The Roof
We finally got an estimate this morning for installing a metal roof on our house in Newaygo - about $7500. It's about 3 times as much as a regular shingle roof, but it's supposed to last for about 50 years, so I would consider it a good investment. It would be made of stainless steel, with a red coating to match the garage (IR value = 0.30, the best solar-reflective non-white surface). Plus, having new vents and attic insulation installed will cut down on icicles, and thus our winter heating bills.
In addition to the re-roofing, we have a giant white pine (my sister calls it the Shit Pine) in the front yard that needs to be ELIMINATED. It's about 4x as high as the house and only 15 feet away from the front wall. Several huge branches fell from it during last year's ice storm, and now it looks really uneven at the top. There are two big branches just touching the top of the living room, so they'll have to go before the roof goes on. And to boot, it drops a 2" layer of pine needles and assorted fluff all over the front yard every year, killing any grass that happens to grow there. The removal estimate is $400-600.
Then there's the indoor water damage from the last time the roof failed in the late 90's. The ceilings in the living room and front bedroom are fairly scary and need to be completely redone. No idea how much that will cost.
And finally, as long as we're getting a loan for all this, we figured we should have new windows. The current ones are made of wood and were installed when the house was built in 1945. The frames are sketchy, and the screens and storm windows don't lock into place very well - there's a screw & bolt system like you'd find in a cheap wood laminate desk or entertainment center. In short, they're not exactly energy efficient.
In addition to the re-roofing, we have a giant white pine (my sister calls it the Shit Pine) in the front yard that needs to be ELIMINATED. It's about 4x as high as the house and only 15 feet away from the front wall. Several huge branches fell from it during last year's ice storm, and now it looks really uneven at the top. There are two big branches just touching the top of the living room, so they'll have to go before the roof goes on. And to boot, it drops a 2" layer of pine needles and assorted fluff all over the front yard every year, killing any grass that happens to grow there. The removal estimate is $400-600.
Then there's the indoor water damage from the last time the roof failed in the late 90's. The ceilings in the living room and front bedroom are fairly scary and need to be completely redone. No idea how much that will cost.
And finally, as long as we're getting a loan for all this, we figured we should have new windows. The current ones are made of wood and were installed when the house was built in 1945. The frames are sketchy, and the screens and storm windows don't lock into place very well - there's a screw & bolt system like you'd find in a cheap wood laminate desk or entertainment center. In short, they're not exactly energy efficient.