Reroofing! But the garden survived
First Xris’s roof, then Elizabeth’s, and now mine. The necessity of replacing our balding and wind-damaged shingles could no longer be put off, so this week we had the house reroofed. I always dread repair work or painting on the house because of potential damage to the garden. So with anxiety written plain on my face, I’m sure, I gave the roofer a tour of my garden and explained how strongly I felt about keeping ladders and fallen shingles off the plants. He promised—and put it in the contract—to protect the plants with scaffolding (visible in the photo above) and to dump debris only over the driveway. I signed the contract and closed my eyes.
And it all went swimmingly. After just two days of scraping, nail guns, and conjunto music, my new roof is up, and the skies can rain all they want—not that they want to just now. I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and the only garden casualty that I’ve noticed is a broken branch on the beautyberry.
Here’s how it looks from the back patio. This is the south-facing wall that shelters the back garden from north winds, creating a warm microclimate in winter. The result is a delightful winter patio, protected on two sides by the house and open to the sun on the south and east. The roses here will bloom much longer than the ones out front. Red ‘Valentine’ pops against the green wall, and ‘Marie Pavie’ glows white beneath the bare Mexican plum. The big grassy plant is bicolor iris (Dietes bicolor ), a South African evergreen that grows like a monster here.
It looks great, Pam, and now all we Austin gardeners know who to ask for a recommendation when our own castles need reroofing. I’ll bet you lost some sleep worrying about your garden before the actual day,
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I would certainly recommend the company that we used: Straight Solutions. The owner, Clay Fuller, really listened to our concerns and followed through. —Pam
I am happy for you that the roofers did such a good job working around the plants in your garden. Roofing is a difficult job. Your patio is just wonderful. I bet you sit there a lot.
Thanks, Lisa. Yes, I do sit on the patio a lot—when I’m not puttering around in the garden. But it’s strictly a cool-season patio. It’s too buggy in the summer. —Pam
Wait! You forgot the best part of the story…the part before he came up with plan to protect the garden. The part where you said you wanted to make sure nothing happened to the garden and he replied, “What garden?”
I’m glad it worked out. You avoided my costly mistake–relying on verbal assurances. I now know that one of the most important things in hiring a contractor is to work out the details in the beginning and then put them down in writing. This protects both the contractor and the client from misunderstandings and hard feelings. The difference I see in our experiences is that even though your guy didn’t think of the problem himself, he was ready to listen to your concerns and able to come up a with a plan to address them.
Ha—yes, that had me worried. But once I showed him, he really paid attention, as did his crew. And after everything was cleaned up, he came out to thank me for making it clear in advance how much I wanted the garden to be protected. That knowledge helped him do a better job, he said. How’s that for good service? —Pam
What a thoughtful roofer! Truly! When subcontractors would show up at our house, I would cover burgeoning plants with upturned planters and pots. No good. They would be summarily kicked to the side and stomped upon.
Isn’t that frustrating? I’ve had several bad experiences, which made me appreciate this one so much more. —Pam
Keep the name of that roofer & share it with all the gardeners in Austin! Having any work done on my property is always a nightmare. You’re lucky to have found someone who was willing to put in the extra effort to protect the garden.
Yes, I felt lucky to have found them and will gladly share the name. —Pam