The roof saga continues! The roofers put on the roof last week. It took them about 2 and a half days, and despite the discovery of some dry rot, everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. The roofing company was pushy about getting their final payment, but we told them to hold their horses while we had an independent roof inspector come take a look. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this shit with the roof, it’s that you have to micromange every process and get specialist inspectors (not just general guys). Plus, this roof looked fine when we bought the house, but has given us a ton of problems, so we’re not signing off until we know it’s done correctly.

We had our roof inspector come out, and the guy is very detail oriented and loves roofs. When we worked with him in August to identify the source of the leaks, his whole thing was that there is a very exact science to putting on a new roof (nothing fancy) and that he would help us examine the work to make sure we don’t have the same leaking problems a few years down the line. THANK GOD WE HAD HIM OUT TO LOOK.

There were a bunch of issues. Sigh. First of all was their invoice for materials appeared to be about double what they actually used, and one of the items was a 14x mark up from the material pricing. Ok, got that – we can ask for receipts instead of estimates.

The other issues were due to incorrect installation and they were numerous:

• Incorrect nailing (pics below)
• Flashing not glued down (also in pic)
• Ventilation incorrect (the contract specified ventilation would be done per Oregon code)

Here’s how they should be done:

And this shit needs to be glued down:

We emailed the roofers that we saw some issues and they needed to come see and fix them. They pushed back over email, saying that it was unlikely if not impossible that 85-90% of the nails were installed incorrectly. They also argued our other points, but agreed to come out and look.

The owner(?) came out and got up on the roof with us and we showed him the nails. The conversation up to that point had been us getting bossy and arguing, but this is when the conversation changed. When the owner saw how badly the nails has been done, he kinda flipped out. He started yelling at his manager that he brought with him that all of the nails had to be redone. Then he apologized to us, told us they could acually lose their Certainteed installation certification for this, and that he would have the entire team out after Christmas to redo the whole thing, plus bring the ventilation up to code.

So that’s where we are today. I can’t wait for this all to be behind us. A couple lessons that we have known but keep getting contronted with again and again: hire a specialist to make sure contractors are doing the work correctly, and don’t let contractors rush you into payment until you are satisfied. Seems simple, but people don’t always do those things.

To prove that the drama with the house isn’t bringing us down, here is a pic of Strubgrass Ranch in the snow a coupel weeks ago, looking cozy & lovely:

 

 

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.

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.