Ken’s all class and his team was super friendly and efficient for me as well.

Another thing reading through OP’s post about Roger Shiflet I chuckled because I wasn’t surprised. He’s obviously built a good reputation amongst this area so I guess he’s got to be at least somewhat good, but I got the same sense of arrogance from him when I tried to get my roof quoted.

> I’m not sure exactly how you determined Baltimore would be any safer a place to raise your children

I believe they mean raise them in a place that doesn’t have book bans and a litany of other personal autonomy issues. The grander Balt-Wash area also has far more opportunities in it than St Louis has.

Also re: that park in St Louis, Patterson Park from end-to-end is just over half a mile; Forest Park in STL is around 2 miles wide. To be fair though, not a lot of cities have parks that massive, and places like Philly, Baltimore, and DC do have decent river-valley parks on their falls lines which are nice.

I think something that folks from other parts of the country might be surprised by is free museums here. Walters, BMA, and the Smithsonian museums in DC are all free, and as someone who grew up here I didn’t realize that was rare.

Welcome to being a Comcast customer.

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Me either, however you can say it until you turn blue and will not get anywhere. Don’t you think I tried that?
When I did get an agent he gave me the same exact information I’d been getting from the prompts. Specials this and that and then he answered my question.
It’s not the customer service people I have an issue with, it’s talking to machine who then directs you to type your issue to another. I guess the algorithm says take them to a person if you fuck is I typed in.

$31K for a new roof on a ROWHOME!!!! I would def file a claim with the attorney general in Maryland. You were grossly overcharged and they tried to extort your lack of knowledge. Seriously. Do not let this go. File! They owe you a lot of money back! Row homes don’t have hundreds of linear feet of joists either way. This makes me so upset that they did that to you.

If you're reading this as a new homeowner and are terrified of paying $40,000 for a roof, don't worry. This is not normal. Don't use Kelbie apparently and you should be fine.

Wow. You paid 31.5k to demo an old roof, replace one joist, install particle board or OSB, and install torchdown. You could have gotten all of that work with a new 20-year TPO roof for less than half of what you paid.

You got terribly ripped off.

Honestly, you're better off renting instead of owning. I'm not saying that to be an asshole. I've known people like you. They are so bad at managing house ownership that they spend much more owning a house than they would to rent the exact same house. They describe their houses as money pits.

Wow, I am really sorry this happened to you. Straight up, I had Kelbie do a roof repair for me, and I do feel like I overpaid (it was just a patch and silicone for about $3,100). But my initial quotes from all ~4 companies were extreme, ranging from $3,500 to >$17,000. Mind you, my roof is 4 years old. Thank god I knew this, because several companies, including Kelbie, initially said I needed an entirely new roof. I have waaaay more I want to say, but I don't want to get some of the actually decent people I encountered in the entire ordeal fired, so I will send you a message. I am unlikely to use Kelbie again now after reading this.

I want to thank you for sharing this. I am a new homeowner, not even a year in. And I have been saying repeatedly, as repair needs have popped up, how ridiculous the entire process of finding a contractor for anything is if you are not in their business or do not have experience or do not have a trusted reference. Just a bunch of nearly blind, American Idol-like auditions where you don't know what is going to walk in the door. For example, I have had people come in saying they are licensed and insured, but upon doing my homework finding they actually aren't. The fact that a person has to navigate this is overwhelming. And I know for certain I have been played at least twice to varying degrees by two contractors so far! You have probably helped someone learn from this experience instead of potentially getting burned. It is not easy to share negative experiences, so I respect that you did.

Also, don't beat yourself up about it too much: you did the best you had with the info you had at the time. Fortunately, you had someone with experience provide some guidance that saved you a lot of money. That actually demonstrates a strength many people do not have in similar situations.

> someone reached out to me to say that "uppity" is a racially coded term?

I’m super interested in hearing the logic on that one from whoever contacted you

I came through Urban Teachers. Lots of options, I liked UT because it had a year of student teaching with coaching. The other programs you do summer school and then immediately to teaching. Pros and cons of course. Feel free to message me if you have any questions

I understand that.

