Nothing but respect for the roofers

[Realstone]

If you want to know just how good you got it, spend a day or four wearing another man's tool belt. I'd say roofing is one of the three toughest trades in know of, just after concrete work and just a tad harder than concrete block work. I'm glad I don't do this for a living.

The old shingles come off:​

Hey, this isn't so tough. If the rest of the job goes this easy, I'll be done in no time.​

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[/IMG]

On with the new plywood:​

About 20 years ago I picked up a full bale of odds & ends of various thicknesses of fibreglass insulation, which I stuffed into the attic. I didn't know about keeping the eaves clear of insulation to allow airflow through the attic, and as a result the 3/8" plywood suffered in the heat. I probably lost out on R-value as well. So, I cut holes in the existing plywood and insert styro-vents and on goes a new skin of 1/2" plywood. The building supply store didn't have enough spruce ply, so they substituted with fir ply for the same price. ​

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New plywood and Ice & Water Shield​

That's my son helping to nail replacement screens over the attic vent holes. You can see the ice & water shield by the bottom of the roof.​

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My butt hurt​

After hauling up 32 bundles of shingles up to the 2nd floor roof. Had to take 4 Advil before I could get to sleep that night. That's my son again BTW.​

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Tarping - just in case​

It rained every night for four nights. Barely sprinkled through the day though, for which I am grateful. Good thing I have lots of tarps.​

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Almost done​

Just the capping on the hips and then it's finished. No valleys on my house ​

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Job's done​

The materials & rentals came in at about $4000. Most roofing contractors charge double the cost of materials so I figure I saved at least $3000​

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The fruits of our labour​

Time to warm the bones in front of a good fire and crack open a celebratory beer ​

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[certified106]

Looks Great! Bet your glad that's done and over

 

[Realstone]

Thanks.
I live in a split level. The 2nd story which I just finished is about 2/3 of the total roof area, and my son is going to strip the shingles & re-skin with plywood while I am gone next week. Then I will shingle the rest.

But yeah indeed, it is good to be done the hard part.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Just one of many jobs for which I am grateful that I dont have to do...at 325lbs its not good to get me too far off the ground...ha

 

[ScotO]

I don't mind putting roofing down....I've done lots of it. But boy oh boy.....I HATE tearing off several layers of shingles! Not to mention almost every tear-off I've ever done, it ended up raining like a SOB.

Looks great, Realstone! Warm your bones next to the fire, you earned it...

 

[Realstone]

I don't mind putting roofing down....I've done lots of it. But boy oh boy.....I HATE tearing off several layers of shingles! Not to mention almost every tear-off I've ever done, it ended up raining like a SOB.

Looks great, Realstone! Warm your bones next to the fire, you earned it...

Thanks Scotty. Around here, we don't shingle over old shingles anymore. It may even be against code. If you roof for $'s you're a better (and younger!) man than I

 

[Stax]

Real...did you install a ridge vent? It doesn't appear so in the pics.

 

[Realstone]

No. Never thought of it. Wish I had though.

 

[ScotO]

No. Never thought of it. Wish I had though.

You can do that down the road. You definately want a ridge vent if you aren't getting enough ventilation. Ventilation comes in through the soffit at the eaves and is supposed to go out at the ridge vent........

 

[BrotherBart]

Did that for two years 40 years ago. Need to replace the roof on this place and ain't even gonna do it myself. Too far to the ground for these old knees and ankles to risk. I am even afraid of going to the edges to clean the gutters anymore. (Says the guy that used to work on 40 ft ladders)

Good job!

 

[Realstone]

Thanks Bart. Having a healthy respect for danger is always smart.

You can do that down the road. You definately want a ridge vent if you aren't getting enough ventilation. Ventilation comes in through the soffit at the eaves and is supposed to go out at the ridge vent........

The aluminum boxes near the peak are what we use for ridge venting. I've heard of it but never seen one. But just the name tells me that it is probably much more effective. Would it be difficult to put in after the fact? Also, I still have the lower roof to re-shingle. I will definitely look into a ridge vent for that one.

 

[Jack Straw]

It's funny, no tar paper on that roof, we would never to that here and yet your roof seems fine!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Heights, a lot of work and incredible baking heat in the summer- tough ass work. Looks like you did a great job

 

[seige101]

Still surprised to see no tar paper on roofs in Canada. Whats the reasoning behind this?

