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Living in the NW you get a little nervous thinking about the possibilities of a down pour with your roof open. So I was wondering, would it work to do a section of the roof at a time leaving the ridges until the end? That way all I would need to cover during the rain is the ridge.
I have a hip roof so there are plenty of sections. Currently it is shake and I am going to replace it with a high end asphalt or something. So my steps would be: Remove shakes for the section, lay down plywood, felt, and shingles.
I haven’t worked out the valleys yet. Anyone see any other issues? Oh, yes, I was thinking of doing it myself, maybe my wife or someone to help…
Thanks,
steve
Replies
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I don't know how big your roof is or how much experience you have but doing a roof by yourself is a tough job. Having your wife help might lead to divorce. No disrespect intended. I would tear off a side at a time as you mentioned and have tarps ready if it rains. Also be careful, I already know I am to fat to fly and gravity sucks. The flight isn't to bad but the landing is a real bitch.
*LOL, my wife will helping from the ground...I haven't done this since I was young but I do have the tools and some skills, it's that experience and the not so obvious that I lack. The part I dread is removing the shakes, I suppose that's why doing it by section is appealing.steve
*Steve, My husband and I replaced our shake roof with arch. (asphalt) shingle a couple of years ago. We did it in sections - tear off one day, sheath and dry in the next. Then took our time with shingling and flashing over the next week or so. A section at a time, scheduled around rainy days, took us a several months to do the whole thing. Taking off the old roof was the dirtiest job. Watch out for critters - we had several nests in ours and it can startle you when you take off some shingle and they take off in flight. One downside of doing it in sections is that you can't really get rooftop delivery, unless you are willing to pay for several deliveries. The alternative is to get it delivered and move stuff out of your way when you get to that section of roof - but I think this puts a lot of wear on the brand new roof you've just laid. The result is a lot of trips up and down the ladder. We had several days in there where we had help - if you are carrying up the sheathing yourself it makes a huge difference. Good luck!
*I've done 'em in sections. It's a pain, but certainly doable. One suggestions - Tarp every time you quit. Never know when a rain will blow up, or when exactly you'll be able to get back up there. Be especially careful when tarping. The tarps can be slick, and - as Mercer says - Gravity sucks.
*Thanks for the feedback. Amy, I will let my wife know she has company. I hadn't even thought about roof delivery so I guess I would have missed out on that one either way...Boss Hog, What makes it more painful? I was thinking there would be less tarp needed if done by section. steve
*couple of suggestions...roof delivery is important. lot of work getting those shingles up there (also see "ladder jack" below).hire help off the street for the removal.make a quick ladder jack to get the sheathing up to the roof. (2 or 3) 2xs with (3) 2x rungs spaced 3' apart and 3' short of the ladder top, inclined, leaning against the roof. with a couple of step ladders around and a helper, it will be easy to get the sheathing up there. can use it to get the shingles up there to if needs must. be sure the spacing between the 2x rails going up accomodates the length of the shingle bundles. if no helper is available, clamp on a couple of c-clamp vise grips onto each end of sheathing panels, pass a rope through them, and pull up the sheathing on the ladder jack. do it a section at a time, without the shingle installation. the roofing felt would be enough protection with light mil plastic over it (maybe even by itself). lay heavier mil plastic in the attic space to catch debris from removal, if not water that may seep through protection. lay heavy mill plastic on foliage/plantings below to keep debris out of your planters as well.get/rent nail gun for the sheathing and roofing. got my cordless paslode framing nailer at eBay for $250. used roofing guns go for $125 or less. you will still need to rent a compressor (about $30/day) and hose for the roofing gun.brian
*I guess I meant it's a pain switching "hats" all the time. First you're tearing off. Then you're putting plywood down. Then felt, then shingles. Then start over again on the next section. Throw in tarping a few times, and it gets tiring.
*Steve,We just finished replacing a 40 year old shake roof with 4,000 square feet of light concete (shake look). Where we are in Califorina, the inspector wanted to see the whole roof covered in ply and nailed to schedule. We paid to have the old roof torn off, nails removed (flattened) and waste hauled to the dump. It was the best money I spent. It is amazing how fast you work when you have no roof! In one long three day weekend we were able to nail up the sheething, get an instection and cover it with a layer of felt. We weren't perfectly waterproof as there were flashing details that needed finishing, but it was covered well enough. We paid to have the tiles loaded to the roof and worked over the next few months screwing them in place.
*Steve, single story? There's a lot more gravity with a 2 story. Gravity is reeeeeel fast too.Tear off is a bitch, you'll be needing a dumpster for quite awhile or making a lot of dump runs. There's a lot more roof up there than it looks, and it's reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel dirty. Buy a nailer and a small compressor. Rental will eat you up over time & you won't be feeling like a trip to the yard to return it after a day of fun on the roof.Have a good look at what you can see NOW in the attic and eves as far as termite damage, rot or whatever that will need doing while you have the roof off. Time flys when it's open so be ready with a plan to deal with structural repairs if they arise.Be prepared with some long 1" x 2" material you can nail through to hold your tarps down if it starts to blow. You can always buy more tarps if you ruin them. Sunscreen, hat, liquids. (no beer on roof) Have fun, Joe H.
