One of the things we have struggled with the most is the roof. We thought we were in for clear sailing after we determined the pitch we wanted (which is slightly flatter than the current convention) was going to work and not leak like an old pirate ship.
Not long after, we determined that our initial estimates for a standing seam metal roof (which were about 2x the cost of a ‘normal’ roof) were woefully inadequate, and that the actual cost was more like 8 or 10x a normal roof. After experiencing anger, grief, denial, and no small amount of bargaining, we decided that a standing seam was not in our future.
Our safety is a concrete tile roof, and seemed to be a lot more reasonable given the comparable lifespan and lower cost. We did some research, found some suppliers, and although there seem to be a fair amount of concerns about the roof in areas where there will be a lot of water and strong wind (have you been to the midwest this summer?) it still seemed a reasonable option.
Fast forward to Jill and I finding a commercial building in Springfield that had a roof very similar to the one we had in mind. Interestingly enough (no, that isn’t ironic) one of the tenants of said building is an investment adviser that I had worked with in the past. So we got in touch with him and the first thing he does is complain about the roof and how many times he has had to have it repaired.
Cut back to Jack’s nagging sense of self doubt and we are still not exactly sure what we are going to do. I think our current plan is to stick with the concrete tile roof despite all the bad publicity and just go with some Gonzo underlayment. My other thought was just to build a bio-dome around the house to keep it from ever getting wet. There are, after all, a lot of endangered species that could use a place to live…