Home Repair - Roof and siding replacement?

[birdman2003]

My 1940's single family house in Iowa could use some major repairs, but I'm not sure if I should do small projects with the cash I have available or save up and do some major updates.

About the House
My mustachian palace is a single story ranch house with cement block basement.  600 square feet on main level.  Remaining mortgage is $65k, house is worth $90k.  My monthly housing costs (principal+interest+property tax+insurance+utilities) are roughly $950.

About the Roof
The roof is a gable-shaped roof with one ridge across the center of my house, and a small hip section that protrudes out of the front half of the roof.  There is no overhang (no eaves) - the rafters end at the edge of the house.  The fascia boards are rotting, and the gutters pull out from the fascia, and then the rain/melting snow runs down the side of the house and right into the foundation.

About the Siding
My current siding material is aluminum, no idea how old.


When there is a driving horizontal rain, the wind lifts up the shingles and the water goes behind the siding, down the inside of my house, and drips onto the sill plate in my basement.
Because I have no idea what damage I will find when I pull away the siding, I want to be prepared for a costly renovation.

Where would you start if it were your house?  I will try to add some pictures.

[Greg]

If it were my house, I would wait until better weather and do a complete roof redo.  What I mean is I would buy a giant tarp (just in case), and then tear off all old roofing, and then add rafter tails and extend the gable ends 1' to 2'.  This extended overhang will protect the siding until you can do more.  I'd install sheathing on the entire thing with 1/2" CDX plywood, install synthetic underlayment and then re roof with metal if I could afford it, or good quality comp if I was on a budget.

For the siding I'd do much the same thing, either doing the whole thing or one side at a time.  You'll just have to see what the damage is when you get there.  As a builder, I can have material on hand for repairs and if I don't use it, take it back to my supplier.  You can do the same with many of the big box stores.

One benefit to redoing your siding is you can likely recycle the aluminum for $$.

[bacchi]

What Greg said. Start with the roof. You need rafter tails. If you're really on a budget, you might be able to tear off the shingles and sheathing a few feet from the edge, overhang the new sheathing 1' out, and then add new rafter tails with long deck screws and 16d nails. Cover back up and move to the next section.

Also plan on replacing rotted parts of the top plate with treated wood.

[MustachianAccountant]

This might get a better response in the DIY forum.

[Exflyboy]

Yes Greg nailed it.

All of this you can do DIY but make sure you watch some videos on You tube, check out books whatever. None of this is hard when you know what to do.

I too like metal standing seem roof its the longest lasting but I'm not keen on the appearance so I went with an architectural shingle... Make sure you get a nail gun or stapler (many don't like staples I find their OK in our area as it never gets that windy.) Hand nailing all those shigles would take 3 to 4 times as long.

Adding the rafter tails is essential.. or at least a poor economy not to.

Frank

[birdman2003]

Thank you Greg, and others.  I'm headed to the library to get some books on roof systems and figure out how I can attach those rafter tails.  I understand what bacchi is saying about extending the sheathing.

Instead of following the slope of the rafters, could my rafter tails be perpendicular to the top plate and extend straight out 1' to 2' from the side of my house?

[Greg]

Instead of following the slope of the rafters, could my rafter tails be perpendicular to the top plate and extend straight out 1' to 2' from the side of my house?

No, for a few reasons.  One is they're be hard to do this way.  The other reasons are they'd catch debris and cause problems in heavy rain or snow.  I've seen rater tails that extend out at a shallower angle, but still sloped, but it's an odd look.

[RootofGood]

I'll piggyback on this thread.  Any opinion on vinyl siding vs. hardiplank cement fiber board type material?  I'm thinking vinyl is cheaper and easier to install.  And won't require painting.  Shorter lifespan than cement board I assume. 

Also need to re-roof in addition to replacing siding.  Should I re-roof first then replace siding or vice versa?  There's a 1st story roof next to a 2nd story area and the 1st story roof has leaked off and on for over 10 years (fixed it, then it leaks after a few years, fixed it, leaks again later).  I want to do some super duper leak proofing in this area.  Or simultaneously replace the roof and the side of the 2nd story area near the roof.  If I DIY, I'm trying to avoid doing 2 major projects (whole house siding and reroofing) at the same time.   

[Thegoblinchief]

Should I re-roof first then replace siding or vice versa?  There's a 1st story roof next to a 2nd story area and the 1st story roof has leaked off and on for over 10 years (fixed it, then it leaks after a few years, fixed it, leaks again later).  I want to do some super duper leak proofing in this area.  Or simultaneously replace the roof and the side of the 2nd story area near the roof.  If I DIY, I'm trying to avoid doing 2 major projects (whole house siding and reroofing) at the same time.   
[/]

Typically I've seen people do the roof first but I'd probably nail the siding on the one section while doing that. Interesting dilemma.

[birdman2003]

No, for a few reasons.  One is they're be hard to do this way.  The other reasons are they'd catch debris and cause problems in heavy rain or snow.  I've seen rater tails that extend out at a shallower angle, but still sloped, but it's an odd look.

Thanks Greg.

[Greg]

Any opinion on vinyl siding vs. hardiplank cement fiber board type material?  I'm thinking vinyl is cheaper and easier to install.  And won't require painting.  Shorter lifespan than cement board I assume.

Vinyl is cheap and easy to install, but trickier to do right.  Cement board costs more up front, but pretty straight forward. You can even get pre-painted cement board (lifetime warranty!). 

There are things to consider though... exposure: vinyl is very thermo-lastic (is that the right word?)... it moves a LOT with temperature changes.  Adjacent houses' windows can cause overheating.  It's very important to get the details right.  You can't change the color of vinyl.   It's toxic to make and a petroleum product.

Cement board can be dusty to work with unless you use shears.  The nailing specs are very important.  It's very stable and hold paint well.  The material is durable in some ways, not in others.

I prefer the cement board siding but it does seem to cost more.