It never rains but it pours. . .

[velvetpage]

And last night, it poured into our family room.

Well, perhaps "poured" is too strong a word. It dribbled. We've known for a while that the roof on the family room addition needed replacing because it was rotten. The previous owners kept adding layers of sheet shingling on top of old, decrepit layers without bothering to strip it down. Now, not only is it rotten, it's very, very heavy. So the rain came in, fortunately, I suppose, only in one spot. The spot was where the back wall met the roof. It was a very interesting effect, actually. The water got into the plaster but couldn't get past the paint, so the blue paint formed bubbles a few inches below the ceiling. When the bubbles burst (either from the pressure of the water or the pressure of pyat pushing on them) the result was pasty-white water mixed with dissolved plaster and large flecks of dark blue paint.

We've called the insurance, who will probably replace the roof and may replace the wall or part of it, all for the cost of the deductible and a rate hike. Needless to say, we can't afford either the deductible or the rate hike, but I suppose we have no choice.

This kind of forces our hand as to the major expenditure for this year, doesn't it? Oh, well. It makes the house easier to sell later, though it doesn't add value. Easier to sell is a good thing. Of course, we could sell faster if we didn't need to spend this money but could put it against our other debts instead. . . but there's not much we can do about that.

To this Friday's gaming group: emails to follow re: are we gaming? If so, what food should we plan for?

Comments

[georgiaskydiver.livejournal.com]

So sorry about your mess. Will insurance cover that if it was caused by a repair that wasn't done - or wasn't done correctly? I always thought it had to be an act of nature like a tree falling through the roof or something. But what do I know?

On the positive side, a new roof should add value to your house. I know I'd pay more for a house with a new roof than one that is due for one.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Well, they covered the cost of half the roof being repaired two years ago when a storm blew some shingles away. A big part of the reason this happened was the sheer volume of rain and snow that was all melting and seeping into the roof at once. There's a reason why roofs usually leak in the spring. It's because that's when the snow exacerbates the leaks.

They'd better cover it. I don't see how we can afford it otherwise.

One of those things you have to do

[inner-linbo.livejournal.com]

If it doesn't get fixed, it gets worse, costing still yet more. Houses are things to just throw money at, but at least you have the ability to get that money out later.

Best of luck on the repairs.

Re: One of those things you have to do

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Thanks. We knew it had to be fixed, we just weren't expecting this tight a timeline.

Re: One of those things you have to do

[inner-linbo.livejournal.com]

The repair dance is one of those that never seems to go as planned. I've always found it tough to start putting money away even when I know that something such as this is coming up.

Re: One of those things you have to do

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

When we save, it's for one of three things:
1) RRSPs, where the money is locked in.
2) RESPs, ditto.
3) Summer dirth-of-income - I get paid the end of June and then see nothing all summer, so we try to save to cover the inevitable gap. We haven't managed much of this so far.

The rest of our available income goes to paying down our huge debt load. If absolutely necessary, we could probably find a way to put this on our line of credit, but I'm sick of financing debt like that. I want to inherit money from someone I don't really know who was about 98 when they died. Like, a lot of money. Sole-heir kind of stuff.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

*cough*

The insurance company says it's not worth while claiming it for repairs. It would be cheaper to simply replace the roof and repaint the wall. I'll call Edges Roofing and get an estimate.

On the plus side, the bubbles dried up over night. I shouldn't have popped those two. :)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Um, that's not necessarily a good thing. The moisture is now sitting in the wall instead of in the paint.

At least it won't cost too much. How much is the deductible again?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

$500.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

And the insurance company thinks it'll cost less to replace the roof? Wow. You should get a few quotes before writing off using the insurance entirely. Even given the deductible and possibly higher rates (at least for a while), it might be cheaper going that route, depending on how much damage there is and how many square feet we're talking about... I don't know if this is possible, but can the insurance company tell you where you might find someone to replace a roof (and inspect the interior of the walls) for less than $500? Do you know where they're getting that info from?

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Sorry to sound so negative, by the way, but this is just sending my skeptometer through the roof, and I'm too fond of you guys to not mention it. I'd hate to see you wind up spending more money than you need to, and/or having further problems.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's not the whole roof. Just a small flat section that covers our backroom. A roofer could probably do the whole thing in a day.

The insurance company suggested we get an estimate and then balance the decision. They warned that since the roof is near the end of it's expected service life, they would likely not cover it at all, anyway.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. *phew* That sounds a lot more reasonable! Gah, what a pain. I hope you can get it all sorted.