new roof...

it's been a busy time around here... and not just because we have a new person in the house. the first week we were home with the new baby was also a week for terrible thunder storms. we had a very large storm one of the very first nights home. it was sort of scary. the lights went out, which made caring for a baby difficult. it was probably a blessing though, because i couldn't see the waterfall of water that was raining down from the upstairs hall and down into the kitchen. yes, waterfall. it was pouring down one whole side of the kitchen. my poor husband had to deal with trying to clean up that mess in the dark. then we had at least three more storms like it that same week... and more rain in our house. it was so bad that it flooded streets in the neighborhood, trapping motorists, downing trees, and literally washing away parts of the old sidewalk on our block. we were left with a lot of water damage and the decision it was finally time to get a new roof... despite the terrible timing family wise.

we had been looking into the idea of a metal roof for a while. we liked metal roofs for both environmental and aesthetic reasons. a metal roof is great for energy savings and it is placed over the existing roof so you are not contributing to the landfill. plus, it should last for fifty years. we also liked the way it looked. it is something different than what most people have in the neighborhood (although there are a few others) and it is common to find metal roofs on old farmhouses. our roof originally was wood shingles, a common roof in colonial times. they are good for circulating air and do not have an under layer. unfortunately, when our roof was replaced with modern asphalt shingles this was not altered and no venting was added. there was no where for heat to go, and the roof was literally baking in the sun. we were told unless this was fixed, we would need a new roof every ten years! a metal roof is great option for dealing with this (and wood shingles are not really a viable option any longer).

when we first looked into this a year ago the cost seemed prohibitive... even though it evens out over time because it does not have to be replaced as often as traditional roofs, we didn't think we could afford the upfront price. i guess it was lucky for us this time that we tend to drag our feet on these decisions because after it started raining in our house and we looked into again, the price had come down a lot. so, we decided to go for it. the roofers were available and ordered the roof quickly. it only took a few days (plus, a lot of noise and dog barking at the roofers!) and thankfully was done quickly. we decided to go with a painted metal in the color charcoal and are really happy with the results! the company we used has done many metal roofs in the serenbe community and one of there houses was featured on the front of cottage living (when it was still being published).

it is the home on the left, and our roof looks very similar but slightly lighter in color i think. you can probably tell in the top photo of our house that we have also started stripping the exterior paint, which is peeling badly in places. our next project is to strip and repaint the exterior. we will then begin replacing the windows with more historic looking multi-paned wood windows. we will add shutters also. we also plan to fix up and paint the front porch... replace the walk, redo the front yard (which is also in process!) and so, and so on. it's never ending, but i guess that is to be expected in an old house like this.  it feels good whenever we are able to accomplish something... even it leads to ten more projects that need to be done next!