I am happy to report that Storybook Cottage has a brand new, gorgeous roof. But it has been quite a trial to get to this point. I am sharing our experience so that you Don’t Make The Roofing Mistake That We Did.
Last year a tornado ripped across our backyard and across the front right side of our roof. It was powerful enough to partially demolish our brick fencing wall…
…and it snapped several trees in two.
The debris in our yard was immense. A good portion of the mess was the numerous shingles removed from our roof by the high powered winds.
Because several other rain storms were predicted and swiftly approaching Mr. Decor tried to reattach the shingles and covered large sections of the roof with a tarp to try and avoid interior damage.
This was our first mistake.
Do not make any repairs to your roof before the insurance inspector and potential roofing replacement company has inspected the damage.
We then contacted our insurance company directly.
This was our second mistake.
The inspector came out and said, “Oh the roof is fine. No problems.”
We could not believe the man was saying this. But then again, he wasn’t working for us. He was working for our insurance company.
Several of our neighbors who were not in the DIRECT path of the tornado, and suffered minimal damage, received new roofs. We could not understand why we did not.
This past winter was really wet. It quickly became evident that our roof was not FINE. The bulk of the damage began to show in several areas of our interior ceiling.
This past April there was a massive golf ball sized hail storm in our area. It was the nail in the coffin for our poor roof. After the storm, I was out walking the dog when I saw that our neighbor was having his roof replaced. A representative for the company asked me if I would like our roof inspected. It didn’t cost anything, so I agreed.
Getting A Claim Approved
No surprise the roofing company found massive storm damage and said that it should all be covered by insurance, minus our deductible. I wasn’t going to hold my breath but we called in another claim. This time a roofing replacement representative was present during the inspection to hold the insurance inspector accountable. Our new roof was approved.
In the end, it is going to cost the insurance company more money for the repairs than if they had done it last spring. This is because they had to replace sections of the roof underneath as well as the shingles and make repairs to the interior ceiling.
A Good Reminder
A few weeks ago a crew of ten men showed up early in the morning. Their goal was to remove and reinstall the roof all in one day.
The old shingles were removed quite easily. I’m not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing.
The roof debris was immense. Be prepared to lose a few plants if you have flower beds surrounding your house.
We lost one of our gorgeous sterling rose trees.
But if that is the price to be paid for a new roof, I can live with it.
It’s lovely to have Storybook Cottage snug once more.
How is your roof?
Laura
It looks fabulous. So glad you got the insurance company to fix it right.
Glad you got it taken care of. Actually, we had our roof replaced for the first time (our house is 18 years old) this March. One of our big projects before retirement. The company we hired, however, did a wonderful job (I have flower beds all around the house and nothing was destroyed). They carefully removed the shingles and placed them immediately in the hauler that they had placed in our driveway, so there was never anything thrown directly onto the ground around the house. We’re very pleased, and they were the company that came in at the lowest bid, but always were most attentive and handled the job in a very efficient manner.
So sorry you had to go through that. We had a partial replacement after lightning hit our home, but then a full replacement after a massive hail storm damaged more than 50% of the roof. And yes, the roofing companies were pivotal in making sure the inspectors saw what needed to be done.
Yay for that representative! Years ago when I had a neurological illness, my neurologist told us that insurance companies are not the warm, familial people the commercials make them look like: they’re businesses trying to pay out as little money as possible. I’m glad yours finally approved the needed work. What a blessing to have the old roof removed and new one put on in just a day.
Hmmm…..we know Phoenix is very hot, but at least we don’t deal with tornadoes! Maybe you should come back! Lol! Glad your roofing issues are resolved.
Oh dear, who would have thought that you would have to leave it like that until the inspector came?
We had a new rood put on two years ago, had to pay ourselves unfortunately since the problems were age-related. But I am glad to know what to do should it be damaged in a storm.
Laura, I remember when this all happened to your house. I am so glad you got the deserved roof. The house looks so beautiful. Thank you for telling me about how one should handle this. We had two days of palm-size hail here in northern Illinois in May. I was getting 10-15 calls a day from roofing companies. I’m not, but I’d say everyone else in town is having a new roof put on. All four vehicles parked in the alley have dents on their hoods. We don’t get hail like that here and it was incredible. I thought those people calling each day were scam artists. Now, I realize that the insurance companies would not be the people to call. Thank you! P.S. I am listening to Prairie Fires on CD now. It is fascinating.
Laura, I’m sad you had to deal with the stress of all of this, but I’m happy to hear that all is repaired now.
Laura,
Your new roof looks wonderful. Thank you for sharing what NOT to do when bad weather damages your roof. I am glad your story ended with a Storybook ending.
Judith
Glad you finally got the right roof and it was covered. Yikes. We have a new roof that will last for at least 20 years. We won’t be here that long but it’s a good selling feature.
Excellent advice, thank you. It all looks fabulous now, and there’s no doubt in my mind you’re glad it’s all in the rear view mirror now.
A new roof is one of life’s headaches when you are a homeowner but so appreciated when the storms hit. So glad you folks were able to get your’s covered under insurance and its all warm and dry now for next winter!
(Sad about your rose bush since it was lovely. Naughty roofers!)
Well, a huge relief to have it fixed but what a story. That’s an excellent tip about not fixing it yourself and I’ll remember that one forever!