New roof: Time, Money, Skills

[Mark440]

I've a double wide that is about 15 years old now. It has a skylight in the master bath I would like to get rid of, and there are three places in the facia that have just rotted through. The factory shingles are harder than a rock - or stiffer than road kill - or both. I am going to be taking 10 days of vacation time - and ready to do something about it all. I have a pretty good assortment of tools, and I am am generally not afraid to take on a home project. But this one is causing some trepidation.

Of course, the relationship between time and money is going to be a driving factor. If I have the time, I can use metal as I can channel the labor costs to a better roof. If I have to hire someone, I'll have to resort to asphalt shingles. Bear in mind, I have a brother who opened up his roof to make some repairs - and of course it rained and all of his ceilings collapsed and dumped about 40 years of nasty stuff into his house. So, I sure don't want to follow in those footsteps.

So here's the questions I keep rolling around in my head:

1> Does divide and conquer work with a metal roof project?? Can a metal roof be installed on one side of the double wide at a time? I would have to make some concessions at the ridge - maybe rubber matting or something for temporary protection. But, if the tear off reveals sheeting that needs to be replaced - well, I am worried about time running out on the vacation before all is back in place. (Note: closest Home Depot is 20 miles into town)

2> Once a metal roof is installed over the grid - how do you walk on it to remove tree limbs, etc?

3> My roof has at least four of those roof vents. If I use a ridge vent - can those old roof vents be eliminated?

4> As for making holes in the metal to go around vent pipes, is this accomplished with a hole saw?? And how does the metal roof seal to the rubber boot that goes over the vent pipe??

5> How far out over the facia should a metal roof extend? My existing rood (asphalt) is maybe 1/8 to 1/4" - and the rain runoff rarely hits the gutters.

6> What happens if the whole roof isn't quite so square to begin with? Does the "trim out" hide a multitude of sins and provide a place for slight variations in length or width?

7> And is the best thing to cut metal really a reversed blade in a circular saw?

I am just one guy and might get some from the family out on a weekend, but I am not feeling like this will be a two day (saturday/sunday) job. And then I have some reservations about too many people up on the roof to begin with.

Advice? Experiences? Any and all would be greatly appreciated.

[DCDiva]

Wow many questions--with metal you do not have to remove the shingle roof so many of your worries are gone, you can add 2x4--that's what we used or furing strips run the lenght of the roof 16 or 24 inches apart,screwed into joices,then attach the metal roof to them. The roof can be ordered to the exact lenght you need and where you order has all the parts for the vents and the end caps to go into your gutters, it is very easy we had never done one before and did 2--- 14 x 50 roof in 4 hours total---2 on the roof and 2 bringing the material to them
Yes the metal trims will hide many sins, the place you order from can help and they have a booklet that explains it all--make sure you order everything early so it is all on hand---go for the metal roof you will love it

[JD]

For all the technical details, it is best to get that from the manufacturer. But I would think that you would be looking at 1x4s, 24"o.c., fill the space in between with foamboard. You can probably overhang the metal panels by 1" to 1 1/2". I am pretty sure they aren't supposed to be out there like true eaves. Walk on top of the 1x4s. Walking between the supports will tweak and stretch the metal and stress the screws.

A circular saw blade loaded backwards is good for cutting long cuts, but you will want good tin snips for holes. I use Metalmaster Offset Snips. Best snips for this kind of work. These are left/right cut snips so you will want both red and green handle. The circular saw will leave a very jagged cut. Be careful handling it.

Whether the roof is not exactly square or your panel is not exactly straight with the roof will be the real work in putting the panels on. Both of these situations will be going on. After you have 2-3 panels on, you will be able to see if you are running up hill or down hill. meaning that the panels laying naturally are getting closer to the ridge or further off of the roof. If the panels are running up hill, you can straighten the lay of the panels by "tucking" the bottom/eave end of the panel, by pulling it a little extra tighter together and "spreading" the other end at the ridge, pulling the panels slightly. A little goes a long ways, you don't want to over correct. Really got to set that first panel straight, the adjustments are micro-tuning.