Getting a New Roof? Things to Know!
Ever since I moved into my house 6 years ago, I knew I would need to replace the roof. It had a lot of wear and tear on it, and the shingles were looking rough.
Well, this year was the year to get a new one! Check out out the process of getting mine done below and some important things to know along the way:
1. Estimate Process:
Get a few estimates. Do NOT just get one estimate. Get several and go with the one with the best quality and price.
One of the estimates I got was just a walk and talk, and then he sent the estimate through email later. Another one was much more detailed. He took pictures, actually got on the roof, and discussed more in depth what he would like to see done with the roof. Then he sent pictures...those were super helpful to see, because I don't get up on my roof every day! ha!
2. Choose the Company:
Choose the company you would like to go with. The biggest thing that made me choose the company I did was that they were flexible, humble, and very knowledgable. They were also referred by a skilled electrician that my family has worked with for years.
Once I made my pick, I contacted the company to figure out my next steps.
Also, this is what I received with my estimate (great selling points!):
3. Go to the Showroom:
My next step was to go to the company's showroom to pay half of the cost of the total (grand total is at the end of this!), choose my shingle color, and choose my drip edge color. I was like a kid in a candy shop! Never thought I'd say that about picking out shingles.
Shingles: I decided to go with shingles that had a good mix of beige (the color of my house), gray, and black.
Drip Edge: When I chose this, I switched it up quite a bit. The drip edge used to be a dark brown, and I decided to go with charcoal (almost black). I figured this would help make things look a little sharper.
4. Scheduling
The company I worked with scheduled 4-6 weeks out and it also depended on weather, so after I visited the showroom, I had some waiting to do. There were some big snowstorms after I visited the showroom, so they ended up coming out closer to 6 weeks later, which was no biggie!
5. New Roof Installation
Sooo...here's when the problem kinda started. Now, don't get me wrong, I now have a beautiful roof and everything looks amazing, but not without some bumps along the way.
It all started when I was sitting on my couch, enjoying a day off when suddenly I started hearing steps and pounding on my roof. In the video below, you can hear exactly what I heard.😬 I opened up my Ring Camera and saw a huge dump truck blocking my driveway and a large crew of men starting to begin my new roof. I had NO idea they were coming that day. Good thing I had the day off and could be here with my dog! I went outside and checked in with the and they told me they would complete the whole roof that day. I was surprised by the abrupt visit, but thankful to finally get the roof done!
At one point it was just raining shingles when I looked out the window! Before I knew it, they were done in 3 hours. They left without saying a word, so I didn't know that they left. I thought that was odd, but oh well! When I went outside to check the work I had a couple of thoughts.....1) The roof itself looked amazing. I loved the single color with the color of my house and the drip edge too! 2) As I walked around more...I was less than pleased with some work they did on the front wood edge piece they cut out and replaced. There was damage to the wood (pieces gouged out, scratches left on the wood, and the cuts were not uniform). This was done to get shingles to fit and work correctly.
6. Damage Control
So, after seeing the damage, I had to make several phone calls, emails, and have a few meetings to get things back in order. Once I worked with the owner of the company, everything went extremely smooth. Now, my house looks good as new on the front! They repainted and replaced the boards that were damaged in the process of putting shingles on the roof. Ahhhh much better!!! Now that everything has been fixed, I paid the rest of the balance, so I can check this off my list!
And that was the whole process! My hopes in putting this out there is to help others learn from my experience. I unfortunately had to advocate for myself with this company- not for the actual roof, but for other parts that were damaged along the way. However, at the end of all of it, they made it right and I am VERY pleased! 👏
So, are you curious about the total?
Grand total: $9,750
I hope this helps if you or anyone you know is planning on getting a new roof anytime soon! It was a process, but it was worth it in the end. It's so nice having it done and completed. Now I don't worry about a roof that is falling apart day by day, especially during thunderstorm season. Thank goodness!
Thanks for reading!
💛 Ali
