$20K estimate to put siding on my house. Ouch!!!

[BigRed]

The outside of my house is covered in wood shingles and they are in rough shape on a couple of sides. I would like to get vinyl siding installed and as a starting point I called Home Depot to give me an estimate. They quoted me $20K and some change for 21 squares of material and the tear-down of the existing shingles. Their cost per square is somewhere in the mid $600.

There is no way I can come up with that kind of dough, especially where my daughter will be starting college in a 14 months.

I will be looking for more quotes but I think I am screwed no matter what.

[HwyRider]

Get a Bagster. Put it on your front lawn and rip those shingles off and toss them in. Doing the gut work is the expensive part. Putting up siding isn't hard. Each 2 row piece clips up under the bottom one and then gets nailed on but the nails aren't pounded in all the way. You can cut the siding with a chop saw with the blade turned backwards.

[BigRed]

Yeah, I've considered it but it's not just siding either. There is the insulation board, soffits, windows and doors to trim out, corner trim, all the rakes and facias need to be wrapped, etc. Besides, with my chronic back pain there is no way I can do all of that by myself.

[HwyRider]

The doors and windows get plastic wood so you don't have to deal with it ever again. Same thing with the soffits. The corner trim piece on siding is a rail that the siding sits inside of. It nails on just like the siding. All of the facia boards I would just rip off and replace with plastic wood.

I've been using the plastic wood at my house on everything that I replace. I had the roofing company replace a couple of soffits last year with it. This year I have to pull a facia board off the side and replace it with some new plastic. The rest of the house I installed new clapboard on. It was easier than siding the house but cost a little more.

[Eagle Eye]

Home Depot are well known as the masters of margin. Have you got any quotes from an actual contractor? They may put a few points on the material but might be willing to negotiate different parts of the job. I think prep work can see you save some dough even if you can't do it yourself. Get the dumpster or whatever your area has and hire a couple of young students or something to do the demo for less. Saves your back & puts some bucks into better pockets than a giant corporation. Worth checking into anyways, 20k is a lot of scratch.

[rolfe]

Originally Posted by BigRed

The outside of my house is covered in wood shingles and they are in rough shape on a couple of sides. I would like to get vinyl siding installed and as a starting point I called Home Depot to give me an estimate. They quoted me $20K and some change for 21 squares of material and the tear-down of the existing shingles. Their cost per square is somewhere in the mid $600.

There is no way I can come up with that kind of dough, especially where my daughter will be starting college in a 14 months.

I will be looking for more quotes but I think I am screwed no matter what.

Demolition and Preparation are half your cost to get to a clean surface. If your a 2nd Story Home Owner that also adds for additional Labor.

I'm thinking that the Shake Siding you have butts up to your Window and Door Trims?

Since your up East the Labor per hour is more also.

Not a big fan of Vinyl Siding as water gets behind it plus if your burning brush etc... close to it melts.

Cashways/Furrows used to be here and they carried a metal 16' x 6" with a lip I used on many jobs to wrap Facia.

Then used a Thin layer of Dow Corning Fan Fold Foam as a cushion and Hardie Siding on Top of it.

The beauty of Hardie Siding it Lowers your Homeowners Insurance Cost.

In either cases you should be able to leave your Shakes on and apply your new surface.

You will need to make simple modifications around your Doors/Windows/Starting Point on the Bottom and Top.

Also your Improving Your Home so get a Home Equity Loan if Possible.

You could also find a couple local Carpenters and do a little at a Time. Its not like your house is going to up and run off the road on your.

Just do your homework and save some Motorcycle Money

[HwyRider]

His daughter starts college next year. His motorcycle money is gone already.

[HwyRider]

I don't know if you can burn outside in your town but it's a way of getting rid of the wood that comes off.

[ray2]

Check with your homeowners insurance Rep. some siding and roofing materials are cheaper to insure than others. You could save on your premium.

[schoeney]

Home Depot just adds another layer of profit to the contractors bid. Go to the siding contractor directly... You'll probably save 15- 20 percent.

[duffy]

Having worked in the building industry for about 20 years (I delivered a lot of different types of siding) I would advise against vinyl siding particularly since I noticed where you live. It doesn't handle extreme temperatures well. As mentioned previously insurance rates vary depending on materials used. I think the insurance rates would be a lot less for a cement siding vice vinyl (fire hazard, longevity, etc.). Just my .02's.

[Texas nomad]

Home Depot subs it out. We wet with Continental Siding. The siding is .5 mil thick and comes it's a lifetime warranty! $26,500 for my two story... They financed 100%.