I would like some help with dormers that I have on my home. The roof was recently redone and the dormers now need to be fixed up. The attached picture shows the condition of the dormer. The wood along the roof line is rotted and needs to be replaced. The question is, what is the best way to reface/refinish them, other than just painting? I am thinking about a material that would be maintenance free but that would preserve the character of the house. The house has three of the dormers on the front and three on the back, with a steep roof line. I have heard of a siding material called hardiesiding, is it any good?
Any help would be appreciated.
Replies
It is a little hard to see detail in that shot so my comments are of limited value.
Yes Hardi is good stuff.
I am suprised that they roofed this place without replacing the siding. There should have been new falshing that runs up under the siding on these so I wonder if they just used the old flashing. Sometimes it is still good but more often not.
new siding should be kept at least a half inch up from the roof surface so it doesn't wick up water and so it doesn't rot so fast.
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Here is a more detailed shot.
Don have you ever thought of covering it with vinyl, you can get vinyl soffit that looks very similar to the wood that you have there and cover it with that and have a maintenance free dormer when its done.The trim can also be covered in aluminum coil making your dormers look brand new....so if you do decide to take this route then also check into a vinyl replacement window if you have`nt already done so it will be the iceing on the cake ok....
Don
Just out of curiosity what is with that tin on the edge of the roof, I have never seen that application before.
Thanks
Doug
What you see is aluminum that is supposed to help keep ice from damaging the shingles along the edge. This is the rear of the house. Under it is also a rubber membrane.
Thanks, had never seen it done
Doug
That is a fairly common detail in some places like Vermont and New Hampshire or upstate NY wheree there is lots of snow and cold, old houses with no design for overhangs or ventilation and poor insulation due to low heel height of rafters. Rather than fight ice damns with insulation and ventilation, the old method was to use the sheet metal skirt so ice would slide off on a warmer day insead of building up and damaging shingles. It also kept grandpa from having to cliomb the ladder in midwinter with a hatchet to destroy his own shingles while knocking the ice off.
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Well I guess anything that keeps grandpa off the roof is good!
Doug
In the UP (upper penninsula) here in Michigan they use that metal on roofs all the time--it is mainly to be slippery and let the snow or ice slip off the roof so that a big avalanche can't happen from it building up. Mainly protects the people from being crushed by a whole roof of ice and snow suddenly coming off the roof because it got so heavy. At least that's what I heard and I'm sticking to it (does prevent ice dams too). Sometimes they put little metal fins to hold the snow on too.
> Mainly protects the people from being crushed by a whole roof of ice and snow suddenly coming off ....
Another approach is to only put doors on the gable ends, and stay out from under the eaves all winter.
-- J.S.
Same thing I said. just different words. I don't think we disagreed.
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On re-reading yours, you're right--you just emphasized protecting the shingles and I emphasized protecting the people. :-) Incidentally, I guy (a minister of a church) in Montague was killed when he purposefully knocked a chunk of ice off his roof.
another Darwin Award eh?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Can't tell from the picuture, but I thought that any wood siding meeting a roof was suppose to be about a 1/2" or maybe an inch from the roof's surface. The theory being it would reduce rot and allow it to breath/dry out.
Before the roof was replaced, the edge where the dormer and roof met was coated with tar. Also, the old roof was three layers, the first being cedar shingles and two layers of asphalt shingles, so it dropped some when the new roof was put on, with new plywood and shingles.
Too bad you didn't address the dormer issues before re-roofing. Those look in tough shape. My first concern would be the dormer flashing. You don't have much area on those dormers for siding. Are you keeping the window? The frieze runs right from the soffit to the window trim creating a horizontal joint where the T1-11 meets which is not good. The soffit returns,(pork chops) could be getting water behind them. I don't see an apron flashing on top of the Ice shield. This area gets quite a bit of water pouring down it. Look at the shakes under the window. You need to pick a better method of allowing the water to flow. It looks like the standing seam on the ice shield fell right on the dormer, right where your step flashing should be. The ice shield will be difficult to work around, not to mention, you may have to get up in to the valley.
I think you either need some extensive experience in this type of work or you need to hire a competent pro. You won't really know what is behind the T1-11 until it comes off. One approach would be to assume the existing flashing is not correct. Use the T1-11 as sheathing and flash on that as it should be. If it is not sound, you will have to remove it. It looks like you have plenty of room at the roof edge, once the molding is removed. You can always do different casings around the window. The strip under the sill caused more problems than it solved.
If you are interested in cementitious siding, check out James Hardie. They have a shingle style product as well as others.