Roof in a Day

Years ago in my monthly e-newsletter, I wrote of a Deck built in a day. It was simple structure but served us well. Today I write of a new roof in a day. A new roof is a big big deal. Many homeowners fear a new roof, thinking it will mean days or weeks of noise, debris, and an ugly blue tarp blowing in the wind of an approaching storm. As my family and I toiled at 201 Dunning working on interior remodeling, we watched as in a single day 2 layers
of asphalt shingles and a layer of 100+ year old cedar shake were removed from the home by noon. By 2pm there was a full covering of new sheet goods. The new sheet goods were required because removal of the cedar shake leaves behind the original boards that have substantial gaps in between them, gaps that were acceptable when cedar shakes are used but cannot support tar paper and asphalt shingles. By 8:30pm, the light growing dim, the crew was cleaning up after a completed job.
A new roof may not “pay for itself” if you are about to sell but this challenge is one many new buyers are wary of. The inconvenience in this case was minimal and the result was beautiful. Even as someone who has lived through it, it will be in the top three most expensive improvements that we will make to our new home on Dunning. Siding, Windows and Roof will make up more than two thirds of our entire budget.

The City Loves Raymond

Raymond had lived in his home for more than 40 years. In that time he had installed a new furnace, new electrical service and hundreds of other improvements. He never did though install a "tub made of gold." He was certain though that the city assessor thought he had. In 2008 his property was assessed at more than $180,000.
The four bedroom home is on East Washington at Second St. "The city says there are 4 bedrooms, that room is not big enough for a bed. Someone downtown needed a raise." The way he figured, he was paying for a few raises after the market price of his home, via comparative sales and and several eventual offers told us it was worth about 145,000.

Just as we thought he was on his way, waving goodbye to property taxes and paying for someones "leather chair" the City found another way to make his home that much harder to sell. The buyer, "a young fellow," was taking advantage of 3 city loan programs and down payment assistance plans. "Fine with me, that's his problem." Turns out it was our problem too. In an effort to make sure that the loan programs were never used and wasted as much money as possible, the home needed to undergo an additional inspection, over and above the one the buyer paid for. They would not only be looking for safety hazards but also do a lead paint inspection. Using some kind of electronic device they would test over 100 surfaces of this 80 year old home.

Do you think they might find some lead paint? For the most part any paint manufactured before 1978 is lead paint. I think they might. I could have saved the city the few hundred it cost to find that out. "Hazards" or places where paint is loose or chipping are what you need be aware of. In the opinion of the agents involved there was need for paint on the garage, that's about it. Go figure there was actually more. Go figure too that the work needed to be done by licensed lead abatement specialists. So after having to pass on two of the three programs and still have the lead paint issues handled by licensed specialists, we moved to close.