Q. The house i am purchasing was built in 1991 and is in Jacksonville, FL. it is 1700 sq feet, one story, with a vaulted ceiling in the living room. The roof is asphalt shingle,15 years old now and in pretty good condition w/ no leaks but there are some repairs that need to be done, there are some small bald spots, a few puckering areas where they added a screened porch, and the home inspector reccomended the pvc gutters be replaced with metal ones. The siding is Lousianna-Pacific and there are some wood rot issues, especially around the bottom. I am curious how much it would be to replace it with hardi-board or cementious siding or aluminum. The rest that needs to be done to this house is not such a big deal. No lectures on why I'm buying this house please, I've got my reasons, too many to state here. I'd really appreciate any advice from roofers and or general contractors. Thank you!!

A. To replace the roof w/ the least expensive asphalt shingles you are looking at $225/square (100 sq ft.) the shingles that are on your house now could have a warranty of 20-50 yrs. depending on the type. they rarely last that long. when the granules are missing the uv rays from the sun breakdown the mat and it will crack causing leaks. have a roofing contractor come out look at it. a home engineer may not know.

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Q. I just bought a house with white aluminum siding. The previous owners had a flag on a pole which was screwed to the side of the house with a normal fastener/bracket. Unfortunately, the pole created a cascading rust line from the rain. I tried using CLR, but that started to take off the white color of the siding, which then turned the siding a nasty gray-ish color. HELP! That rust is ugly! And is it possible to fix my CLR mis-hap?

A. I too have used the mr clean magic eraser with good results, and it wont scratch the surface of your siding. I do tend to think that the gray color you now have, could have happenned because of some of your white paint may hae been thinned down, while you were cleaning the rust, allowing the under coating, or the grey metal primer paint to start showing through the finish coat of white paint. It could have also been left behind from a metal scratchy pad if you tried to use that with the clr. I would suggest the Mr Clean Magic eraser on the rust and to see if it will remove the gray you now see too~ ( I have had gray stains left on the ceramic of some toilets I have cleaned which was caused by using certain scratch type pads with clr. ( I think it was when I used the stainless steel type scouring pads ) If you cant remove the rust or the greay with the MR clean sponge, they you may want to take a paint chip to a paint matching store that can match up your paint chip for you to repaint the grayed / rusty area ~

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Q. How does an inspector know is the entire house is okay under the aluminum siding without looking under every section of siding? We are considering the possbility of buying a home that has aluminum siding on it, and we plan to eventually take it off, but how do we know for sure that we are not just buying a problem. How likely is it that a home inspector will be able to tell if there is something wrong under the siding? Do they check around the entire house under all the siding? When siding is put on, do they remove all the old siding, or install it right on top of the old siding? Can an average "do it yourself person" tear off aluminum siding and replace it with something else? Any help would be greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!!!

A. He is checking for moisture and mildew. maybe rot of any kind. ask him. if there is a problem and you are purchasing it, the seller is responsible. they will have to fix it before you buy so you will find out anyway. talk to your realtor about an insurance that the seller buys, if anything happens for 1 year, that insurance covers it. it is about 300.00. that 300 is the sellers responsibility. make sure you have a realtor an average person can take it off and add something else later

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Q. My brother is paying for siding on my home! (he is a wonderful brother ,by the way) He told me to get estimates. for windows also. I dont know what to ask for! I need the old siding removed,and i want to keep the price down, since he is paying for it! Please Help! Thank you! The first answer that i recieved from John was fantastic! Thank you So Much! This is an old house at least 50 yrs. old. My dad and mom built it! They had no experience building! It is a plain ranch type home with wood siding .the wood is really moldy and is roten. Ineed to know what type siding to go with? there are many types! I not able to wrap the house myself. ( i wish i could,I'd like to !) But physically i am not able! That is the main reason why we are hiring someone! I am checking around the neighborhood,to see if good work was done! It is not easy finding someone you can trust! I will consider all advice given to me! And thank you so much! I would like to get it done during the summer, I have heard that the windows are put in first! So i know that will take time! Thank a 3rd time!!!! WoW JOHN! You are great! After all that imformation,NOW COME AND DO THE WORK! LOL Take care! All OF YOU will sleep well tonight ! Knowing you helped this unexperienced woman!! Sorry thats inexperienced!

