We rode out Hurricane Charley here in Central Florida last August. The eye of the storm went right over our house, but we did not realize it until we saw the map in the paper several days later. We were fortunate. We need a new roof, but we needed that anyway. We only started leaking recently, and only a little bit, when it rains hard and long, like it did a couple of weeks ago. We are scheduled with our roofer for sometime in the next month. There are two houses ahead of us. Our blue roof is shredding, decorating our yard and the yards of our neighbors. I will be so glad to see it gone.
Another reminder of Charley has become evident this week as the season changes. We have never, in 18 years of living in this house, had to deal with the sun coming in through our patio and blinding us in our family room. It's happening now, late in the afternoon, for the first time ever. Winter Park lost a lot of trees and a lot of branches from the trees that remain. I can only hope that the poor, beat up trees a couple of streets over can generate enough new growth to give us back our shade.
I know I shouldn't complain, and I'm not, really. A friend of ours, hired by FEMA right after the four hurricanes that hit Florida, is still helping people get housing in areas hit by Ivan. There are people in Central Florida who still cannot use part or all of their homes. Everyday, people are moving back into their houses or apartments that were damaged and had to be redone because of the hurricanes. I am so thankful that our home stood strong, and I hope we can get everything done by the time the next hurricane season starts, just two months from now.
---Katie
3 comments:
It must’ve been so hard for you to see your roof to give way after Charley hit. I hope your new roof was put on right away to save you from further trouble. Was the new roof still blue or did you go with a different color this time? And what material did you choose for it?
Actually, the "blue roof" was the plastic FEMA put down on people's roofs that were damaged. As it aged, it became brittle and started to peel. Our roof never gave way and we had only a tiny bit of interior damage that just required a little spackle and paint. Our new roof is just a regular shingle, textured style roof. We have been very happy with it. I was cleaning out in the garden today and found a little piece of blue plastic that had been hiding in the dirt all this time. ;-)
At least your house is standing still. Let’s look at the brighter side. =) It’s best if we are always ready for hurricanes and storms. Before the upcoming rainy and/or windy season, my dad would always check on our roof so we could avoid bigger problems if ever a storm comes our way. Keep safe!
Lakisha Autin
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