Windsor Terrace Reno

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April 22, 2007

Shiny new roof and other progress...

Those who bother to read this blog will probably note that there has been little real "renovation" going on in here. Well, you got us there. When we closed a few months ago, we had hoped to be a wee bit farther along than we are but life has gotten in the way. We've had a little more going on than we would have liked but thats how these things go.

As for the real reno, we are now in the final rounds of finalizing the plans and getting ready to file, etc.. so keep your fingers crossed for us that I'll be making more exciting before and after photos everyday.

Until then, I'll share our most exciting improvement thus far. A brand new shiny roof.

When we bough the house, we knew the roof was shot. See exhibit A.

Its hard to miss when each top floor room had its very own set of quaint brown splotches on the ugly drop ceiling. I submit exhibit B.

Our original plan was to let the company we end up choosing to do the rest of the work take the roof on as well. So we set out buckets and tarps to collect what was coming in and wished for a dry few months. (I think we all know how that wish turned out.)

As the rain kept on coming and the start of a construction crew kept getting pushed out, we realized it was time to get going. Mr. Limestone (Im not at all embarrassed to say that its scares the crap out of me to get on the roof), got a bunch of estimates from roofers as well as a general contractor. After a bit of back and forth, we went with the a roofing company that seemed to get good reviews from the people who have used them. Not surprisingly, it ended up costing us about 20% more than we budgeted even though this company was not the most expensive option.

A few weeks later, we are the proud owners of a shiny new silver roof as well as a collection of buckets we hope to never need again. Our blood pressure no longer goes up when we hear a forecast of rain.

Aside from the roof, there has been some other progress as well. Mostly jobs accomplished by my very own superhero, Super Demolition Man (aka Mr. Limestone) and his trusty sledgehammer. In a few days spread over various weekends he tore down the backyard shed, broke up the concrete kitchen floor and did various other manly tasks that will hopefully save us some money to put toward more fun things like fancy tiles and pot fillers. My hero :)

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Comments

New roof looks nice, I’d love to hear some more details. With the recent rain last week our limestone sprung its first leak (since we bought it in 2005); we were told the problem was the skylight, the flashing around the skylight to be exact. He said the entire roof would soon have to be replaced as well. when I asked about the second skylight, he said it was the same age as the first one and it too should be replaced. Just wondering what you guys did, from the looks of it it looks like everything needed to be changed. Our dilemma is, should we just do it all now, or maybe not change the second skylight until something goes wrong with it. From what I gather its better to do it all now. Who did you guys use, how were they, and, how expensive as it (and what size is your roof)… I hope these aren’t too personal, would just love some feedback. Thanks!

Posted by: Anon at April 23, 2007 10:13 AM

Hey Anon - sorry to hear of your water troubles. We were "lucky" in that we had the roof finished right before the great drenching of last week.

Shocking as it may sound, there wasnt much water coming thru the skylights. It was coming in everywhere else. So while the skylights were also shot and needed to replaced thanks to the former owners complete lack of upkept, Im sure our situation isnt akin to yours.

Assuming your roof hasnt been neglected for 50 years, you probably dont need the complete tear off and redo that we did. So your price point will be a heck of a lot less than ours. For a new layer of roof rather than a tear off, Ive heard numbers thrown around of 4-8K depending upon who you use and what you get.

I would suggest calling around to a bunch of the roofers recommended on the board (Leakmaster, Premier, Greene, etc.) and getting a few opinions.

For the record, we ended up using Premier and so far, so good. They did what they said they would do, didn't add any surprise charges to the job and cleaned up after themselves. I guess time will tell if they did a perfect job or not but no water is coming in and thats all i can ask for now.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at April 23, 2007 10:40 AM

Congrats on the new roof! I am about to go into contract (fingers crossed) on a limestone and was told by the inspector that the roof should last for a few more years but would probaly need to be replaced in 5 or so years. Do you mind me asking the total cost of your roof replacement?

Posted by: bklynborn at April 23, 2007 11:17 AM

My understanding is that one of the biggest cost determining factors in a complete roof tear off is the number of previous roof layers and the condition of the plywood underneath. Our roof is roughly 20X50, and had about 12-15 previous layers. The plywood underneath did not require major replacing. We replaced two skylights and added a steel Bilco hatch. We also took the opportunity have a 2-1/2 inch layer of insulation added on top of the plywood prior to two layers of new rubber roof. The total cost which included a lot of other roof related items like new gutters, aluminum edging, etc, was $20K. Now, I know that number is going to freak people out, trust me, I was freaked out when I started getting estimates from reputable roofers that were between 16-24K. I stress reputable, because we could\can not afford to have this roof not done right the first time. In the end, we went with Premier Roofing, and I highly recommend them. They have been in business for over 70 years and were a pleasure to deal with.

bklynborn: Keep in mind that the vast majority of roofs have not undergone decades of neglect, and probably would not require a complete tear off. When inspectors tell you that the roof should last X# of years before replacement, they usually mean before a new layer of roof is needed. Give call Fred at Premier a call (718-638-3711). He’ll inspect your roof, and give you a free estimate. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Yes the new roof was $20K, but the feeling of not being stressed out every time I see a dark cloud in the sky is priceless. :)

Take care and Good luck.

Mr. Limestone

Posted by: Anonymous at April 23, 2007 3:54 PM

To earlier posters re: Cost--we recently had limestone's roof redone--we wound up only needing a new layer with a new skylight (source of most of our problems, it was overdue for replacement) and new hatch, and the cost was closer to $5k. Someday I'm sure we'll have to go through the whole replacement thing, like Mrs. Limestone, but til then....

Posted by: Anonymous at April 23, 2007 5:59 PM

FYI, did my roof last year in Harlem, big tear off job, reseated the roof hatch, new stainless steel flashings, new insulation board, new rubber membrane, my skylights where okay, size 15x50. Made a deal with the roofer where I would be his assistant so I could learn about rubber roofs.

I have left over rubber, flashing cement, aluminum paint for follow up repairs.

Total cost $2.5k, heavy work, lessons learned, priceless.

Plan to hose it down soon and give another layer of aluminum paint this year.

Posted by: nyer at April 24, 2007 10:53 AM