Up until Thursday, we were feeling pretty good about the house. As with any remodel, there have been wildcards, unexpected challenges & expenses, but overall we were making progress and the house is looking great on the inside. We have given notice at our apartment and are moving in at the end of the month.

When Laura went over the other day to chip away at a few more lighting and hardware fixture replacements, she went into the bathroom and rain water was pouring in from the bathroom fan fixture (!!!). I wasn’t at the house yet, but she called me immediately with a “Houston, we have a problem” announcement. I immediately put out severall calls to emergency roofers, including one who said, “It’s getting dark soon, and we don’t work when it’s dark, so no – we can’t help you”.

Further investigation into the attic revealed that the roof leak over the bathroom is not an isolated problem. The roof is leaking in about 8 different places that we can see, including through the flashing around the fireplace and vents, and through cracks and nailholes throughout. Water is streaming into the house and walls at every corner, and most of it can’t be caught with buckets because it’s seeping through cracks and running into the house in multiple areas. It appears to have been leaking like this for some time (perhaps years) due to incorrect installation and a heavy does of denial.

We are a little freaked out. Paired with the arrival this weekend of a Pacific Northwest storm of historical proportions, we are dealing with this the best that we can right now.

I won’t go into the details here because the story hasn’t played out yet, but a few facts: we did get an inspection (which included the roof) before we closed on the house, and we did ask specifically about the area above the bathroom, and were reassured that there were no problems or repairs needed.

We don’t mess around with structural problems. We prioritize major issues and fix them right away. Even with our first house, we had the roof replaced before we moved in, and that roof wasn’t half as bad as this one. It’s frustrating to be blindsided like this.

Right now we are getting several bids for roof replacement and a report from a roof inspector with details on WTF is going on. This weekend we are at the house working on other projects and trying to stick to the plan. It’s just a house, it’s just money, and we will figure this out.