For most of my northern and western readers the occurrence of a hurricane is a rarity and they read about such nasty things in the news accounts or see the chaos on TV. We lived through the last one with hair raising effects while the wind tried to pry open our jalousie windows. But the most alarming thing happened to our building which houses 52 families covered by one unitary roof. And thereby hangs a tale.
We are doing the budget of the 7th Moorings and trying to gather all the information that is needed in compiling the facts and mostly figures in order to pay for 2006. There are a lot of imponderables in such computations and much of the information needed is not at hand because of my lack of interest in filing reports away and my inclination is not to do anything until the last minute while under the figurative gun. My last talk with our roofer (Pioneer Roofing, Inc) included the information that people have been going up on the roof on their own and fixing their air conditioners without proper supervision by Pioneer Roofing, Inc. Thus, we are in trouble because faulty installation can lead to leaks down into apartments. This is one issue and affects only the individual who did not get expert supervision in installing his air conditioner into the roof so that it was Pioneer approved.
Our really, really important problem with our roof is that it was covered with about an inch of gravel to deflect sunlight and protect the tar underneath. That tar can get hot and melt and you wouldn’t want to deal with it. Our problem is: do we want to try to get along without the gravel until the next roof is installed or lay down a new layer of gravel. The first option is without cost unless our roof melts without the gravel. The second option is costly for gravel does not grow on trees.
I am waiting for our insurance man to call with information about the deductible that I never really thought much about except that it should not be too low or too high but should take care of us when the wind blows the gravel away.
Most of my readers have asked themselves why is he complaining or telling me about the problems of his 52 unit Condominium. Well, I had this essay to write and the subject came up when I tried to get hold of my insurance guy who finally, in a recorded voice, said: “leave a message and I’ll get back to you – and we do not give quotes over the phone.”
Our gravel blew away with the wind and it is not like the story, Gone with the Wind. There is no high drama or Rhett kissing Scarlet. We just need a roof over our heads.