*Joe, it's a single story. I also want a nailer for putting up molding inside so I have been wanting to buy a compressor for a while but still not sure what I should get. I've been up in the attic a lot lately, found a bee nest about 2 feet by 1 foot, thank God it was abandoned!Brian, since you brought it up, I've been thinking the idea of hiring a crew to tear it off - might keep me sane!Thanks for all the feedback, this is going to be fun I can tell...steve
*when i did my first job with a partner, we hired 5 border brothers; 2 of them did most of the work with me and i cut the other three after lunch. by 5:00, three of us had a 20 square roof in the dumpster, sheathing repaired, the felt down, and shingles up to the roof (my partner made the mistake of drop shipment of the shingles). having a crew of non-english speaking help did nothing for my sanity, but they sure saved my back. never know... from the labor pool that you select from, someone has likely done this before! just what would that be worth to you? pay accordingly.the ladder jack that i described earlier is going to make life much easier for your back (which will be taken to the limit - get a brace) when it comes time to get the sheathing up there (and the shingles, if need be). keep the best workers on your crew to help you raise and cut it.estimate your sheathing requirements - there well may be significant waste at ridges and valleys. determine angles, precut valley sheathing, start at the valleys and work to the hip, allowing the sheathing to "fly over", snap a chaulk line down the ridge of the hip, and saw away. i see one guy cutting and helping get it to the roof, another guy/gal (hint) on the other side of the ladder jack helping getting the plywood up the rungs, and 2 guys on the roof moving plywood, setting in place, and temp nailing corners (go back later and complete nailing by yourself when the others aren't on the clock, if timing works out). then eave flashing, felt, rake and valley flashing. onward with the shingles.equipment - rental expense is also going to pressure you to finish the project in a timely manner. you may well find yourself renting by the day. how many different days do you want to pay for at $75/day? so now you begin to consider purchasing guns and compressors (if you do, i recommend eBay for the guns, maybe eBay local sellers for the compressor or the swap meet or classified for the compressor). gets expensive real quick. i purchased a new paslode cordless framing nailer at eBay for $250 for sheathing (thank god - my partner showed up with a compressor/gun combo that didn't work). nice and easy - no hoses in the way,... now, cordless roofing nailers are available (bosch) - check reviews. figure rentals at a minimum of 4 days and likely (if you're a relative novice) to be 6 days. may work out to be $450+ in rentals. $500 to purchase on eBay (new) and you can always resell the equipment on eBay when your done!prior planning pays,brian
*Steve, I'm a framing contractor, so doing roofs is the exception, rather than the rule for me. In my younger years, there weren't many houses to frame, so I did some remodeling. One was a roof tear off and re-shingle. I didn't have enough help to strip the entire roof, nor the inclination, all at once, so I did it in 8' sections. I'd strip 8' wide, top to bottom, then shingle it vertically, two shingles at a time. At the end of the day, I'd only have a small 2' section of bare wood to cover. It works fine. If I was running plywood, I'd just stagger it 2' and do it the same way. Of course, I wouldn't contract to do a roof tearoff any more....blue
*Steve, I don't know what you do for a living but here's what I would suggest you do. Hire a roofing contractor who will give you plenty of references. Don't be in a hurry to get a quote. Get at least 5 different quotes if you can. Check references and go look at the roofs that he has done and talk to the homeowners. Ask questions like how long did the job take, were they neat, did you get more than 1 quote, would you use them again? Have an agreement in writing with the contractor you choose. Now the important part. Work overtime or do odd jobs or whatever it takes to pay for the roof. You would get a great sense of satisfaction by doing the roof yourself but the stress and hours you will have to put into it will outweight the satisfaction, not mention the risk to life and limb (or your aching back). I have always found that you're much better off doing what you are really good at (your job) and let the roofing contractor do what he is really good at. Just my own honest opinion. Oh yeah, one last thing. Will your homeowner's policy cover damage done from water or whatever if you do it yourself?
*ricky....<>y only 5 quotes.. how about 7 ?he'll be old and senile by the time he get's his 5th one...and more confused than when he started..steve , either do it yourself or find ONE good roofer and work with them (he / she )... the problem with soliciting multiple quotes is that the good roofers won't quote...they'll think you're a price shopper
*Yeah Steve, Get one quote and get ready for the wire brush treatment. I know guys who will quote on jobs they don't even want. They inflate the price big time. If the unsuspecting homeowner bites, cha-ching $$$Do you price shop when buying a car or a home entertainment center or appliances or whatever? It costs very little to pick up the phone and make calls to roofing contractors. Good luck Steve, whatever you decide
*ricky.... >>that's part of my point... why get bids from people you have no intention of dealing with.?. ask around , find out who's good and get a price from them.. soliciting bids from people with no references is like asking for a price on a car with out telling them what kind of car you want...would you like fries with that ?.. hah, hah, hah...
*Thanks for all the feedback guys. Sounds like something I should plan for perfect/sunny days and beer at sundown...How are the cordless nailers working out? I have been wondering whether I should invest in a set of those (framing, trim, etc) instead of going with a compressor. Thanks,steve