A little bit of backstory, I purchased the home in 2011 and did not realize at the time the roof was made of an "organic shingle".  The roof at the time passed inspection and everything was G2G!

Fast-forward to 2017, over the last 6 months to a year I've noticed the soffit and fascia began to deteriorate at an alarming rate.  The plan was to get that painted and fixed but the problem got worse and worse.

Being a first time homeowner I did not take into account the roof might be at fault, then I noticed recently spots on the dining room ceiling which indicates leaking has occurred. 

I called a well-known roofing company out and they inspected the roof, said insurance owes me a new roof so I began the claim process.  An insurance adjuster arrived from State Farm and after reviewing the situation, denied my claim...

Since then I haven't heard a peep from the roofing contractor, e-mails sent, voice messages left.  I needed an estimate then at what it would cost to repair.  Crazy how they'd ignore my business!  Then I get a letter saying repairs must be made by DEC with proof or I'll likely have my insurance dropped.

Moving on....I get a second contractor out and finally get a figure.

Just under $10,000 which ain't bad! I thought it would be more, and it very well could be if they have to replace decking material.  The contractor wants to install a Heritage 30 shingle, add ridge vents etc, metal valleys etc.  The roof at present has really bad ventilation which thanks to the Oklahoma summer heat, cooked the organic shingles.  That will be fixed. 

So now I have the financing part to work on, which I'm a bit of a new person at.  What do folks recommend as far as financing is concerned? With the short the timetable that I'm dealing with, is it a good or bad idea to get a HELOC? 

Sorry for the wall of text.  Cliffs.

Need new roof before insurance drops coverage
Suggestions on financing?


Here some pics for your enjoyment! Don't judge! Its pretty fucked.






These are from the south and east facing side of the roof, the north facing side looks great!

$10,000 sounds kinda high to me, I had mine done in Sept, 18 squares, ice and water shield,
drip edge etc with a 30 year architectural shingle and taking two layers off and hauling it away for $6,000.
I cant help with the financing part, we saved up a while and just paid for it.
We didn't have any leaks but we did have Ice dams a few times in the winter.
Dealing with contractors can be a bitch but we found a good one.
Good luck man.

What are "organic shingles"?

I would get multiple estimates....

Swap fiberglass mats for paper and more asphalt.

They didn't think there would be a problem putting paper on a roof

I forgot to mention I did get an estimate for another company, they wanted $19,000.  

I said nope!

The shingles are architectural style as well.  Also not many reputable roofing companies in my area (mid-size town).

It's not this insurance company I would worry about. It's the damage being done to your investment you should be highly concerned about. Mold issues are a biggie with a bad roof.  Don't drag that out man!
Did that $10K estimate cover rotted wood they find?   My roof was $8500 + something like $10 a sheet for new OSB for rot areas.  I had to have 6 sheets installed over something like 10 spots.

Estimate did not cover new decking however I know there are going to be places that need to be addressed.  Why Im going to ask for more when it comes time to finance this!

The deadline does get me a little more motivated, however it was my goal to get this done this year.  Still pissed State Farm refused to cover any of it....

That doesn't look like hail damage. It looks like the roof is worn out.  No insurance co would cover that.

I have seen worse but replace that roof ASAP.

What size roof is it? Look simple and small for 10k

Yeah,  homeowner's insurance doesn't cover wear and tear.  If a tree fell on your roof and damaged it, probably.  Or a windstorm blowing half your shingles off.

That was the progression of the modern shingle. When Fiberglass mat shingles first came out they were POS.....things change. As far as I know only Sheriff-goslin is still using an organic shingle. All the other manufactures have moved on.

Insurance won't cover damage on an old worn out roof.  It's beyond it's service life, and it was probably in that condition when they started covering it.  Pre-existing condition.

had a friend years ago that had a guy run into his quarter panel on his '67 Cougar as he was backing out of a parking spot.  Guys insurance company refused to cover it because the bottom of the QP was rotted out.

Homeowner's does not cover wear and tear.

If it was storm damage it likely would be covered.

That is NOT storm damage.


I did not see how many squares?

Get it done even if you have to put it on a credit card and pay interest.


Since it HAS leaked a tear off is required. They are better anyway.


Decking repair is often at a 'per square foot' charge since there is no way to tell how much is there unless is it really gone and visible from the attic.

I don't know all the pros and cons, but that's what I did.  It was the quickest and easiest option for me at the time, and my roof was worse off than yours.

Then I put on a metal roof so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.  

A HELOC would be good if you do not have enough cash sitting around.

Even a credit card with a high enough limit would at least let you get started.

HELOCs can take a few weeks to get in place.

If there is active leaking you want to get them started as fast as possible.

Update to this thread.  I am moving forward with a new roof, got a personal loan for 10 grand @ less than 5% APR *whew*.  That saved me the hassle of doing any refi on the house.

I chose to go with a local roofer who was recommended by two friends, really nice guy.  He will be installing a TAMKO architectural shingle starting next week if weather permits.  The total square footage is something like 3600 sqft since I have a detached garage with a living space above it.

The roofer doesn't think a lot of decking will need to be replaced and he did factor in some work that needs to be done.

Here is what was written out.  Total $9,760.

He's going to lay new ply over existing ply?  I'm not a roofer, but isn't that a bit of overkill?

I believe that is referring to tar paper.

That's what I took the 1-ply part to be. I thought that was the standard tar paper or roofing felt.

I think and I'm not a roofer, the membrane should also be installed under the valleys.

I'm also not a roofer, but does the metal valley take the place of ice and water membrane in the valley?

I just read this today

I am also getting my roof redone and I looked at the PDF installation directions  for the asphalt shingles and it says to put membrane under the valleys.