Why is it that a leaky roof feels like a personal assault?
I know that people the world around have to deal with water where it’s not wanted, whether pooling on the family room couch, as in our case, or floating the boxes stored in the basement, as in the case of a friend of mine. There’s something unsettling, though, about waking up to an unplanned water feature. It’s not quite like having four-, six-, or eight-legged trespassers show up, but it’s almost worse, in some ways. You can’t set a trap for a leak, and it’s hard to know if the leak is fixed until it has another opportunity to trespass again.
As personal as the leak may seem, though, it is nice to know that there are others who have been awakened by drips and lived to tell about it. In fact, some stories–those of the worst catastrophes, of course–become great ice-breakers and the guts of long conversations. There’s a brotherhood of the people who have had to deal with leaky roofs.
Thankfully, almost every leaky roof has a solution, though the solution may be rather complicated and cost a pretty penny. Some fixes may be as simple as a tube of roofing tar, though others may require a remodeled roof line. The one can be handled by the average Joe, while the other will probably require the assistance of a professional. There are professionals out there, these days, who can help with the entire process (“Design Build”), from planning, through the permit requirements, to trimming the last shingle.
One nice thing about leaks and floods is that there are so many others who can empathize (whether or not they sympathize), that you have a good shot at getting recommendations, suggestions, and advice, all of which, of course, is yours to consider with as little or as much salt as you feel necessary. To an experienced construction company, even something like “changing the roof line” may not be that big a deal.
My home is a great example of conversation fodder. When we were considering purchasing it, the inspector used the phrase “unconventional construction” multiple times, throughout the building. If we’d only known…. There are multiple roofs up in our attic, and we still have had several gallons of rain water show up in the family room, since we moved in. In our case, a whole case of tubes of roofing tar didn’t suffice, so we’re headed for a change in the roof line, most likely. It would be really nice if we could have that new roof line be on top of the second floor addition we would like to build, but finances may not allow, at this point in time. Right now, stopping the flooding has to be higher priority than expanding the living area.
So, we knuckle down, figure out what has to happen, and move on. Others have had the same difficulties before us, and many more will, long after we’re gone. Does that make us feel better? Depends on the day.