We had originally planned on a standing seam metal roof but the subcontractor who agreed to do it bailed out at the eleventh hour – he actually bailed out on the very day he was to start the roof!

He obviously bid it way too low. When we went looking for other roofers to do the standing seam metal roof for us the price suddenly tripled and quadrupled. The standing seam just wasn't worth the price at this point.

So beware low bids. What can we say?

As you well know, Nature doesn't wait on a roof, She just rains (and sometimes pours) whenever she feels like it during the construction process – so for several additional weeks we endured wet floors and a partially flooded garage while we explored new roofing options.

The timing was not good because we had a lot going on at the house at the time and we needed things to be DRY. That subcontractor set us back quite a bit, in more ways than one.

An Aside

Roofers are a breed onto themselves. Some we interviewed were as sexist and 'good ole boy' as they come. One guy proudly told us his entire life story during the first 15 minutes we were there...that is, until Dr. Ellen finally stood up to leave. Lesley was a little more patient with him until he showed us his quote, which was for everything BUT the kind of roof that we had requested a quote for. He gave us what he wanted to do, period. And his figures themselves weren't even right as Lesley pointed out to him. We trashed him, duh.

A little psychology goes a long way. Lesley plays the 'homeowner' role with these kinds of guys while Dr. Ellen plays the gadfly. She stands back and speaks the unspeakable, grumbling things in the background like: "Are you kidding?!" "What an idiot." "Get a grip, that's r-e-a-l stupid." She says what should be said but no one else dares say it.

But these things have to be said when stupidity raises its ugle head, like when we drove up to the property last Saturday morning. There, in the driveway, a painter was standing next to a small bonfire - he was burning paint stuff and old brushes, etc. When he saw us he quickly started to stamp out the fire. When Dr. Ellen got there she said NO FIRES, the county was in drought conditions, and anyway, there was a construction dumpster right behind him. THAT'S stupidity. And who knows if he would have put it out properly before he left. If someone is stupid enough to do something like that, imagine what else he might be able to come up with behind your back.

Also, don't be one of those who fail to return telephone calls. You want bad press, Dr. Ellen will give you bad press. To date, more than 59,000 visitors have perused this Log Blog. That's called clout.

The Decision

The decision, finally, was to go with CertainTeed Presidential Shakes, which our general contractor preferred anyway. These fiberglass, self-sealing asphalt shingles look like dimensional shakes. We chose 'Bark Brown' to match the mountain setting.

The shakes measure 355 lbs. to the square, so they are heavy. They take 12 nails per shingle, 6 on each side. They have a lifetime warranty and are rated for 110 mile per hour winds.

We are very happy with this roof. The gutters will go on next. And, yes, yet another subcontractor does that job.