[beachfix]

Hi group, wondering if anyone has re-shingled a house solo. My mom's house has a good 2-3" of shingles on it, my dad got ripped off years ago apparently. The weight and number of shingles is holding a lot of moisture and to be honest the cost is too much for my budget.

The real question is if I wanted to do this, I was thinking of stripping 3-5' section top to bottom (Hip gable style) enough that I feel I can re-shingle in 1-1.5 days. Then continue across the roof. I was thinking of trying this on the detached garage which is a gable roof the house is only 800-900 sq 2 valleys. Is it crazy or is it doable. Thanks David

 

[rjniles]

You need to work bottom to top.

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[3onthetree]

Of course it's doable, you're asking that on a DIY site :biggrin2:

You are very optimistic for 1.5 days, how old and strong is your back? Don't forget you have to unload and bring the bundles up yourself (unless you deliver to roof), and it takes a bit longer to mark your lines and retrieve more accessories (nails, vents, water) up and down the ladder without a helper.

Come up with a plan about which faces first, laying temp cover over the ridge, or leaving synthetic underlayment exposed. You will go down to the sheathing, so you need to demo a full face, not a 5' vertical sliver. 2" or 3" is like 4 layers maybe? That's some heavy work the first day, don't forget you might have a time limit for a dumpster.

Edit: reread post, maybe the 1.5 days is for that 5' sliver? I would not recommend demo and reshingle working your way up in stages, that is one good way to tear up what you've done when you demo the upper portions.

 

[Bud9051]

I did almost 30 square (square is 10x10) by myself age 68 and not particularly in good shape, A big "however" is I have a ton of construction experience and tools and equipment. Lots of ladders and staging, compressor and roofing nail gun, and a break to bent trim as needed.

3-tree mentioned synthetic underlayment and that might offer an advantage as it can be left exposed for longer allowing you to strip the entire roof and cover it to protect from rain. Your hip roof makes it difficult to do in sections thus a complete strip you can then work at a slower pace, bottom to top as mentioned.

My honest opinion, I would need more convincing to say you can do this. Maybe a practice run at the detached garage will help you decide.

Safety harness, ropes, roof jacks, and some helpers with experience.

Bud

 

[joecaption]

Just a really bad idea for many reasons.
Would be interesting to see how you came up with there being 2 to 3" of shingles on a roof.
There may be 2 or 3 layers of shingles, but not likely "'s.
You do know each one of those bundles weighs about 75 LB. right?
That gets old real quick going up a ladder.

 

[ZTMAN]

Based on your description, I would also assume you would be replacing some plywood.

Compare what a roofer would charge vs you buying materials, tools, renting dumpster etc...Price may not be that much different.

I am all for DIY and saving money, but a man has to know his limitations.

 

[beachfix]

Hi group,

joecaption it's 2-3" no lie!!! I didn't mean I'd work top to bottom, I meant remove shingles top to bottom. I have removed about 20' length up about 3' doing repairs to the rafters that's why I know it's 2-3" it's ridiculous... My dad had 3 jobs 4am to 1130pm and his weekend job he didn't have time to review the roofer's work and I wasn't old enough to check. I removed 4 different colors of shingles most of the nails didn't go into wood.

I have all the tools to do this no problem, I've loaded a few bundles up the ladder so I get its heavy. I'm not saying it's the best idea but at the moment materials are about 3500 but labor is about 5-7k... It doesn't rain much especially if I wait a few weeks. I'm thinking about it.... it's hard to come up with that kind of cash 10k

 

[beachfix]

BTW I meant 1.5 days per 3-5' section not the entire roof.

 

[HandyAndyInNC]

Contact the local vocational schools to see if they have a carpentry class or a buildings trade. Ask them to announce you need assistance in this in trade for some actual work experience. Maybe a small salary of a hundred dollars per day per person and all meals and snacks. I did this for when I needed help in pulling in the 12 service entrance cables from the street to the meter base. A couple days, all the work was done.

 

[beachfix]

Thanks for the vocational school idea... I would pay a regular rate not 100 I get the idea!!!!

 

[Gymschu]

I did my own roof in 2012. My house at the time I owned it was about 1,000 sq. ft. I had a hip roof which complicates the process of "doing it as you have time." Truth be told, although I'm glad I did it, I'm not so sure I saved a bunch of money and here's why......I had to buy tools to do the job right (roofing coil nail gun, nails, stapler for underlayment, compressor, you get the picture) and, of course, I paid full price for the materials (no contractor discount). Also, I had to give up days of working so I could do my roof and that adds up. Be sure to invest in some quality tarps because if you do it in segments, you will want to cover areas that you didn't have time to shingle and be sure they are battened down good in case a strong wind or storm comes along.

 

[Old Thomas]

When I retired at 58 years old I worked on one of my son’s roofing crews every day for 6 months. Get a Shingle Eater tool and strip a whole side. You can do that, dry it in with underpayment, and clean up in a day. Then shingle it.
After 6 months I was tired of roofing, so I got a CDL and drove one of his dumpster trucks for 6 months. Now I mow 17 lawns for him.

