planted Snow Peas
and the greenhouse is clean and ready for tomatoes next
month.  It is going to be a great summer!

                                                                                          

A New Roof!

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.