Chickens, and things related

[bmac]

I'm starting to get impatient with the ol' coop project and decided to get an estimate from a roofing company to finish the roof (drip edge, ridge vent, roof felt and shingles). Labor only - I'll supply materials. I wasn't home when he came by, so I only have information that my wife gleaned from his visit.

First issue - He said I need 10 packs of shingles. WHAT??? The square footage of the roof is less than 200 sq ft. (192 by my calculations). My understanding is that you get about 100 sq ft per square (3 packs of shingles). So, I figured 6 packs but could understand 7 to account for the starter course and covering the ridge vent. But 10? What am I missing here?

The second issue is price. A friend of mine had this same company do a pool house with about the same dimensions as mine, but a much steeper roof (12-12 pitch). He said he paid about $100 for the labor to lay the shingles only. He put down the paper, drip edge and ridge vent.

My quote? $435! I was thinking maybe $200 because of the extras.

Now, I've dealt with this company before (they re-roofed my old house) and I was pleased with their work. I doubt it would take a couple of pros more than 2 hrs to do the whole job. Me? Probably a whole day or more, having never laid a single shingle.

So, I need to make a decision. Get another quote, do it myself, or just bite the bullet and pay these guys, knowing that the result will be good.

I don't know if I'm looking for comments or just venting.

I'm going to go eat supper.

 

[Tororider]

Well $435 seems like a lot of money to me, but how much is your time worth I guess is the question. I have done a garage and a couple of houses down south with some missions groups and once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy. I don't know if you get DIY network, but Tom Silva does a roof with a couple on Ask This Old House that shows how to do it pretty well.

With regards to amount of shingles, I have no idea, I am sure Eddie can tell you exactly how much it should take, but there should be very little waste, you have two rectangles with no breaks.

Good luck with your decision, I say do it yourself, you definitely have the capability.

 

[EddieWalker]

bmac,

I don't remember what you roof demensions are off hand, but I doubt that 200 square feet is even close. At 200 square feet, you'd have two ten by ten halves.

$435 seems a bit high at first, but then I got to wondering how far off in the boonies are you? Is it much of a drive? When figuring a bid for a job, if it's out of the way, I add that to my price. An hour drive each way is two hours of my day, and even though I'm not doing any labor, I'm burning gas to get there, so I'll take that into consideration.

Getting the shingles up to the roof is physical labor. A crew of two should be able to do your shed in half a day, but still want a days pay for it. I'd guess each guy gets $150 and the owner gets the rest.

Without actually being there, I'd probably be in the $350 to $400 range for me and a helper to do the job.

I think that after about an hour of doing it yourself, you will think that it's not as expensive as you thougt it was. Especially if it's hot out!!!!

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Tororider,

Thanks for your vote of confidence. As with many things, it is a time vs money issue. Its also a risk vs money issue. I'm not as spry as I used to be. Shingles are heavy and awkward to carry. The first few loads may be OK. Then, you get tired or careless or both and a slip of the foot happens.... I respect the laws of gravity. If I had a laborer to just tote the shingles up to the roof, might be a different story.

I've done some reading since my last vent, er... post, and I've learned that some shingle come 4 packs to the square. The ones from my supplier are 3 packs to the square. So, I'm guessing he wants 2 squares + an extra pack + a pack of ridge shingles. As I did not talk to him, this is speculation on my part. I'll call him tomorrow for clarification.

 

[Tororider]

Yeah I forgot to take temperature into consideration, being up on the roof when it is warm out is not so much fun.

The way I see it is you have to figure what your time is worth. I always figured when I had my lawn care business my time was worth $25-50 an hour depending on what kind of job I was doing. If yours is similar, that would be between 10-20 hours worth of work. If $25 an hour for you and you think it will take you two 10 hour days, you would be money ahead to have them do it for $435. Then you have to figure your frustration and piece of mind.

Like I said, you have the ability to do it, its a matter of whether or not you want to and if you think it is worth your money to hire it done. Also, you can always ask them if they can get it done for $400 or some other amount. The worst they can do is say no.

 

[bmac]

Good evening, Eddie. I guess we were typing at the same time.

I calculated the area of the roof as follows: Each rafter is slightly less than 8'. The width of the roof is 12'. So, that's 96 sq ft per half or 192 sq ft for the whole bldg.

I'm leaning toward calling the guy and forking over the $435. I'll be much happier in the end and can devote my time toward painting, putting in windows and doors, trim work, building the pen. Dang! I don't have time to shingle the roof.

I had to laugh the other day. My daughter (the chicken baroness) asked me, very seriously, if I thought I'd have the coop done by the end of the summer. I said, "I hope so, dear, but you never know".

 

[Tororider]

Aren't kids the greatest? That show, "Kids say the darndest things", I never knew how true it was, and how often until I have kids. My three year old just kills me sometimes with the stuff he says and how he changes my perspective on the world.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Putting a chicken wire floor in the tractor works ok, but gave it up after the 2nd year and it rotted and pulled off. Have not had any trouble with critters digging in. A building with eggs and such in it seems to attact more critters to get the eggs and not necessarily the chickens themselves.

If i spent so much time and effort to get a wonderful chicken house like that i would not 'feel' right letting someone else put the roof on and would somehow learn to shingle it. Something about self pride and being able to look at it in years come as a project did with my own 2 hands. Bang the thumb a few times and shingle it up. Or figure how to reach with the FEL and pound the roofing nails in.

 

[EddieWalker]

If i spent so much time and effort to get a wonderful chicken house like that i would not 'feel' right letting someone else put the roof on and would somehow learn to shingle it. Something about self pride and being able to look at it in years come as a project did with my own 2 hands. Bang the thumb a few times and shingle it up. Or figure how to reach with the FEL and pound the roofing nails in.

While I understand your statement, I have to disagree with you on several points. bmac built it himself and he did a great job of bringing an idea into reality. Who helps out, and who does certain parts of the build in no way distracts from the accomplishment of the building. I don't know of too many things as satisfying as turning a idea into reality.

The accomplishment and pride of achievement isn't measured in the degree of labor, sweat or money spent. It is measured in quality of workmanship and achieving the goal that was set before starting.

There is no doubt that bmac has allot to be proud of in his chicken coop. Not just the fact that he built it, but even more importantly, this is the first building that he's ever built. Realizing that you can do something like this is a huge achievment.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

If i spent so much time and effort to get a wonderful chicken house like that i would not 'feel' right letting someone else put the roof on and would somehow learn to shingle it. Something about self pride and being able to look at it in years come as a project did with my own 2 hands. Bang the thumb a few times and shingle it up. Or figure how to reach with the FEL and pound the roofing nails in.

4270 OWNER,

Thanks for the encouragement. I've got a different take on it, however. Because I have put a lot of time and effort to get to this point, I don't want to screw it up with a poor roofing job. I'll let the pros do it.

There's another element involved - time. My daughters chickens should have been in the coop at least 3 week ago, if not before. They've outgrown their brooder so we've split them up and have made some temporary housing out of a dog cage. Even so, they are starting to go stir crazy.

But, I do appreciate the confidence you have in my ability the shingle the coop roof. If I had no time pressure - I might have taken you up on the challenge.