 

[NotYerUncleBob2]

Yes, you can do your own roof. It's not easy, it might not save as much as you think or it might save all that and then some. Research. Learn. Plan. Don't try to reinvent the wheel here, but pay attention to what the pros do.
I'm not a roofer, but I've done more roofs than I care to do again. Some things off the top of my head...
-Safety. Falling off a roof or ladder is bad. Don't do it. Don't allow yourself to get in a position where it's a real possibility. Get a safety harness. The $99 kit in a bucket is adequate for this.
-Don't work any harder than you need to. Buy your shingles from a roofing supplier with a boom truck that will deliver them to your roof top. F--- all that carrying them up a ladder.
-Use the right tools. Buy or rent or borrow a roofing nailer and compressor. Hand banging nails will take forever! Get a specialty roof shingle rake, the orange one with the teeth that pull nails works great.
-Figure out the best way to get rid of the shingles. Don't just throw them on the ground. Have a plan. Put down tarps. or plywood. or get a dumpster right next to the house. And protect the house and windows where you're throwing shingles!
-Architectural Shingles are the way to go. You don't have to be as precise with the pattern compared to 3 tab. Besides, they look much nicer and don't cost much more than the old 3 tab.
-Tarps. Buy a really big tarp and leave it in the bag. If it suddenly rains you'll be glad you have it, and if it never rains you can return it!
-Get help. Surely you have some friends you can convince that this would be a great adventure or a good workout or some other lie to get them involved?

 

[carpdad]

Open the bundles and take lighter loads up to the roof. I would have some tarps. Single sheet can be too much, esp if there's some wind. Two or more sheets, overlapped 3', for one face, held down with 1x3 furring strips and just few screws will get you through fine. Situate the tarps first so they can be rolled down easily if you get caught with sudden rain. This is for one face of the roof only. I don't mean for you to cover entire roof. Do this one face at a time and you have all the time you need. Few more tarps on the ground to catch as much debris as possible. When on the roof, always focus on where you're stepping and on the ground, again focus on any roofing pieces with nails. Stepping on one can disable you from work for at least a week.


If you've done roofing before, then you know about drip edges, flashings, etc. If not, study some videos and also post the photos of your roof. Get some pointers. If you have chimney, quick flashing can be done with caulk only then go back for letting in into the brick joints, etc.


Don't be afraid of screwing or nailing into the old or new shingles. The holes can be easily blocked or repaired with good caulk. Good repair is to caulk up all holes. Roofing shingles have several layers. If you caulk the top and the hole below it, it's good as new. No silicon caulk. I use osi quad. Using white shingles, to reflect the sun, is a bit of myth. It gets dirty enough soon enough, there's no point.

 

[PatChap]

If you've never done it, ripping 3 or 4 layers off a roof will suck. Keep tarps on hand, tear off whatever you can and get the tarps out.
On stuff like that it's best not to kill yourself, its an intense amount of labour.
The reinstallation isn't trivial,but if you follow the instructions maybe watch a couple videos most of it is straight forward. Detail work like sidewalls chimneys and valleys are a little more complicated.

If your able to get some able bodies to help you rip it off, dont hesitate.
I roof full time and when we get thick roofs I bring an extra 4 or 5 guys just so were not killing ourselves

 

[ZTMAN]

By the way OP, what is you location? I assume by your user name, the location may be coastal.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

As I think most every one above has explained that it is a heavy work intensive work.....is it possible for an accomplished DIY....yes....BUT I think you might not realize the weight of tearoff, and the work up there on a slope.

What is your pitch.

I'm a GC...and I'll do a SMALL addition when I was young myself.... but I'll sub out parts of the work. Like I'll find a CREW working nearby and offer them cash for some weekend work....get a dumpster and have them do the tearoff. Then I underlay it and "dry it in myself". Like on a cement tile shake, I will batten it out and hire a crew to lay the tile.

BUT, on a LARGE job, I always sub it out. Too much work for a single person to piece it out...even when young in my opinion.

Even with a roof load, which you can't pragmatically do with a piece meal re-roof, you'll want a crew to place the load.....that truck isn't going to wait or one party to unload and distribute that load.

Good luck......

And, with a simple gable there really is not too much technical to learn, but your hips and valleys and flashings, you'll want to study up to get them correct. I'm comfoortabe, but carefull, on up to a 5/12..... but I want rope gear on most anything above 6/12. And beware, the crap from a tearoff gets slippery, or the sawdust from any roof repair, makes a roof slippery.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'd suggest finding someone to help (or advise) that has actually roofed something before.

Laying shingles ain't rocket surgery, but there are a few things you need to know. Especially with the 2 valleys you mentioned.

And the demo of the old roof will be a LOT of work. Again, not difficult, but hard on the back.

 

[Old Thomas]

Everything you need to know is in print. Manufacturers all have installation specifications. Read everything and remember that water flows downhill, and you will know more than a lot of “roofers”.

 

[NotYerUncleBob2]

And beware, the crap from a tearoff gets slippery, or the sawdust from any roof repair, makes a roof slippery.

YES!! This is often overlooked. Get enough loose granules and it's like roller skating on a pile of ball bearings. I keep a battery operated leaf blower on the roof and blast often.