It’s been about a week since our roof leak debacle began. We’re getting close to a fix, but it hasn’t been easy. Last week I called about 10 roofing companies. I also put out a request on Thumbtack and Buildzoom which have generated pretty good responses. There were a couple of demoralizing moments. For example, one roofing company picked up the phone and the guy commenced to interrupt and correct my terminology for the problems with the roof, mansplaining what he thought was wrong (without having seen it), then tell me they were booked until March or April 2017. He closed with telling me that I should call him back after I find out that all the other roofers are also booked that far out, and that I was pretty much S.O.L.

Then there was the guy whose in-person sales pitch lasted an hour and a half with no end in sight. He hinted at the beginning that the estimated price would be “a couple of digits in front of a comma”. Uh, no. I have 3 other bids from reputable companies that are way less than that. I felt bad for this guy who couldn’t pick up on the signals that his sales pitch was taking way too long. More so, I felt sorry for myself since I will never get that time back.

I do appreciate folks coming out to look at the roof and provide quotes. I realize it takes time & effort and they don’t get paid unless we go with their bid. It’s just not what we thought we were going to be doing the week before we move in. The house is still largely in disarray and we have a ton of other stuff to do.

Thankfully, the original crappy phone guy was wrong about timelines. I found a couple of roofers (4 solid bids) with reasonable estimates who can wrap the roof immediately and replace the whole roof soon. The unexpected expense is… annoying and scary. I’m trying not to think about it. There is no way around it. I do wish we could have planned for it. In case you’re wondering, there has been no word back from our previous inspector and the situation with the sellers needs to be approached thoughtfully.

In the meantime, the rain keeps coming down and we keep checking the attic. Yep, still leaking!

The roofers we hired are coming to “dry-in” (cover the worst leaking areas on) the roof this afternoon, and will be starting the full roof replacement in the next few weeks. I’m relieved we have it booked so we can refocus our attention on finishing touches and moving in. A shout out to Laura, who has been at the house all day every day this week supervising plumbers (and helping them, because she is a bad ass like that), installing shelves, fixtures, installing trim, venting the dryer, and general heroics.

In better news, stay tuned for the bathroom reveal. It’s gonna be a f%&*ing spa-like paradise.