This month, we had the unpleasant experience of replacing our roof.
Although darling hubby and I have both owned homes since the 1990s, neither of us has ever had to replace a roof before. That’s because the average lifespan of a roof is 20 years or more and we had gotten lucky.
Alas, this time it couldn’t be avoided.
Getting a new roof is one of those home ownership responsibilities that is utterly thankless. No one notices when you have a new roof; heck, you barely notice it yourself once it’s done.
New roofs are expensive – a pretty major home expense. If you have wind or storm damage up there, you may be able to file an insurance claim and get some help with the costs. There’s a downside to that, though, because your premiums will undoubtedly skyrocket as a result.
In our case, our roof was simply old and worn out; it had a few areas of bird or animal damage, but zero storm damage. Drat. We were on our own to pay for this sucker and it was brutal. We got about five estimates and ended up going with Roof Medic based on both neighbor recommendations and price.
Then, it was time for the chaos and noise of roof removal and installation.
You simply cannot imagine the deafening, insanity-inducing noise of having a new roof put on until you’ve lived through it. I thought our kitchen demolition and remodel project was bad, but getting the new roof was definitely louder.
It’s like being inside a horror movie: there are strangers running all around your house, on ladders outside all your windows (even the top floor) and thumping, pounding, hammering and dragging heavy things all over your roof. No corner of your house is safe. Somehow it was loud even down in our basement!
Hubby opted to leave and go work from a coffee shop for most of the first day, but I didn’t feel like I could leave the animals. I knew our two dogs and cat would be stressed by the roofing project, so I felt I had to stay at the house to help keep them as calm as possible. #MomLife, am I right?
So, we hunkered down and made the best of it. I turned the TV on for background noise to soothe the dogs and help blunt the worst of the banging noises. Dani and Lambo honestly did pretty well considering that for two days straight, it sounded like there were strangers breaking down our doors and walls to get into the house! Galaxy, our cat, pretty much hid in the basement the whole time.
I should note that the noise is only part of the problem when you get a new roof. The other issue is that you basically become trapped in your house! During the demolition of your old roof, the roofers are up there tearing off shingles and tossing them down onto the ground. Walking out of your house could result in you getting pelted with shingles, nails and other debris.
Thankfully, roofing is done by competent teams and gets completed fairly quickly. After two days of noise and chaos, our house was back to its usual state of relative peace and quiet. The roofing crew did a great job with the cleanup.
Now we’re all set for whatever this Ohio winter brings our way. Rain, snow, sleet or hail – our house should stay cozy and dry thanks to our new roof. And also, I take back what I said before about roofs not being a fun or sexy purchase. Our house looks great with its new hat; props to hubby for picking the perfect shade of shingles.
Have you had to re-roof your house before? I’d love to hear your roofing tales in the comments below or over on Facebook or Instagram.
