When we bought our house, two major problems needed immediate attention:
- The first-floor furnace was ancient and so poorly maintained we weren’t sure it would run.
- The 32-year-old roof was at the end of its life and had a hole that leaked into the attic whenever it rained.
Luckily we knew about both issues before we placed our bid, so we were able to negotiate thousands of dollars back at closing to help cover the repairs. A new roof and furnace aren’t cheap, so getting that credit was huge. After closing, while we were on a book tour, we spent a lot of time on the phone coordinating with roofers and HVAC technicians—picture a lot of phone tag while hopping between cities. By a small miracle, the furnace was cleaned and made operational and we also had a brand-new roof installed within a few weeks of owning the place.
The rot under the old shingles was more extensive than we expected—some sections required removing and replacing the plywood decking as well as the shingles.
It looked worse before it looked better…
…but Clara didn’t seem bothered by the two-foot-high piles of old roofing material around the yard. Atta girl.
Much better.
We chose the roofer based on past experience and a few estimates. They’d worked on our previous house and are a fully insured, family-owned local company with decades in the business. We still got three bids to compare, but their price and reputation made it an easy decision.
For the style of shingle, we drove around our neighborhood and noted which homes we liked best. The brick Colonials we admired most had a slate-like, dimensional shingle that suited the scale of the house, so we picked that look. You can see it on the lower roof over the garage in this photo:
Up close you really see the slate-like appearance. We chose GAF Camelot II in Antique Slate. The shingles are chunky and square-ish, giving a substantial look. They come with a lifetime warranty, though they’re often described as a 50-year product. So far they look great.
While the new roof felt like a long-term solution—especially comforting after we verified there was no lasting mold or damage from the leak—the furnace continued to be a problem. It turned out the furnace was original to the house, about 32 years old, and had never been properly serviced. The technicians suspected the filter had never been changed. It was, as Rob Lowe might say, literally a hot mess.
Because the unit was so old and neglected, finding replacement parts was difficult. After multiple service calls—and a scary episode where we smelled gas in the garage—we contacted our home warranty company. To our surprise, they approved and installed a brand-new Goodman furnace at no additional cost. The furnace, installation and some new ductwork were covered by the one-year home warranty we purchased at closing for about $500. When the crew pulled into our driveway with a new system valued around $5,000, that $500 felt like the best investment we’d made.
Those two projects were priorities the moment we moved in. It took a little time to share the updates—clearing out moving debris from the garage was necessary to get a decent “after” shot of the new furnace—but it felt great to check two big items off the list. One repair was paid for with the closing credit we negotiated, and the furnace ended up being replaced free through the warranty. Still, juggling two houses while traveling made things more complicated; at one point John’s parents had to meet a technician at the new house for an emergency appointment while we were on a plane.
After sorting these urgent fixes we shifted back into “current house mode” to finish projects at our previous home and wrap up the tour and the holidays. Once those were done, switching fully into “new house mode” felt thrilling—so much so that I wanted to squeal with excitement.
If there’s a takeaway here, it might be to seriously consider a short-term home warranty for the peace of mind it can bring, and to let your neighborhood guide aesthetic choices when picking exterior finishes. Did you ever do a neighborhood crawl to choose materials? Have you had a home warranty cover a major repair in your first year?
Update: Comments and experiences have varied. Some homeowners find home warranties invaluable and renew them annually; others have frustrating experiences. Results seem to depend on the region, the warranty provider, and individual circumstances.