October 20, 2018

Project Next

The barn is done, so what is Dan going to tackle next? He wants to fix the leak in the pantry roof. You may recall that we discovered it last spring ("Leaky Roof") and tarped it until a better time to fix it. Now is that better time.

The tarped leaky side of the pantry roof.

Our pantry, utility room, and second bathroom were added onto the house long before we bought the place. That part of the house was not reroofed when we first moved in, so it needs it. We decided to replace the shingles with the same metal we used on the barn.

Photo taken from the hay loft.

And two from the ladder.


Dan has decided that while he's at it, he might as well put new siding on that gable end of the house. We bought enough siding awhile ago to finish the house, so we have it. We also already have the metal panels for the roof. From the above photo you can see that the whole thing will take some fancy finagling because of how the pantry was added on.

Hopefully the project will be straightforward and without unexpected surprises, but you know how that goes.

Project Next © October 2018 by Leigh

20 comments:

tpals said...

Old houses = no straight lines. Good thing you have Dan.

Gorges Smythe said...

I hope you have the weather you need for the job.

Leigh said...

Tpals, exactly! (On both accounts :)

Gorges, me too! It would be horrible to get the roof open and have it rain. But it needs to be done before winter sets in.

Mama Pea said...

Fixing a leak in a roof is always a good idea. (Haha, not ridiculing because we've been there, done that . . . more than once!)

We also had a very difficult area to side (on the second story) where one roof joined the other that caused my dear husband to scratch his head for a bit. "How the heck will I even measure for that weird angle, let alone cut it correctly! And then how will I be able to nail it or secure it someway??"

So much fun when one is dealing with not-new construction!

Rain said...

Hi Leigh :) I need a "Dan" in my life lol...I just hope both Alex and I have that kind of motivation and energy when we buy our place. Nice view of the house! :) Hope all is well with you guys and you're enjoying autumn!! :)

M.K. said...

Y'all are so industrious! The house is looking great, and this will be yet another valuable improvement. Tell Dan to be careful around those saws though!!

Fiona said...

Leaks are always an adventure. Your getting so much done!

Leigh said...

Mama Pea, it's one of those things that just has to be done! Doesn't it? Sounds like you've been there, done that on more than one occasion. :)

Rain, Dan would tell you, "YouTube!" Any time he has a question about something, that's where he goes for answers and information. There isn't anything you and Alex can't do. :)

M.K. we have to be! Of course, neither of us is a sit around kind of person. This project will help us get closer to finishing our major plans for the house.

Fiona, agreed!

wyomingheart said...

Hi Leigh,
Metal roofing is absolutely the way to go... We were very fortunate that the farm house had it in place when we bought it. Having replaced two roofs from the storms in Florida, which we replaced with metal, we were fortunate to relocate to the hills of Appalachia. Not that metal never leaks, it is much more forgiving with limbs, wind and hail. Good luck with your project, and look forward to hearing how all your projects go. Thanks for the wealth of information that you share with all your readers!

Leigh said...

Wyomingheart, thanks! When we had to re-roof the main part of the house we wanted to do it in metal. We researched it and found a DIY wholesale dealer, so we could have done it ourselves for a fraction of what it would have been otherwise. But our insurance company kept pushing and threatening to cancel our homeowners insurance, so we ended up hiring a roofing company, which meant going with something we could afford, i.e. asphalt shingles. We've talked about re-doing it ourselves a section at a time, with metal, so who knows. We may get our all metal roof yet. :)

Goatldi said...

Blast it don't you just love pushy home owner insurance companies? With all the fires out here the defensive space has now been doubled if you want insurance. I keep waiting to hear from ours but so far so good.

I don't blame you for wanting a metal roof for so many reasons. With Dan and all his talents and you playing back up and rooting section I don't think there is anything the two of you can't get done. And isn't the sound of rain on a metal roof just something? I love it.

Leigh said...

The real kicker came when the insurance company wanted proof that we did the entire roof, not just half of it to make it look like we did the whole thing. I was absolutely flabbergasted at that! Like they thought we'd be more interested in duping them than in having a sound, secure roof over our heads! Very telling.

Goatldi said...

😱

And they wonder why we wonder 🤪

Ron Clobes said...

Concerning the metal roofs, they can be laid down over old shingles. Wouldn't recommend it on the pantry roof because if the roof already leaks, you want to inspect the structure underneath, but if the shingles are still good and the roof isn't leaking but is starting to show its age, lay the metal roof down over the shingles. That way, if the metal roof ever leaks, you still have a functional roof underneath. This way, you don't need to put padding underneath the metal roof to deaden the sound when rain or hail hits it. Something to think about. If push comes to shove, shingle the pantry roof and start putting metal on the rest of the house and do the pantry last. RonC

Cockeyed Jo said...

Smart! It's so easy to get bogged sown with too many projects at once. So much better to prioritize and tackle ut one project at a time especially when tryibf to stay on task and on budget.

Leigh said...

Goatldi, doesn't do much for trust, does it?

Ron, good to hear from you! Dan is thinking along the same lines as you. I'm pleased to say that his initial findings aren't as severe as we thought they might be. Definitely easier to simply install the metal panels over the existing shingles.

Jo, it's way too easy to become bogged down with too many projects at once! And it's hard to not get sidetracked into side projects, like - should we add a porch off the pantry? Should we change the roof line? In the end, I think it's better to stick with the plan (and the budget)!

Ed said...

Tarps... the duct tape of roofing!

Leigh said...

Ed, ha ha, but oh, so true!

Ron Clobes said...

One other consideration when putting down a metal roof on an old house is that the roof may be a little uneven and the house is usually deficient in insulation. You can lay 2x4s and 2x2s across the roof to give the screwing strips for the metal roof (2x4s at the peak and the eaves and the ends and 2x2s for the middle fastening bands), and you can fill the area between the 2x4 and 2x2s with sheets of 1-1/2" polystyrene insulation. This strategy really pays off if you then spray the underside of the roof in the attic with foam insulation like this (http://tricountyfoam.com/index.html) Spray foam insulation runs about 3x what fiberglass insulation runs, but Oh So Worth It! This is a really good strategy for those of you with an old farmhouse where the upstairs rooms have walls about 2 feet tall and the sloping ceilings formed by the roof. If your house is one story and has insulation on the ceilings above the living spaces, then adding insulation on the outside of the roof isn't going to help you much. If there is no insulation above the ceilings of the living spaces then 1-1/2" on the roof is better than nothing. You would have to look at your situation to determine what makes sense. RonC

Leigh said...

Ron, good ideas. A house can never have too much insulation as far as I'm concerned. :)