Driving was one of the more enjoyable gigs I've done so far.

I hope things clear up soon so things are better.

i had them (Horizon) out a few years ago to assess my roof and they came out within a day or two, assessed the roof, invited me up to explain what they saw, pronounce the roof OK and charged me nothing.

Left a good feeling about them...and they will be a call again to assess the roof again soonish.

yeah and if you follow the news ....

the trouble is spreading, but at least it looks like they are trying to take action in Towson to nip it in the bud.

I am pretty much driving in a new area a county or two away. If a ride takes me into the city, I take it but go offline on the way so I won't get calls where I don't want them.

I am fortunate and do not really have to do this as I am retired military.

The problem is I enjoy driving too much.

These days I only contract from referrals.

Similar roof to yours done for $9k by Jaime Cox who runs Better Home Solutions MD 443.744.0776. Nice guy, absolute expert & honest. Also had good honest experiences with Park Heights Roofing.

Make sure you absolutely trash these people on every site (Google Reviews, Facebook Groups, Yelp)

That scam shit is so unacceptable.

The 70-year-old one could be from a denser, old-growth tree. The newer one will most likely be worse quality lumber.

Have you thought about becoming a Paraeducator /IA ? It is a good way to get your feet in the door and to see what the school system is like.

We moved to baltimore from the sf Bay area and love it. Some reasons we love it here:

• you get all 4 seasons, but none are very harsh or long. It snows once or twice. It is hot for maybe 4 weeks.
• near so many great places to visit like DC, NY, Philadelphia. Trains to a bunch of cities.
• mountains and oceans in the same state. Great camping and outdoor activities in Maryland and lots of hiking near Baltimore
• we don't have to worry about increasing drought and fire risk like the West Coast, and we don't have the increasing hurricane risks of the south.
• all states have red rural areas, but maryland as a whole tends to be blue. I didn't actually consider that much when we moved here in 2019, but now that roe has been overturned, I would.

-plenty to do with kids. Paddle boats on the harbor, aquarium, science center and discovery kids center, family concerts at the baltimore symphony orchestra...etc etc.

• baltimore is just charming. It has its own thing. It has its own vibe. It doesn't feel like just another city. It has a sense of place and history, and you feel it walking around.

As for the bad parts, I mean the crime. I haven't experienced any crime myself in my 3 years here, but there are parts of the city I don't go. There are parts of the city that you drive through and the level of decay is hard to believe. You have dinner in fells point and you convince yourself the city has a bright future and then you drive down a street with boarded up rowhomes and the devastation feels insurmountable and all consuming.

Just moved to Baltimore city a few weeks ago from Louisville. I’ve visited St. Louis before and the vibes are similar. Did you live in the city or the suburbs? Are you trying to move your family into Baltimore city or county? I’m not sure exactly how you determined Baltimore would be any safer a place to raise your children, but it certainly is a diverse and generally friendly city with general city safety concerns.

In my short time here, I’ve really enjoyed the walkability and the abundance of things to do. There seems to me to be an equal or greater amount of cultural attractions. I don’t think there are any parks as awesome as the one with the history museum and art museum in St. Louis here though but there are several parks in the city.

You should take a look at Howard County .

Oh thanks for sharing

Wow. I had a crew that I trusted (and that have numerous good reviews) do a total tear down, replaced plywood, and torch down all for 10k, along with a good warranty. They arrived before dawn and left at dusk and got everything done in two days. They also fixed some flashing on certain exhaust pipes coming up through the roof as well. Sorry you had such an awful experience.

Yes, good point, we only voted to legalize it last year. Here's hoping the state pulls together a good legalization plan before July 1...

Maryland still doesn’t have legal recreational marijuana FWIW. Legislation legalizing it goes into effect July 1.

I’m a realtor who works the counties around Baltimore and can help if you are interested, currently helping a Reddit couple I actually met a few years ago on here. I’ll send you a Dm if you have questions!