I held off replacing the roof on my house for as long as possible.
- Since the roof had been patched so many times, we needed to tear the whole thing off and start from scratch.
My house is large and this was a gigantic and expensive project to tackle. However, it got to the point where I was picking shingles out of the lawn and garden after every windstorm. Whenever it rained, we had to set up pots and pans to catch the leaks. I knew the moisture would eventually lead to structural damage and mold growth. I finally hired a roofing company at the beginning of June. Because of constant rain, they held off starting work until the beginning of June. By then, the temperature had climbed into the high eighties. With the roof missing, we weren’t able to run the central air conditioner. The house quickly became unbearably hot and sticky. We also dealt with a non stop influx of bugs, dust and assorted debris from the roofing project. The inside and outside of the house was a complete mess. I couldn’t wait for the contractors to finish, so I could clean up and lower the thermostat. Without air conditioning, my whole family complained that it was impossible to get comfortable or sleep at night. When the new roof was installed and I started up the central air conditioner, I expected it to struggle to bring the temperature down. I figured the cooling system would work all day long to reach the thermostat setting. Instead, the house was cool in a couple of hours. Ever since replacing the roof, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in monthly energy bills. The house is definitely tighter and more energy efficient.