Random thoughts...

[Brian861]

Nice!

[Martin]

Thank you guys. I will probably venture over to White River Falls soon. More pictures to come.

[Ben Staad]

Those are amazing photos. Thank you very much for sharing.

[mhatchett]

Very neat, glad you could get out Martin. Thanks for sharing.

[Martin]

Decided to go for a drive today. Have been thinking about going to White River Falls but it would be a five hour round trip drive. Opted instead for Horse Thief Lake along the Columbia river and took some new photos of the petroglyphs.
First up is Horse Thief Butte above the lake.
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There were a few climbers on the Butte:
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Before The Dalles damn was built in the 1950's several of the petroglyphs were extracted from the valley and placed above the water line. Several more are buried in the Columbia river. Over the last several years I have noticed what appears to be an accelerating deterioration of the petroglyphs. I believe they are in an area that is overly exposed to the elements. Here are a few that still look good.
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Perfect weather today. A few clouds and 70 degrees!

[c marvel]

Hope things will be better by then and you can get home.

Me too. I am not counting on a trip home this year. A couple of weeks ago I read that the governor of North Dakota was basically talking about getting people in the state into wearing masks again. I was left with the impression that he was more concerned about keeping his political bacon intact and actual concern about the people was secondary.

Cap

[mhatchett]

I have now received both vaccine shots which I am happy about. According to a news article I just looked at North Dakota is #2 in Covid positivity in the US. That is not good at all. Actually that is horrible. If it still looks this way in July there is just no way I'll be in N Dakota/Minn in August. I was born and grew up in North Dakota. I've heard the airlines are no longer spacing between seats. The chances of my making a trip home seem to sadly be going downhill. A trip home would do me a lot of good, I just don't see it happening.

Cap

Hope things will be better by then and you can get home.

[c marvel]

I have now received both vaccine shots which I am happy about. According to a news article I just looked at North Dakota is #2 in Covid positivity in the US. That is not good at all. Actually that is horrible. If it still looks this way in July there is just no way I'll be in N Dakota/Minn in August. I was born and grew up in North Dakota. I've heard the airlines are no longer spacing between seats. The chances of my making a trip home seem to sadly be going downhill. A trip home would do me a lot of good, I just don't see it happening.

Cap

[mhatchett]

I am 25 years in on mine and I live on the north slope of a large hill. That subjects us to very little direct sun in the winter months. The maple tree in the front looks like it is a rainforest with all the moss. I take good care of the roof and I am one of the last in the neighborhood to replace mine but it was time. I wanted to replace before it developed leaks and became an even more expensive effort.

I just replaced mine. It's supposed last 50 years they say, so I'll only have to replace it one more time....LOl!!!

[Martin]

I'm getting nervous about our roof. They say asphalt shingle/composition roofs average about 20 years, and ours is 19 years old and has been subject to very wet Washington State winters and springs. I've had it gently cleaned several times and inspected, and all looks good, but there's no getting around the age factor. I'd hate to have to replace it in the middle of a price spike, though I suppose since it's not wood shake perhaps it won't be quite as bad as it could be, given the lumber/wood shortage. Still...hoping for another couple years out of this one.

I am 25 years in on mine and I live on the north slope of a large hill. That subjects us to very little direct sun in the winter months. The maple tree in the front looks like it is a rainforest with all the moss. I take good care of the roof and I am one of the last in the neighborhood to replace mine but it was time. I wanted to replace before it developed leaks and became an even more expensive effort.

[RonClinton]

I have recently contracted for a new roof. Costing me $13,500 with a 10% cash discount. I did pay 50% upfront, everyone I spoke with required that. I do want this roof to be the last one I buy so I went all in. It has a 50% warranty with no proration for the first 30 years and no limit on winds for coverage. Checked with a neighbor who just went with a 30 year prorated roof last summer and they paid $12,500 so I am comfortable with the price. A couple of people in the neighborhood had their roofs replaced a few years back and they were all in the $8,000 to $9.000 range. So yes, roofing costs have gone up significantly. Was not sure if that was just around here but your experience sounds like it happened across the board. Now I am going to have to try and find out what is driving the prices up.

I'm getting nervous about our roof. They say asphalt shingle/composition roofs average about 20 years, and ours is 19 years old and has been subject to very wet Washington State winters and springs. I've had it gently cleaned several times and inspected, and all looks good, but there's no getting around the age factor. I'd hate to have to replace it in the middle of a price spike, though I suppose since it's not wood shake perhaps it won't be quite as bad as it could be, given the lumber/wood shortage. Still...hoping for another couple years out of this one.

[Martin]

I think we are on separate sides of the Country but here in Florida the cost for all construction material has skyrocketed. I think most of that was COVID slowing down production, limiting availability, and now demand is high so prices continue to climb with the market demand.

That makes sense. I knew lumber had skyrocketed but had not associated it with roofing. I was a bit shocked when the quotes started coming in but after checking with my neighbor I accepted that they were representative of the market.

[Ben Staad]

I think we are on separate sides of the Country but here in Florida the cost for all construction material has skyrocketed. I think most of that was COVID slowing down production, limiting availability, and now demand is high so prices continue to climb with the market demand.

I have recently contracted for a new roof. Costing me $13,500 with a 10% cash discount. I did pay 50% upfront, everyone I spoke with required that. I do want this roof to be the last one I buy so I went all in. It has a 50% warranty with no proration for the first 30 years and no limit on winds for coverage. Checked with a neighbor who just went with a 30 year prorated roof last summer and they paid $12,500 so I am comfortable with the price. A couple of people in the neighborhood had their roofs replaced a few years back and they were all in the $8,000 to $9.000 range. So yes, roofing costs have gone up significantly. Was not sure if that was just around here but your experience sounds like it happened across the board. Now I am going to have to try and find out what is driving the prices up.

[Martin]

Spent the last 4-5 weeks compiling quotes for a new roof. All in all I received seven quotes for the work. Had numbers from 10K to 15K with all but one requesting 50% down on agreeing to the contract. Went with the one company that didn't require anything down and feel okay about that part of it but not happy about the 11K I'm about to spend.

Just 2 years ago, last time I checked roofing prices, everything was under 9K with that on the high end. Pricing has sure changed in a very short period of time.

I have recently contracted for a new roof. Costing me $13,500 with a 10% cash discount. I did pay 50% upfront, everyone I spoke with required that. I do want this roof to be the last one I buy so I went all in. It has a 50% warranty with no proration for the first 30 years and no limit on winds for coverage. Checked with a neighbor who just went with a 30 year prorated roof last summer and they paid $12,500 so I am comfortable with the price. A couple of people in the neighborhood had their roofs replaced a few years back and they were all in the $8,000 to $9.000 range. So yes, roofing costs have gone up significantly. Was not sure if that was just around here but your experience sounds like it happened across the board. Now I am going to have to try and find out what is driving the prices up.

[Parviz]

I work part time for book money at a hardwoods lumber company and ever since covid started everything in the lumber industry has skyrocketed.