 

[Gasifier]

Realstone. Nice work man. Thanks for sharing the project photos! That looks great. And you are showing your son things that a lot of kids don't learn today. You may have saved more money than that. I am just south of Prescott on the other side. Good job.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Iv done roofing,cement work and block laying,and they are all tough, hard work. Workin in a coal mine is is harder than all 3 but that was at 35 yrs ago. At 56 im gettin too old for it but i was up 2 stories on scaffolding last week puttin siding on. This stuff is young mans work for sure.

 

[punchy]

great work, gonna last a very long time.

 

[Realstone]

Thanks all.

Still surprised to see no tar paper on roofs in Canada. Whats the reasoning behind this?

Maybe a difference in climates? There are a few peculiar differences in building codes north and south of the border. Tar paper is not mandatory up here, and I only ever see it at the eaves-line when I ever see it being used. Also, fresh air kits are not only not mandatory, they are not recommended.
I hardly ever see ridge vents up here, but I am definitely going to look into that one.

Realstone. Nice work man. Thanks for sharing the project photos! That looks great. And you are showing your son things that a lot of kids don't learn today. You may have saved more money than that. I am just south of Prescott on the other side. Good job.

Thanks! I am very proud of my son. His attitude has changed 200% this year. He picks up quick and I am grooming him to become a partner in business.

Iv done roofing,cement work and block laying,and they are all tough, hard work. Workin in a coal mine is is harder than all 3 but that was at 35 yrs ago. At 56 im gettin too old for it but i was up 2 stories on scaffolding last week puttin siding on. This stuff is young mans work for sure.

Wow. Didn't know that about mining.
I don't take on the work I used to when I was younger, but I'm as good once as I ever was

 

[lukem]

Looks good. No tar paper is weird for me too. Why did you re-deck the roof? (EDIT...just re-read...gotcha)

I'd much rather put down architectural than 3-tab too, I hate having to keep the tabs straight.

I've done some pretty miserable jobs in my relatively short career. Roofing is right up there, but no-where near the top of the list for me.

1. Laying sod. If you get a wet load of sod the rolls weigh about 100lbs, and they plant the stuff in fine silt soil. After about an hour you have mud under your jeans rubbing your skin off. We did several jobs with several acres of sod. I did this when I was 17 - 20 years old and it put a whooping on me every time.
2. Detasselling corn. Nothing hard about it, just miserably boring and corn cuts everywhere.
3. Baling hay....actually putting hay up in a barn. I'll pick it up all day long, but I can't stand putting it up....mostly because of the dust.
4. Finishing drywall...this should probably be higher on the list. I suck at it and am a perfectionist about how it looks....so it takes FOREVER for me to get it right.
5. Roofing. All the roofs I've done I was unskilled labor (grunt). Packing shingles up the ladder and tearing off. One day I might get promoted to nail gun operator.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

No need for us old timers to do this stuff anymore cuz were puttin out plenty of high school drop outs(if you can get em to work)

 

[Realstone]

Hey Lukem

I'm with you on the corn de-tasseling. Never done it, but it sounds similar to being the sign man on a road project on a cold day. I'd rather stook hay with a pitchfork.

What is the purpose of the tar paper? What are we missing?

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Always nice to save a few bucks by doing it yourself, it looks pretty good from here! I have been in construction for over 25 years and I'm glad to say I don't do roofs anymore, did my time up there and the body says no. I will say you are very fortunate to have a low pitched roof, looks like a 5 or 6 pitch. I can imagine if that was anywhere near a 10-12 pitch the circumstances may have been different for you. No matter, it's done!

 

[Realstone]

Thanks Oslo. Being a bricklayer helps to keep the coursing straight. I'm not sure what the pitch is, but it's pretty shallow, easy to walk on. Always felt a low slope roof weathers faster. Just a hunch.
You're right, if it was steep, I would have called in the pro's.

 

[woodgeek]

Now thats a real DIY. Hawsome. Worst job I ever had was clearing that clogged toilet in the Burger King....

 

[mepellet]

If you end up installing a ridge vent you may want to remove the other vents up high on the roof that you have. Cold air could end up coming in those vents and out the ridge vent. You want the cold air to come in down low. So basically by installing two vents up high you could make the soffit vents useless...