So, you finally decided that you need to get a new roof. Great. Let's hope it goes smoothly and it is the last roof that you will ever need.

I recently replaced the roof on my house, I had a little leak and weighed the cost of fixing the leak and then doing the whole roof. I went with the whole option.

While the team that replaced it was great and did a good job, here are the things I wish someone would have 'clued me in on' before the contractors showed up:

  1. You will not have access to your driveway for a day, possibly three. This is because of the dumpster.
  2. Your neighbors will ask you if they can throw things in the dumpster, lol. That is totally up to you.
  3. There will be construction vehicles in front of your house from 7:30 am through 5 pm. That means that your trash (if its trash pick-up day) will not be picked up, nor will you get a mail delivery. No big deal, just something no one tells you.
  4. No matter how hard the crew works to protect your plants, some of them will get smooshed. So if you are a big gardener with delicate plants super close to the house, you might want to wait until the fall or the beginning of spring, a time when you don't have too many plants in bloom.
  5. Depending on the size of your roof, there is a chance that your crew will not be done in one day. The crew will work hard, but depending on the weather (how hot it is or how rainy) and how many crew members showed up for work that day, you could be dealing with this for a few days.
  6. Depending on the age of your roof, the plywood might not be up to code. That means, in addition to any sheets that have rotted with leaks, you will also need to replace those sheets of plywood. This is a tough pill to swallow. Why? The cost of the sheets of plywood could be one third to half the amount, in addition, to your original roof estimate.
  7. There will be nails no matter what they do. I saw a team of four guys walk all around the yard, the driveway, the street, they even had this big magnet roller thing, but you will still find a stray nail or two. Do not park your car in the driveway or the garage, until you go over everything, sweep, etc. Your car tires will thank you. 
  8. The sound of them ripping the shingles and plywood off your existing roof is louder than you think. If you need to work from home, make sure you bust out the noise canceling headphones. Believe me, I was able to catch up on some computer work with those headphones on and some music, but it was still loud.
  9. Take the pictures off the walls, while I am not sure if they would actually fall off the walls, it is a good protective measure. I found a few wall hangings askew, but because I was proactive, nothing was damaged.
  10. There will be a fine glaze of dust, along with a new wood 'dusty' smell for a few days after they are all done.

Are all of these 10 things big enough to have you consider not getting the roof done? Of course not, this is my take away from what I learned.

Something else to mention? If there is room in that dumpster, you have already paid for it, so if you have a few things to toss in go ahead and do it. Just make sure that you don't put a fridge in there or mattresses.

Oh, and that plywood you had to buy? You might want to keep some of the left over scraps. Trust me, with what I paid for that stuff, I was bashful asking about it at first, but when I started thinking about it, I grabbed a neighbor and pulled a few of the bigger pieces out of the dumpster. I may or may not use them in the future, but just in case, they will be in my garage wood scrap pile and I got them.

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