A. Read below for choosing contractors. Do more research on siding and removal through google/yahoo searches. If you do have the siding removed, have the contractor give you an estimate on installing house wrap to the exterior under the new siding. House Wrap: When you go out in bad weather, you wear a jacket to protect yourself from rain, wind and other elements. A home should be protected in the same fashion. Without a protective barrier, the home can get wet, which can lead to wood rot and mold growth. Is there a better way to protect a home from these elements? Using a house wrap during the framing stage of construction will prevent moisture from entering the home. This will protect the house from rotting and from developing mold or fungus. Additionally, air infiltration through the framed walls will be blocked. The "best practice" for protecting your home from wind and water while allowing it to "breathe" is to install a layer of "house wrap" made of a thin layer of spun-bonded polyethylene. Here's how to do it: Start at a corner, but make sure you have 2 to 3 feet of house wrap to overlap the corner. Wrap it around the corner and continue nailing or stapling as you move. Wrap the entire building, including door and window openings. Use button nails or minimum 1-inch staples to fasten the house wrap every 12 to 18 inches along the vertical studs. Make an inverted "y" cut, or "martini glass cut," over the window openings. Fold the flaps in through the opening of the two sides and the sill and fasten them inside. Many builders do not install a drainage plane at all. The builders who do often install "building paper," a sheet of asphalt-impregnated felt paper, to protect the house from exterior water penetration. Unlike house wrap, however, building paper doesn't effectively reduce air infiltration because it has many seams, while house wrap is a continuous sheet with minimal overlaps. House wrap produces a breathable, weather-resistant barrier that will reduce energy costs and prevent wind-driven rain from entering the walls of a home. =============================================== Windows: If you are actually going to have the windows replaced, the best way to do this is replace the whole window including the frames. Have the windows removed to the rough opening. Many contractors will tell you this is not necessary. If the house is quite old, the space between the rough oping and the window frame is likely not insulated and sealed properly. Leaving the existing window frames in will not eliminate drafts properly. Also, it allows you to see if there is may moisture damage to the structure that has to be repaired. Here is an excerpt from this link: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/retrofit How Do I Decide Between Retrofit or New Construction Windows? (By: Bill & Kevin Burnett) Q: What are the disadvantages to retrofit windows as opposed to the advantages of new-construction windows? I've been shopping for new windows for my home and have found that labor and materials for retrofit windows is about one-half the cost of new-construction windows. I understand that with retrofit windows the old window is removed and the new window is installed into the old window frame, which certainly cuts down on labor. However, is there a quality issue? Can there be more of a chance of leakage around the window with retrofitted windows? Retrofit installers swear by their product. My contractor said he won't install retrofit windows. What's a homeowner to do? A: Retrofit windows are installed into existing window frames. New-construction windows are secured to the frame of the house by nailing flanges. The cost difference is related to removal and repair of existing window trim and siding. The major advantage of flanged windows is that they are one integral unit that is easy for the contractor or homeowner to install plumb and square within a framed opening. Retrofit windows are installed into existing frames, and if those frames are not plumb or square, there may be problems. To install flanged windows the old windows must be completely removed. Exterior trim (and often interior trim) will have to be removed, exposing the framing so the new windows can be nailed or screwed to it. Siding will also need to be cut back so that the edge of the framing is exposed. If you have a stucco exterior, installation will require some stucco to be chipped or cut away, then patched after the new windows are installed. Trim must be reinstalled. Finally everything must be repainted. Sounds like a pretty big job, doesn't it? It is. Retrofit windows, on the other hand, use the existing frame as the opening in which to install the new windows. No trim removal, no stucco or siding to repair. A seemingly much simpler and cleaner job. It can be. So what to do? From our perspective it depends on the type of existing windows you have and the exterior trim and siding involved. Most of our experience has been with the double-hung wooden windows that are common in old homes. To install retrofits in this type of frame, the old sash is removed, stops are installed if necessary and the new unit is attached to the old wood frames with shims and screws. A little caulking around the joints and you're done. This type of installation, if done properly, will provide an airtight seal. If your existing windows are the steel casement windows used in the 1950s or the aluminum windows commonly used in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, we'd suggest you do some serious digging into the possibility of using retrofits. If we were in the market to retrofit these windows, we'd undertake major research, look at some existing installations and satisfy ourselves with the looks, method of installation and quality of these products. All this being said, we don't think we'd be happy with existing steel or aluminum frames with new window inserts unless we were convinced that the frames were covered and the installation was airtight. Tip: We've always found it better to install flanged windows with screws rather than nails. If minor adjustments have to be made to properly fit the window into the opening, it's much easier to remove a screw or two rather than pull a nail with a cat's paw. Use stainless steel or zinc-coated screws. =============================================== Selecting contractors: 1/ Look up local contractors first. work out form the closest to your location. If some you trust has had work done similar to yours, ask them about the contractor they used. If they were completely satisfied with their contractor(s), ask for their telephone number. 2/ Select at least 5 your are interested 3/ Do a google/yahoo search on each of the contractors you are interested in; look for praises (check who is writing the praises to see if they have any connection to the contractor google/yahoo search the people giving the praise or references) 4/ When you are satisfied with at least 3 contractors per job, have the give you written estimates with details of work to be done, terms, guarantee(s), cost of extras (how much do they charge if they find something not covered by the contract), paymant schedules if necessary and whatever else you can think of to protect yourself. 5/ If the contractor tries to pressure you into signing the contract immediately with a high deposit (more than 15%) reject that contractor. Be careful, high pressure can be someone who sounds very convincing, but has many reasons why you should sign on the dotted line NOW. 6/ It is always good to have another adult with you when a contractor inspects the work to be done. 7/ If you do not get at least 3 written estimates signed by the contractor - not you (do not sign yet) , go back to 1. repeat until you get written estimates signed by the contractor - not you (do not sign yet). Read the estimates over with some who has some knowledge of the work that has to be done. This may take longer than you thought; do not rush into it. Research, resaerch research, helps. When you are ready choose by being informed. Good Luck

