(From the summer 2024 print newsletter) Mike, a retired U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, needed a new roof on his Colorado Springs home – but wasn’t sure how he’d pay for it. Then he noticed a neighbor, also an Army veteran, receiving a new roof through the Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity home repair program and the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project for Veterans.
“I started going wow, what’s that all about?” Mike recalls. “I’ve heard of you guys before, so I looked it up online.” When he realized he met the income requirements, he filled out an application.
Mike’s insurance company had notified him that because of the roof’s age, his rates would increase. He isn’t sure how old the roof is, but says it wasn’t exactly new when he bought the home 26 years ago.
And its condition has resulted in unwelcome house guests. “Years ago, I had a raccoon living in my attic, and she had babies,” he says. “That was a nightmare! I’d go to sleep at night and hear them scratching around up there.”
The home was built in 1919 and “originally was a carriage house for the stone house next door,” Mike says. “And then they did additions over the years.”
Owens Corning donates the materials for roof deployments, and local contractors provide the labor. Intrawest Seamless Gutters also donated supplies for Mike’s home, and crews from Just Roofs and Gutters spent two days on the project.
“Obviously, I have a soft spot for any veteran,” says Brian Friend, owner of Just Roofs and Gutters and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “Vietnam-era veterans kind of got the shaft, so…it means a lot to help.”
Mike served 12 years. His initial stint was from 1969-72, and he later returned to attend flight school. He flew Bell UH-1 Iroquois, or “Hueys,” and Bell OH-58 helicopters.
He and Friend connected over their shared military experiences.
“He’s a very independent, strong person, and it’s been nice to talk, to hear some of his stories,” says Friend.
After crews tore off the old shingles, they added decking for a solid surface to nail new shingles and bring the roof up to code. The new roof comes with a lifetime platinum warranty and a decrease in his insurance rates.
“We’re going to be taking this roof and bringing it up to modern 2024 standards with fantastic Owens Corning materials and a great lifetime warranty,” says Friend. Mike’s roof is the company’s first roof deployment project, and he hopes to do many more. “It’s a big honor for us to be involved in this project,” he says. “I’m excited to make this house beautiful!”
Mike says he’s very appreciative to be part of the roof deployment project, because he loves his home and hopes to remain there securely. “I really like the way it’s set up, and it’s close to downtown,” he says. “It’s close to the VA when I’ve got to get medical.”
Mike recently lost his beloved elderly cat. “I was never a cat person, but I am now!” he says. “They comfort you. He was good company.”
After the project is completed, Mike plans to adopt another cat—maybe a middle-aged or elderly cat in need of a home, he says, who can keep him company under his snug, secure new roof.
