The Day the Tree Fell on Our New Home

Just our luck – a tree fell on our new home! Scroll down to see the damage it caused.

Just eleven days after closing on our new home, a storm blew through the area with strong winds. Unfortunately, the winds caused a tall oak tree to fall onto the family room. Luckily it only caused minor damage and none of the windows were broken. However, it did tear off the gutters and put a huge hole in the roof.

That tree has been there over 100 years, but it waited until that night to fall.

Keep reading to see the damage the tree caused to our family room and to read the positives I’m choosing to see in this situation.

The damage

The photo below is taken from the kitchen window and you can see the damage the tree did to this side.

The below photo is taken from the living room window. Not exactly the view I want to see when I look out those windows!

The following photos are taken from upstairs. Here you can really see where the tree went through the roof, causing a huge hole.

From the opposite side of the family room, you can see where the top of the tree whipped around when it fell. When that happened, small sticks from the top of the tree impaled the wall and stuck.

Now let’s take a look inside the family room at the damage to the ceiling.

As you walk into the family room, you can see the busted ceiling. Luckily, I hadn’t unwrapped our new couch and loveseat yet!

From the other side of the living room, you can see that it damaged the top of the built-ins and ripped the light down. Luckily it didn’t take out the ceiling fan, though!

And if you look straight up, you can see the sky!

We were fortunate enough to have a tree company come out and remove the tree the following day. Also, a roofer came out and covered the roof after the tree was removed. There were more storms on the way, so I’m glad they were able to come out so fast.

We’ve contacted everyone that needed to be contacted, but we’re still waiting to hear back from a contractor to repair the damage. Everyone is booked up so it’s taking forever. I’m not sure when this will ever get fixed!

The positives

I was so excited to move into our new home and get things settled and make it our own. However, I’m thankful now that we decided to refinish our bedroom floor first, otherwise, we would have been there the night the tree fell.

God is grateful in His mysterious ways!

Another positive I’m seeing from this tree falling is getting a new roof. The entire roof was going to have to be replaced in the near future, and that’s a lot of money. Now, we will be getting a new roof on the entire home and our insurance will be paying for it.

One more positive I’m choosing to see – my husband wanted to change the kitchen stovetop to gas, because “it will save so much money”. (Those are his words. I don’t cook enough to use THAT much electricity! AND I don’t want a gas cooktop!) So, now that the tree fell on the house and we have to get a few others cut down before they fall – we don’t have the money to buy a new cooktop. (Thank you tree!)

Have you ever had a tree fall on your home? Do you have any crazy stories that you’d like to share from when you moved into a new home? I’d love to hear them!