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Q. There is deterioration on several parts of the wood siding as well as in the soffits. Some boards are actually missing. My husband and I are thinking of purchasing home and wanted to know if it would be more beneficial to repair the wood siding or take the rotten boards off and put up vinyl siding. Thanks for the help.

A. If you are purchasing this home, and intend to stay there for a while and preserve the structure, then by all means repair the wood. Once the house is covered with vinyl, aluminum or whatever, the condition of the original structure can deteriorate with no way to stop it. This covering is no more than a band aid, not a cure. We went pretty much through the same decison process, and decided to have the house covered, and at that time aluminum was the prefered material, along with a vapor barrier. Eight years later, after a strong wind storm we had to get the siding people back for repairs, and found the original wood siding had really gone bad, due to the lack of breathing and condensation. I would never advise this to anyone. When you see a older home that has been re-sided, beware, because it was to hide defects, or the owners were too lazy to maintain the home and looked for the easy, cheap way out.

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Q. I am planning to scrap the siding on my house and was trying to figure out how much it will weigh before I remove it. I currently have 8" panels on my house.

A. 2 squares (200 sq. ft.) of 8" siding weighs about 76 lbs. Hope this helps.

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Q. I'm looking to install aluminum siding but hear it's difficult to keep it level all around the house--start to finish. How would I do this? Thanks!

A. Most siding contractors I know use a transit. Some use a story pole.

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Q. I have a hail damage/siding insurance claim and a contractor that I signed a binding contract with to do the work if I got the claim. Now that I have the claim the contractor has written another contract for the work, with extra work I ask them to perform including gutters, facia, and wrapping all my exterior trim in aluminum. After the contract was signed, my contractor and I both noticed that the insurance company had paid for 13 windows to be wrapped in aluminum, and I only have trim on 5 of my window, leaving me with 8 windows that were paid for that I am not having the work done to ($967.00) which would go in my pocket. Now, the contractor says that they miss measured some things, and is going to charge me $742.00 more than the original contract. My question is am I still obligated to have them do the work, even though they have broken the contract? Remember, I originally signed a seperate contract stating they could do the work, if I got the Ins. Claim. Is that still binding?

A. You're not obligated to do anything if they have breached the contract. If I were you, I would get a lawyer immediately.

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