When two raccoons crashed through the ceiling of his home, William Law of Saline knew it was time to get a new roof. Thanks to collaboration between Owens Corning and Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley, Law now has a new roof, free of charge.
"I was shaving, and I heard a crash," Law says of the raccoon incident. Responding to the noise, he walked into the living room to find a raccoon had come through the ceiling. After a team of animal control officers had come to take away the first raccoon, Law went to the kitchen to make some coffee and found he was staring into the face of a second raccoon. He called animal control and told them to turn around and come back for the second animal.
He had a few repairs done to the roof about a year ago but knew it needed a complete overhaul. Law has lived in the house for nearly 50 years and said the last time the roof had been replaced was probably 20 years ago.
Law, a military veteran who served in the public relations corps from 1948-52, found out about various home repair programs run by Habitat for Humanity Huron Valley from a staff member at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. When law contacted Habitat, the organization matched him with the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Program for veterans.
Owens reached out to one of their local independent platinum contractors, Neighborhood Roofing Co. of Ann Arbor, to provide free labor, while Owens Corning paid for the materials, leaving Law with a new roof after a workday on Monday, Aug. 13.
Law said he was "very appreciative" of the new roof, courtesy of the collaboration between for-profit and nonprofit groups.
Abby Donnell, community affairs specialist for Owens Corning, said that the Roof Deployment Program has put more than 80 new roofs on the homes of veterans and their families in a little over two years, and Law’s roof was the 26th installed through the program in 2018.
