Hello all,
I bought a house almost 2 years ago, and it's definitely a fixer-upper! I've managed most of the interior work with relatively few curse words, but now I need a bit of help.
For whatever inexplicable reasons, the previous owners built a sturdy and very large utility building (12.5' W x 16.5' L x 14' H at the gables) and then applied plain OSB sheathing (or particle board as my dad would say) as siding. It was painted but it has definitely NOT held up well over the years! It's well past grey, crumbling in areas and providing a lovely buffet for some type of critters in other places. The building still seems pretty sturdy for the most part at the moment but I'm afraid that it's only a matter of time until that changes unless we do something now.
However, money always being an issue and an especially big one in this economy, I'm trying to do good work that will last on a budget. I've found the deal of a lifetime on hemlock beveled wood siding at a local lumber yard and the ~600 sf of siding for my building would be less than $200. That's far, far cheaper than plain T1-11 plywood ($300 less). I would also need to replace all of the exterior trim (at the corners, around the door, soffits, etc) as they were untreated wood. So, here are my questions to all of you wonderful DIYers:
- Do I have to remove all of the old OSB from the building first? (There is at least one layer of some type of plywood underneath the OSB.) Or could I simply apply the siding over it?
- Should I use home wrap or roofers felt to further waterproof the building?
- Is this project realistic for a relatively handy person or should I try to find the money to have it professionally installed instead? (My dad worked in furniture for 50+ years so I've grown up with power tools and wood working, but neither of us has even though about doing siding work.)
- The siding is well dried but still raw lumber. Any recommendations on sealers that would work well with hemlock siding?
- Any advice on how to do this with only 2 people? Or should I just pay/ blackmail a friend to help?
- Finally (for now!), a very large groundhog that I've named Bill Murrary is living under our shed. I don't really mind so much as I'm a live and let live type, but my husband really wants Bill Murray gone. He's afraid that he'll eat all of our garden/ my landscaping or that he'll try to attack our cat (who is supposed to be a house cat but has escaped once or twice. Leo thinks he's a big scary king of the jungle, but in reality he's 9 lbs of floof and Bill Murrary looks to weigh 20-25 pounds). I'd rather not let my husband go for lethal methods but trapping is out as we would have no way to transport him as we both have small cars. Any non-lethal suggestions? Or must I let the hubby borrow my .357?
We live in the mountains of North Carolina and we usually get a decent amount of snow each winter, around 3 feet or so annually on average (but single events with 2-3 feet aren't terribly unusual). We don't have the same hot, humid climate as the rest of the south. Our climate here resembles weather in the northeast more than the typical southern weather.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate any advice you can share with me. If you need any additional info, just let me know.
Thanks,
Angela
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