Need advice on reroofing old porch

[new homeowner]

Hi,

I just bought a 1924 rental property that I plan to move into when my husband retires from the Army. it is located near Lake Michigan in NE Wisconsin, where they get about 50 inches of snow a year and it is quite rainy and foggy.

The side porch roof is about 5 X 12 feet and is nearly flat. Old tar paper appears to cover it and it needs immediate repair. I have an estimate that came in at $991.50, from a local roofer, which is higher than I expected. This is for Tearing off, clean up, and re roofing with a rubber material, which the realtor, who owns some rental property nearby, says works well and is common in the area. Such a roof is already installed over an addition enclosing the stairs to the basement and on a shed attached to the garage.

1.5 sq Rubber roof and adhesive $150.00
3 pc. T edge (white) $15.00
3 sheets 7/16 OSB + nails $60.00
Miscellaneous $ 75.00 (Flashing maybe?)
Subtotal $300.00
5.5% Tax $16.50
Disposal $75.00
Labor $600.00

1) Is this reasonable? This is higher than I expected--especially for the labor.

I have no idea what is under the current roof. The main roof is two layers of shingles on top of the original cedar shakes. I believe the porch is original to the house. The tongue and groove on the ceiling of the porch looks pretty good except for some mildew on the soffit near the gutter, which runs the front of the porch and has an ugly drainpipe lashed to the pillar. I doubt this estimate covers any possible structural repairs to the rafters

2) Is the material they are using simular to the ice and snow barrier? Does it go directly on the sheathing?

3) Should I use plywood instead of OSB, or stipulate a particular type of plywood or a thicker 1/2 inch OSB. The stuff seems to be prone to water problems.

4) The siding is Asbestos shingles over the original clapboard. I have read that flashing should go under the siding, but the stuff is brittle and difficult to remove without damage, and impossible to replace. I hope to restore the original clapboard or reside one day, but can't afford to do so now. Anyway, is is OK to have the flashing on the outside?

5) A local handyman is also looking at the job--what should I ask him to make sure he knows what he is doing? Should I specify materials and installation procedures? Unfortunately I live overseas and will not be able to supervise and will have to rely on my property manager to do so.

6) The gutter looks to be in decent shape, but is ugly. Is there any alternative to the ugly drainpipe? The pillars appear to be original and are one of the best features of the house, which is a rather plain two story house with some craftsman detailing.

7) Also the porch roof light is just a bare bulb under the remains of the housing. The renter says it works--I eventually want to center and replace the fixture. Is it OK to leave it as it is, or should it be fixed the same time as the roof?

Any advice on how best to proceed would be appreciated.

[kodiak_island]

:twisted:

[new homeowner]

Not sure what you mean by your emoticon. I'm just looking for some useful feedback. Please don't blame me for not knowing much about the subject. I read though other posts and didn't see anything that really related. Plus I saw posts from other newbies like me who are maybe a little clueless when it comes to house construction.

[grumpydasmurf]

What type of rubber is what I want to know. Modified bitumen or EPDM? The price doesn't seem too high if they are a reputable company and supplying a valid warranty. If it were my house I'd prefer a granulated modified bitumen instead of the epdm.

1)Your math is flawed.
You forgot:
vehicle depreciation
equipment depreciation
vehicle insurance
general liability insurance to protect your home
Workmans compensation to protect the workmen and prevent them from suing you if they get injured.
Unemployment insurance (mandatory in some states).
Office rental
Telephone rental
the roof materials are going to cost much more than $150.
Disposal is going to cost much more than $75 especially if there are existing cedar shakes under neath.
Other miscellaneous overhead necessary to keep a company in business.

I ask you, do you want the best roofer or the cheapest roofer?

2) Personally I prefer plywood instead of the OSB.

3) See my question above, I don't know what type of "rubber" they are bidding.

4) Not sure what you mean flashing on the outside, can you take a picture?

5) Check this out: http://diychatroom.com/howto57.htm also http://diychatroom.com/howto59.htm

6) If you are tearing off the roof around the gutter, and you have cedar shakes it is always HIGHLY recommended to replace the gutter. In some cases it is necessary to replace the gutter when there are existing cedar shakes.

7) water needs a way to flow from the gutter to the ground in a controlled manner. I have seen chains used but unfortunately a downspout of some type will be necessary.

[new homeowner]

Sorry--don't have photos of that particular area showing the flashing. The house is in Wisconsin and I live in Germany. I have no idea what kind of rubber they are using.

I understand that you have to factor in insurance and overhead and whatnot, but it does seem a little high for such a small, flat porch--5' x 12' at the most. There aren't any cedar shingles on the porch, just on the top roof. It is in a rural area, so maybe dumping fees are lower there.

Just in comparison, I'm relining and caping the flue, putting in two special-order gas hot water heaters, redoing all the connections and venting to the water heaters, replacing the main section of sewer pipe, rerouting the waste water from the washer and putting in a utility sink for about $2,000 from a reputable contractor.

Scaping off shingles and tearing off three sheets of plywood and replacing with new sheathing and a rubber roof and edging seems like a whole less work to me. I figure it is about a day's worth of labor, maybe.

Not sure how they plan to do the flashing. The current flashing is old and looks like it has some roofing tar smeared over it. If the estimate includes taking off the surrounding Asbestos shingle siding and putting it back up over the flashing, then I can see why the labor would be higher.

Not sure, but it looks like old siding shingles were just left off and the clapboard was left exposed when the entrance to the basement roof was redone. I didn't think to look to see how the flashing was done there. I did look underneath some loose Asphalt Asbestos shingles over the porch to the front entrance and it looked like the flashing was applied over the original clapboard there.

I was thinking about doing the chain-thing for the gutter, but have never seen that in the states, just in Germany. Here they have a special piece of gutter to attach the chain to. How is it done in the States?

Thanks for the info and advice and links.

[new homeowner]

Also, I have read in other posts that fir plywood is better than yellow pine plywood which is better than OSB. What do you think? Since it is only 3 sheets, I'm willing to pay more.

When it comes to the main roof, it is going to cost a whole lot more. I'm saving up for that day.

[grumpydasmurf]

We use fir for soffit but pine for everything else.

Roofer's insurance is the highest among all of the residential building trades. For every $1 you give your roofer, your roofer gives $.35 to his insurance company for general liability insurance. You do the math.

Don't complain about his high price. Instead complain to your congressman and senators about the price gouging that the insurance companies are giving us roofers.

[Rich]

Are you sure on the .35 - I thought it was even higher than that. Maybe I'm thinking of work comp too. It really is ridiculous what roofing contractors pay for insurance. With the safety requirements and all that in todays world you would think it would start to even out.

[grumpydasmurf]

Yes rich. .35 JUST for liability. If you add all our insurances up we are paying damned near half our revenue to the insurance companies.

A few guys I know actually got reductions this year. My friend's Dad who is an insurance agent told me to forget roofing. I laughed and told him that all the real roofers have to pay it so we are all on a level playing field and we pass the cost to the customer.

Like I said... Call your congressman.

[Rich]

Ok - I thought I had heard at one time .65 for insurance.. so that probably included all insurances. Ridiculous however you look at it.