September 26th, 2011
we have a roof! we can’t believe how much we were quoted for this job; labor was 85% of the price we were given and it’s amazing how easy and quick it was to do ourselves. it is definitely a very do-able d-i-y, especially if you have a very simple roof line like we do. you need some good measuring skills, some muscle, and an extra pair of both from a helper and you’ll be all set. (if you ever want very specific d-i-y information about this or any of our projects, please email us and we’ll help any way we can!)
lining up the first piece was the most critical and most time consuming, once you have your base piece down the rest (almost) click into place like legos. measuring is your biggest challenge, it’s easy, you just have to take your time. you measure top to bottom and side to side and have play where the ridge line is, overall simple. the panels are easy for one person to lift, so one person on the ground and one on the roof is plenty. finding your roof person may be the hardest thing you encounter. (; even though the roof wasn’t slippery per se, there was give and having a firm grip on each subsequent piece is key so you don’t end up with a crooked roof line. (if you have any moisture or rain the safeguard does turn into a slip n’ slide so be careful!)
we’re not 100% done, but the biggest chunk is checked off of the list and most importantly, we love it!!
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: home diy, home diy blog, metal roof, metal roof diy, metal roof install
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September 15th, 2011
the back of the house was a small addition many years ago.. as a cost saver the roof line was not made vaulted to match the existing roof (which would have required more framing, and also redoing the entire roof’s shingles) but we wanted high ceilings front to back so ?? amount of years later, the hubby’s on the job. in addition to not building a vaulted roof, they also had the flat roof be lower than the existing external brick walls.. creating a gap that had to be framed (up) to match the roof line (allowing the pitched part of the roof to be built off of this). we framed this part instead of using brick to add additional support. many, many, wood cuts later, we have a fully framed roof. next off with the shingles & wood from the front half of the house so the new sub-roof (plywood sheets) can be laid front to back.
we called a few roof companies to get estimates on how much a metal roof would cost to be installed (with the roof fully prepped beforehand) and wow is an understatement. let’s just say we were in no way prepared for what they would quote us. with the roof being a new blank canvas we felt sure that labor would be much more minimal, and with our house being tiny (how much could 528sq. ft cost?) that we’d be good to go. well that would be a big no way. try singing the tune of $8500. i immediately got to work researching (my major behind-the-scenes job where i try to save us as much $$$ as possible) metal roof supply companies and whether or not we could do the roof ourselves.
we are hiring out very little of the remodel work, so far only the masonry work on the windows and doors, but had thought a roof install might be one of those few things worth hiring out. no thank you for almost 10 grand for such a small roof. we can’t even imagine how much normal sized homes would cost! anyway, in short, i hit paydirt after a little searching. i found one of the major suppliers nationwide of metal roofing, they ship everywhere and delivery was very reasonable at only $150. for all of the metal sheets, trim, etc., plus spending extra on weatherproofing for the entire roof, the grand total ( i feel like we need a drumroll here) was only $2000!!!! $6500 less. basically we did a lot of happy dancing. we shall soon see his metal roof skills; but first we’ve go to tear off all of those old shingles.
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: camp 1899, diy blog, diy framing, diy roofing, home diy blog, metal roof
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September 12th, 2011
we wanted vaulted ceilings from front to back and that meant tearing down the existing flat roof on the back of the house, as with all demo, it was fairly easy, just a little bit of manpower and off it went. which means more framing and we’ll also be tearing the shingles off of the rest of the house so a new roof can go front to back. we’ve decided to go with a metal roof, i think we’re going to go with traditional silver which would have been the only color of metal roof you might have seen over a hundred years ago.
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: camp 1899, diy blog, diy roof, home diy blog, metal roof
*please & thank you* link back to us if you re-post something you see here.
