Another milestone was reached this weekend... we now have a new roof!

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we hired a contractor, Scott Dawley, to do the tear off and installation of a new roof.

On Monday, Tyler and I went to the local lumber yard to purchase the materials for our roof. We like purchasing the materials ourselves because then we can look around for the best deals. Gary, the sales rep we normally work with at the lumber yard, said he'd give us a discount on the shingles they had in-stock. The shingles had been ordered at the beginning of the summer. Then, due to oil prices, asphalt shingles took a 10% increase in price over the summer. So, by going with what was in-stock, Tyler and I could get the pre-jump price on the shingles.

Scott called us on Tuesday and said that he had a couple guys without family in the area who'd like to work on Thanksgiving. Thinking nothing of it, Tyler and I agreed to allow work to start on Thanksgiving.

On Wednesday, Tyler and I made the final arrangements for payment and delivery of materials to the job site. Then, we sat back and waited in anticipation for work to begin on our roof.

At 7:30 am on Thanksgiving morning, Tyler and I saw 8 guys scurrying up a 24' foot ladder to start tearing off our existing roof. Apparently, Scott had contracted the job out to one of his subs. We were a little nervous till we met the foreman. He was a nice guy who gave us his card. On the card it stated that he was the sole proprieter and that the company was licensed and insured. Tyler and I checked the Iowa Workforce database of contractors and found that this was correct.

So, we headed up to my parents' place for Thanksgiving and left the roofers to their work. By the time we arrived home, around 8:00 pm, the roofers had stripped off all of the asphalt/cedar shingles and had almost completed laying down all the new OSB underlayment. Needless to say, but we were pretty amazed. There was a pile of debris from the roof extending from the sides of the house about 3-4 feet that was 1-2 feet deep.

It took another day and a half for the crew to finish up the roof. Tyler and I were amazed at the strength and stamina these guys had. They worked non-stop from sun up to sun down and were always in a good mood. On more than one occasion, we'd see someone climb down the ladder, grab a 4x8 sheet of OSB board, throw it across their back, steady it with a single hand, and climb to the top of the ladder. They were polite and the conversations always seemed fairly tame - unlike some experienced we've had in the past with contractors.

Most of the last day was spent cleaning up around the house. I think it was actually cleaner around the house than when they started. All-in-all, Tyler and I were really pleased with Jose and his crew. Jose even offered to come out and do some more cleaning after we moved the dumpsters. But, it was so clean under the dumpsters that Tyler and I didn't think it was worth the hassle of making him come all the way back out to take care of what little was there. To show our appreciation for a job well done, on Saturday we treated the crew to a couple pizzas and a 12 pack of some long necks - normal construction crew cuisine.

As pleased as we were with Jose and his crew, we were equally displeased with Scott. Scott was suppose to stop in and check on the progress while Jose's crew was at work. We never saw him. The only time we saw Scott on site was after the roof had been completed and he was there wanting his check. Considering it was 8:00 pm and pitch black outside, Tyler and I were pretty sure he never bothered to make sure his subs did the job right. So, lesson learned, we're going to go straight to the sub-contractors and hire Jose next time.