My Own Small Economic Stimulus Package
Over the summer I’ve followed the renovations in the neighborhood. The house to the north of me is almost finished. The owner took me in and showed me what they had done. They only had the kitchen left. They’d saved the old claw foot tub in upstairs bath. They even had a professional restorer refinish the white coating.
Now I’m beginning my own set of renovations. I’ve been taking bids to replace my roof. So far they are running from $6150 to $7150, which an extra charge of $2.85 per sq. foot for any rotted base they have to replace. I know there to be at least 200 sq. feet of that and probably more. I had them bid it for 3-layer laminate, which uses some recycled material in its composition. The nice thing about it is that it lasts 30-35 years, rather than 20-25 for three-tab shingles. It’s slightly more expensive, but it only added about $400 to the bid. With any luck I’ll never have to reroof the house again. I’ll be 80 the next time it rolls around.
Still, it’s a difficult decision to make. It’s the second most expensive decision I’ve ever made, second only to buying the house itself. I have this recurring nightmare where they get the roof off and then discover tens of thousands of dollars damage to the structure of the house. This is why I haven’t been able to watch those home remodeling shows since I bought a house. They’ll rip open some part of house and say “Look, Jim, see these little mud balls… that’s termites… too bad for the home owner.” :)