roof ?? -- rotten husband left it leaky. LOL

[redwoodcoast]

Hi all:

I've posted here a few times, my ex used to post quite a bit.

Anyway, my son and I managed to with help from this group, with lots of errors (and aches and pains) put a roof on our shed this past summer.

But, the house roof is also on it's last legs. Or should I say, part of it is.

Apparently, it is what is called a "hip roof," the "south" side of the roof is about 15 years newer than the north side, which is now at about

35 years young.

The south side looks really good. The north side, not so good....in fact horrible.

Here's my question. The north side is really not that big, and I would be replacing next summer the this part of itt. There are also some sides, to the west and east, but they are also newer and don't need replacing.

So, I am replacing one of what I guess is four sections of a hip roof. The other roof my son and I replaced was a simple shed roof that took eight bundles of shingles.

The shed was just basically a simple slanted piece of plywood with no valleys, ridges or anything else and it now seems to be watertight.

This is almost the same, except that it would meet the "newer" shingles at two edges. Does this seem like something a 40-something mom and her slacker 18-year-old could tackle without screwing it up too much. Roofers wanted $700 for the shed last summer, which we did for about $90. Hate to think what they would want for this....whatever it would be, I can't afford it....

[Goedjn]

If the surface you're looking at replacing doesn't have a bunch of things poking through it (chimneys, vents, skylights) then the actual roofing part shouldn't be any harder than doing the shed. It's just a question of whether you're comfortable with getting your self and the shingles up there, and not falling off.

[jeffmckillip]

If you tackled a shed roof, you can tackle this. You will be repairing one of the hips. So, on each end will be caps, which I'm sure you put on the ridge of your shed. Remove these caps, and all shingles from the portion you are replacing. You will also remove caps from the top ridge. Install the shingles as you did on the shed, only the left and right ends will have to be cut at an angle to match. Get yourself some hook blades for your knife. These allow you to cut the shingle from the top (after it's already installed, to the correct angle). Install all shingles, cut caps for the left and right ridges, and the top. Install them, and you're good to go. Good luck, Jeff

[C & E]

Sure ya can! You sound like you've got 'grit' (shows ya how old I am). Have a digital camera ready and take a few pics of anything that's new to you. A good picture beats a bad memory. Do a little reading up to be sure that you have all your bases covered but it sounds like you have it pretty well down.

[Divorced in Sac]

You buy all the materials and I'll come do it for you. It will only cost you a good home cooked meal.

[redwoodcoast]

OP again. Hey, I'm only about five hours from SAC. LOL.

Well thanks for the encouraging words, everyone. I had checked out the Black/Decker and Ortho roofing books from my local library last summer when I started the shed work, but either I am too dumb to understand, or the writers were fools, because I couldn't follow anything they said....

A couple of questions:

When I did the shed, all along the outside edges, I put one one layer of shingles turned upside down and then put another "right" layer on top of them. Now, I figure I do that at the bottom of this one side of the roof, but not at the ridge top, nor at the hip edge, right?

And speaking of ridge and hip, where do I get those pieces that cover over, if you know what I mean, Do I cut them off the three-tab.....

[RicodJour]

The shingle wrapper has pretty complete installation instructions. Since you've already gotten your feet wet, I'm fairly sure you have the skills to do the house roof, but there's a bit more to it than that.

The only questions are how steep the roof is and whether you've factored in the possibility of your falling and getting injured. If the roof is two stories or steeper than about a 4 or 5 in 12 pitch, I wouldn't recommend that you do it yourself. Beginner's need an easily walkable roof where you don't need to tie yourself off or use scaffolding, chicken ladders or roof jacks and planks. Here's a link to a picture that shows roof pitches:

You said you can't afford a roofer. Taking a dive off of a ladder or roof will be far worse for your finances and health. The chances that an inexperienced roofer will fall are far greater than those of an experienced roofer.

R

[krw]

If I understand you, yes.

Yep!

Go to the local HomeDespot and look at a bundle of shingles. The instructions are often printed right on the paper. You might also buy a book (or go to the library) and do a little study.

Roofing is a simple job, but it's a lot of hard work! If you're comfortable handling heavy loads (a bundle of shingles weighs

80lbs.) on ladders and the roof you should be fine.

Remember also that any rain while the roof is off is going to make for a bad day. Professionals can do a job like this in a few hours. It might take you a couple of days. Also think about what you're going to do with the old roofing. Plan ahead!

[RicodJour]

Bad URL, sorry.

R

[EXT]

When you order your shingles and other heavy supplies get them from a company that will deliver them right up on the roof using a truck with a boom, those bundles of shingles get very heavy after carrying the first one up to the roof on a ladder. It is worth paying extra to get this service.