Roof issue: steeper and steeper

Well, I've proven my manhood, ascending the 40'ladder, scaling the valleys of our 10/12 pitch roof, overlooking the 'hood from the heights. I've wandered the aisles of Home Depot, searching for the right tools... what a wasteland...

On Thursday night well into the wee hours, my neighbor and new buddy, Robbie, and I discussed the needs of the house.

Knowing what to do is a process. As I got into the gutters, I thought we needed a little patch and some trees trimmed. Then I discovered significant rusting and many holes in the cheap tin material ("terne")... more patching than I thought...

Then I look up after a while and see missing and loose shingles... rusted valleys, cracked endcaps... this whole roof needs help... It needs to be replaced...

Talking to robbie, we start to plan an October re-roofing--the whole thing. But now I have wisely reconsidered.

Do you understand pitch? 8-12 is a pretty stiff height. You're not touching a 10/12. Seriously. Our guy, JP, who climbs CLIFFS and mountains is freaked out to just stand in the gutter at the bottom of the roof, much less actually climb up the valley. I climb all over it, because I roofed for a few years in my younger youth... still can't haul my expanding girth up a cliff, though...

Sooo... While Robbie and I are jawing about how fun it's gonna be to reroof the whole thing, and the whole time we're talking about BOX gutters...

Box gutters. Most gutters are simple devices, attached to the home by hangers or large spiky nails. Box gutters are built into the house from scratch. They are incorporated into the actual rafters of the house. Wooden frame structures fully attached to the house, with a metal trough for the water to cascade through... All of it hand fabricated using a "brake" (1200 1400 dollars new)... Copper is 100+dollars-a-foot. Any other material is going to be a real mess. the other option is "terne"--a low quality tin product that will have to be properly painted (on that pitch with a can of paint and a brush?) every 2 years.

Why do I own such a home? I had told God (vowed) that i never would own a home again. This is my third one, and renting was so much better in terms of all this MONEY that upkeep takes.

But here we are. Why? Because of Mom's passing and the need for hospice space. b/c of the state of the church in our day. B/c of the new wineskins we're seeing emerging... b/c of the people who eat together at that table... That's why.

Sooo... I'm collecting estimates, with no possible way to pay up...

Sorry Robbie. As manly and handy as we are (not to mention good looking=), there's a lot of teaching and preaching that have to be done to keep a community on track. The roof would be torn off for a whole week while we try to make those gutters, wasting all kinds of metal, having to buy a 14-16 hundred dollar brake. We better leave this funny business to the pros.



but just in case, is there anyone out there who can reroof and fabricate box gutters out there? I'm not talking about send a youth group over here to help. I'm talking sending a craftsman over here to put in a major push... Is it out there?

Some of you are in pain right now. You love us and me and don't want us in this situation. Thank you. My own dad was never madder than when we would hurt ourselves. Those of you who love--please pray and help.