Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

So, it’s raining, again. In Florida. What a surprise, right?

Well, when you have a leaky roof, you dread the rain.

Yes, my roof leaks. It’s my dirty little secret I've tried to hide from everyone for years. Yes, years.

It started leaking a long time ago, and we tried to deal with it as long as possible, but (duh-doi), it’s getting worse and worse.

Last week, we discovered a new leak, in the kitchen (above Clover’s cat food bowl, too). 

Okay, enough is enough.  I don’t know HOW we are going to pay for it, but we need to figure something out.  I’m embarrassed to say that we have no money in savings for this.

I emailed four different local companies via their website to come give me an estimate on both repairing the damaged areas (until we can pay for the whole thing) and also the whole thing.  Three companies responded to my query and came out to inspect the house.

Of those three, only two gave me an estimate.  The first company gave me a verbal estimate of $7,500 plus wood (no price on the wood); he wouldn't even give me a price on repairs.  The second company (and a company I am very familiar with, after working at a construction company for 5+ years) provided a very professional written estimate of $5,500 plus wood (at $40 per man hour). 

Obviously, we want to go with the second company!  Now, how to we pay for this?

I contacted my Credit Union to inquire about a personal loan or line of credit. No go.

I contacted my mortgage holder about a personal loan. No go.

I contacted my mortgage holder about a home equity loan or line of credit. I was waiting to hear back from them when I realized that I had a horde of money that, while I didn't WANT to touch it, would give us what we needed – my 401k that had been languishing around from (ironically) my old job at the construction company!

I requested a distribution, and waited for the check to come (which it did, in only a day or so!)

Okay, so I have an estimate and I have money, so new I get a new roof!

I signed and returned their proposal and we were put on the work calendar for our new roof. We have a flat roof, so we would be getting something called a roll-on cap sheet roof.

Once I sent the proposal back to the roofer, they sent me a Notice of Commencement to sign as well, and then we waited….

The office assistant told us that we were about 10 weeks out on the schedule, so that would put us at about July 2^nd.

So, here’s the next question on my mind – remember how Hubby said “No PHM until the roof is fixed”?  - Roof is fixed! PHM here I come? Or Space Coast. Or Key West. Or all three?!?

And as usual, getting the new roof is making me think of other projects that we need to tackle. Depending on what is left over from my 401k after the roof, we should have some money left over to fix other stuff – like my closet, which is where most of the leaking is (I need to re-plaster the ceiling); I want to put in a good closet organizer.

Outside, we REALLY need to tackle the Bamboo Jungle that is the backyard. It’s been bad for years (as bad as the roof), but because we are not really outdoorsy people, or people who grill and chill on the patio, we've never really seen it as a priority. Well, I want to make it a priority.  Florida, when not summertime, does have nice weather. I want to be able to enjoy it more, maybe curl up on the patio and read a book in the sunshine. I also want to fix up the front porch, with new chairs too.

Finally, this is probably a must, I want to repaint the entire house. Ever since we moved in, our house has been a drab grey with peach (seriously, peach) trim. The woman who owned the house before us was old and blind, so maybe they bought the paint at the Recycling Center because it was cheap and she couldn't see it anyway (ooh, too mean?)  I want something warm, like a toasty brown, to match the white roof.  I don’t want the house color to be too dark, because that will absorb the FL sun and heat, but a caramel or toffee color, with creamy trim would be great.

Sadly, I don’t think that we’ll have enough left over for ALL of this, but we can do it in stages. We just have to buckle down and save for it.