Mike and I couldn’t be happier that we subbed out the roof. After spending several days on the roof tearing it all off in the searing July summer sun this was one job I was not looking forward to. For one, the new roof is 10 feet higher than the old roof and two, it’s absolutely miserable work (and I might have a slight fear of heights).
However, watching professionals do it, who do it every day for a living, was one of our best days. We were able to sit back and enjoy someone else working on our house. It made us wish we had a bigger budget because this whole addition thing would be soooo much nicer if we were just casual observers rather than hands on lunatics. I can’t count how many times Mike and I looked at eachother and said, “I wish we could just pay someone else to come and finish this whole thing.”
sigh
But we can’t. We promised eachother and ourselves we would stick as close to our budget as possible and at the rate we are going we are dangerously close to only going over a little bit – and to be honest our rough estimates were ridiculously low (we knew this though so we were mentally prepared to go over).
Things we didn’t budget for that we are glad we splurged on:
1. Upgrading our existing HVAC with new ducting and an entirely new system that matches our new one for the second story
2. Bit the bullet and went with a tankless water heater because of venting issues
3. Replaced the retrofit window in the girl’s old bedroom because it leaked
4. Pulled off all of the stucco on the south/west wall (thanks dad there you go “selling” your product)
5. Re-wiring/plumbing the old house to be more cohesive with the new
Things we have re-used:
1. The beam over the old porch was reused for the beam that goes across the new porch
2. The insulation in the garage attic and walls were re-used for the garage walls and by the ac wall
3. All the old trusses were cut up and the wood was re-used for fire blocking throughout the house and to build the pony wall in our shower and a few soffits around the house.
4. The old bathroom air vents
5. Most of the old copper lines
6. Some of the old electrical wire we pulled out was able to be re-run and the electrical boxes for lights and switches and outlets were able to be re-used
7. Our front door
8. A few of the recessed lights we had to remove during demo will be re-used
Things we saved by buying on discount or on Craigslist:
1. Recessed lighting 20 can lights for $80. #winning
2. Bathroom vent/light normally $100 bought it for $20
3. Friend who sells Milgard $1200 for windows
4. Bro-deal on the roof: 2k for labor + materials
5. Tempered glass for our shower: $200
6. Pedestal sink for Jack and Jill bath: $40
7. Bath-tub in the J & J bath from a ding/dent store: $75
8. Home Depot sale on American Standard: Master Bath bath tub: $470
9. Loads of stuff from OSH on clearance because it was going out of business: 30-50% off cost.
10. Lots of friends who work for free (or at a loss when they have to go to the ER and get stitches)
Things we plan on doing ourselves still:
1. Finish plumbing
2. Finish electrical
3. Drywall (although we plan on paying someone to tape and texture it)
4. Building our own vanities for the Master Bath and the downstairs old Master (maybe Evie’s room – the jury’s still out on if we are letting her have the downstairs room)
5. Re-running the HVAC and installing the new HVAC
6. Tiling/flooring
7. All the trim/millwork/stairs and railing
8. Exterior finish work: siding/trim
9. Decking on balcony and railing
10. Re-landscape the front yard
That list is a little overwhelming. But, I think we can do it.
And now for a round of picture updates!
Before the roof went on Mike and I had to finish “boxing in the the eaves”. These 2×4’s give us something to adhere the lath to for stuccoing our eaves, they are 2′ OC. They went up pretty easily but took a couple of days to complete. The gable ends were the toughest. And no, we didn’t pound them into place with a hammer, Mike was just putting the 2x in the right spot, we used a nail gun.
Before the roof Mike and I finished putting in all the windows and doors, it felt soooo good to use my key again!
The roof going on. The delivery was $35 and this included them loading it onto the roof. Totally worth it.
Papering the whole roof:
The transition between the old roof line and the second story wall. This is called a “cricket”. Mike built it with 3/4″ OSB, then the roofer papered and torched it then covered it with custom flashing. Because of our roof shape, a lot of water can pool here during rain, so Mike built this to slope away from the wall and roof to prevent the water from pooling and destroying our wall/roof.
Up close view of all the vents we had to put through the roof before the roofers could come:
The finished roof, almost ready for pre-wrap this Tuesday!
Before our pre-wrap inspection, anything that is going through the exterior walls has to be in the walls like the AC lines:
Climbing to the second floor is so much easier now that we have temporary treads in:
And just as the roofers finished up it started to rain. I’m happy to say the roof worked, there were no leaks!
