Roof Do-It-Yourself

We found out a week before Christmas that we needed to put a new roof on our house. Needless to say we did not have the money to pay a contractor to do it for us. Besides who wants to spend that kind of money when you can do it yourself. My husband had never done a roof before and it is something that you want to make sure is done properly. Luckily, my Dad has put on several roofs in his lifetime. He no longer can get up on a roof but he still can supervise from the ground. I ordered the materials with his direction. A great way to do this is to go to a major home improvement dealer and talk to their contractor sales person. They were able to help me figure out the amount of shingles and other supplies needed. In order to get an accurate shingle amount you will need to know the square footage of the outside of your house, the number of peaks (ridges) and the slope of your roof. Most homes are either a 4:12 or 5:12 ratio. If your attic area is about 6 feet high like ours you are a 4:12. If it is about 8-9 feet than it is probably a 5:12. In addition to shingles you will also need edging if it is not already in place, roofing nails, good box knife cutter with lots of extra blades, roofing nail gun, regulated air compressor, extension ladders, roofing square and a 2 foot x 2 foot (or so) piece of plywood to cut shingles on up on the roof. You can rent roofing nail guns but we found it cheaper to buy one at a pawn shop which we will later resell. We also already owned the air compressor.

My Dad came the first couple of days and showed my husband how to do the starter row, valleys and ridge caps. From there, My husband and his helpers have been able to do the roof themselves. My advice if you have never roofed before is to find someone to help you get started. There are also a lot of you tube videos available on how to do each of the above sections. I have to admit that I help with a lot of the projects but my help with the roof has been getting supplies and cleaning duty on the ground. My fear of heights does not make me a good candidate to be on the roof.

Putting your own roof on is a great way to save money but only if it is done properly. We were able to do a 3 bedroom ranch plus our small shed for less than $2000 in materials using 25 year shingles. Make sure to save your receipt. If somethings happens to the shingles, you will need the receipt to get them replaced. A friend of mine learned this lesson the hard way. Find someone who has done it before and is willing to help you get started if possible. Even paying him for their time will be cheaper than hiring a contractor.