We Have A New Roof!

Posted on | January 5, 2011 | 34 Comments

This is my first before and after, super exciting stuff! Above a shot of our house today and on the bottom the view from a year ago. Also note: the asphalt shingles have been removed from the dormer (to be replaced with clapboards), we have a new front gutter and chimney. Last night, I was on a serious high feeling relieved that we finally got the roof done—I slept like a baby.

We started the project back in August 2010. We went back and forth on which type of shingle to use (3-tab or architectural), we had a really hard time finding a roofer—I gave up on the project multiple times. In early November Regatta Construction started work on new trim and gutters in preps for a new roof. We had two separate tradesmen do each of the projects: trim and roof. At the beginning of the process we met with a large roofing contractor that could do both for a considerably lower estimate. Under the advice of many blog readers I choose to have carpenters do all the trim and roofers do the roof. In hindsight, I feel this was the best choice for me. I had a considerable amount of carpentry work that took weeks to replace and fix. My carpenters were slow (in a good way), neat and perfectionist. We had a team of 3-4 guys from Regatta that were all carpenters. My roofers on the other hand did a great job but they were much rougher and fast—totally different style of work.

The roof is actually a really quick project. It took four guys two days to strip, replace rotten boards and lay new shingles. Majority of the roof is architectural shingles. On the backside of our house we have a flat roof that extends out over our large bathroom tower. You can’t see the roof from the street so we ended up using a rolled roofing material. As Greg said this stuff was “bomber”—meaning it was really thick and heavy duty. If you use architectural shingles on a flat roof, it will leak because it won’t runoff. In one of the photos below you can see the architectural shingles meeting up with the flat roof.

I love the way the new roof looks. I’m glad I went with charcoal architectural shingles. I did have doubts of it being too dark and thoughts of that I should have saved up the money to do cedar shank shingles—which would have been historically accurate. You can doubt every decision you make but in the end you just have to go with it and be realistic of your budget. What a great way to start 2011!

HGM Commerial-Residential Roofing
Louis Vazquez
(781) 592-5846

Category: house renovation

Comments

34 Responses to “We Have A New Roof!”

cottagefarm
January 5th, 2011 @ 12:41 pm
it looks wonderful!! and fun shots of the old structural roof underneath. love getting to see the bones.
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caroline
January 5th, 2011 @ 12:43 pm
looks amazing!
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chelsea
January 5th, 2011 @ 12:56 pm
congrats, katy! what a great way to start out the new year!
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Susan
January 5th, 2011 @ 12:58 pm
Looks so great! What an awesome way to start the new year.
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amy good house
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:00 pm
WOW! The dark color looks absolutely amazing – and suddenly the house looks so polished off. (It looked cute before, but now it’s like wow!)
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dal
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:02 pm
congrats! and what a big impact it makes! i love a dark roof, even if it gets hot in the attic.
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Jane Flanagan
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:09 pm
Yay! Congrats. Must feel so great to knock that off the list!
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emerson merrick
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:20 pm
Wowza!! Love it.
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Kristin
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:35 pm
It looks fantastic!I think it really refines the look of the house.

Nice choice!
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Rachel from Love a la Mode
January 5th, 2011 @ 1:49 pm
Congratulations, it looks perfect!
Bisous,
Rachel
lovealamode.wordpress.com
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Dulcie
January 5th, 2011 @ 2:45 pm
Looks great! The charcoal was definitely the right decision!
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Kristen
January 5th, 2011 @ 4:10 pm
Fabulous! Congratulations!
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lynne
January 5th, 2011 @ 5:34 pm
it looks so so great. what a great way to start 2011.
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Sara
January 5th, 2011 @ 5:37 pm
Nice job! Worth the effort in every way.
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Ashley
January 5th, 2011 @ 6:42 pm
Looks fantastic, Katy! I’m learning so much through your blog, thank you, thank you!
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Josephine
January 5th, 2011 @ 8:02 pm
Congratulations, it looks amazing! What a face lift! Now you can also sleep well during the next nor’easter. :)
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abby Belknap
January 5th, 2011 @ 8:40 pm
What a relief for you both, it looks great. and 20 years down the road if you want cedar shingles you can put them on. Nothing structural was touched. Have you figured out what years various parts of the house were added?
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Gina @ Temporary Nest
January 5th, 2011 @ 8:41 pm
HEY! Look how great that looks!! I definitely love the darker look. The house is coming along beautifully!
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nole
January 5th, 2011 @ 8:43 pm
Congrats Katy! The new roof looks awesome!
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Kate F.
January 6th, 2011 @ 9:03 am
It looks great–I think the dark color was definitely the way to go. Hopefully this makes things at least a tiny bit warmer for you?
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Patsy
January 6th, 2011 @ 10:31 am
Love it! Definitely the right color choice.
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Katie
January 6th, 2011 @ 12:24 pm
I’ve followed your blog for a long time, but never commented…this is definitely worthy! Its wonderful to see something accomplished that you have been working on and planning for so long. Congratulations, it looks great!
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Amy Meier
January 6th, 2011 @ 5:05 pm
Looks fabulous! The richness of the color looks stunning against your home. Congrats!
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Pam
January 6th, 2011 @ 9:00 pm
Yay! The charcoal was the right choice! The lighter gray just wouldn’t look as historically accurate.
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Stephanie Berry
January 7th, 2011 @ 12:27 pm
Looks great! The darker color looks much better.
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Erica
January 7th, 2011 @ 8:07 pm
Congratulations! What a relief it must be not to have to worry about the roof any more. Great advice on carpenters vs. roofers.
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emily @ thirtyeight20
January 8th, 2011 @ 12:54 pm
Love it! What a difference. Congrats!
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Erin
January 8th, 2011 @ 4:06 pm
Looks fantastic! Congratulations!
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Mopar
January 8th, 2011 @ 4:26 pm
Congratulations, what an accomplishment. Looks great!
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Wendy
January 10th, 2011 @ 11:04 am
It’s beautiful! I’m so glad that the roofers came through for you. I was worried earlier. It’s a huge accomplishment. Congratulations!
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cara
January 11th, 2011 @ 8:29 am
just found your lovely blog from Two Ellie’s…I love it!
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Kit Mitchell
January 11th, 2011 @ 8:32 pm
Noodling around Marblehead the other day and poof, I was upon your house… I recognized it immediately. In case you happened to see me staring at your house with a gaze that only a new roof can foster…
Cheers… and may you have many happy days under it.
kit
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Sarah @ Maison Boheme
January 12th, 2011 @ 11:17 am
Wow! It looks great – congrats!
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Kathleen
January 14th, 2011 @ 3:45 pm
The roof is such a major part of how the entire house looks. Your choice was excellent. Really looks great.
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