Chicago siding and roofing contractors?

[pipper]

Hopefully there are some Chicago folks that can provide a local reference. I need to re-side and re-roof my garage. Anyone know of a good, cheap and fast (or can I only pick two?) contractor or company? Northside / Lakeview area.

I also guess I could tackle it myself. Anyone ever done siding before? Hanging the long strips is probably simple enough, but how much of an “art” is all of the detail and corner work? Does it require specialized tools?

Thanks-
Matt

[Trom]

I don’t have a personal recommendation, but I think you might want to check out the Consumers’ Checkbook.

I see the yearly price is now $34. I think I signed up for $15 awhile ago. You might be able to find a deal somewhere.

Chicago Consumers’ CHECKBOOK gives you independent, nonprofit, no-advertising ratings you can trust of local auto repair shops, plumbers, veterinarians, banks, doctors, dentists, carpet cleaners … and much more … plus in-depth articles with advice from CHECKBOOK’s award-winning magazine. CHECKBOOK saves you time and money for the things that matter.

edit: I see the $34 is for a 2 year sub

[robsam]

Well well well, Mr. Pipper its good that you want to do your re roofing by your own but sometimes it really becomes troublesome, specially if you don’t have enough knowledge about it. As you said in your post that you guess, you can do it ( not sure ) then why wasting time and money. And yes you do need tools for that. I would recommend you to hire a contractor who can help you out on your project. :rolleyes:

[Sparky812]

@pipper

Hopefully there are some Chicago folks that can provide a local reference. I need to re-side and re-roof my garage. Anyone know of a good, cheap and fast (or can I only pick two?) contractor or company? Northside / Lakeview area.

I also guess I could tackle it myself. Anyone ever done siding before? Hanging the long strips is probably simple enough, but how much of an “art” is all of the detail and corner work? Does it require specialized tools?

Thanks-

Matt

It depends the type and size of the roof as well as how handy you are.
There are some tools that may facilitate the job but basically you can use a spade, a hammer, and a utility knife.

Basic siding is even simpler.

[zoid]

I’m assuming you’re using roofing shingles? If so, depending on the size of the grage you can do it yourself in a day. It’s not rocket science, someone at Home depot could probably walk you through it and show you what you need.
The one thing you have to look for is any wood that needs to be replaced. If you’re comfortable with basic rough carpentry you probably already have an idea what this would entail. Depending upon how much of the roof deck you have to replace this could make it take up to another day or so I guess.
The tearoff is where you’re going to spend a good deal of effort and time. It’s a sweatly dirty job. If you don’t get a dumpster it’s a pain to get all the torn up shingles into the trash and if you don’t putdown tarps you’ll be finding bit’s of shingle in your driveway and lawn for the next few years. Plus now that uoi’re got the roof torn off there’s no protection against the rain. This is a big deal on a house but maybe not so much with a garage, but if you finish the tearoff and the sun’s gone down and it looks like rain…

It’s doable but will go much faster if you can rope in a friend or two.

[zoid]

@zoid

I’m assuming you’re using roofing shingles? If so, depending on the size of the garage you can do it (the shingling) yourself in a day. It’s not rocket science, someone at Home depot could probably walk you through it and show you what you need.
The one thing you have to look for is any wood that needs to be replaced. If you’re comfortable with basic rough carpentry you probably already have an idea what this would entail. Depending upon how much of the roof deck you have to replace this could make it take up to another day or so I guess.
The tearoff is where you’re going to spend a good deal of effort and time. It’s a sweatly dirty job. If you don’t get a dumpster it’s a pain to get all the torn up shingles into the trash and if you don’t putdown tarps you’ll be finding bit’s of shingle in your driveway and lawn for the next few years. Plus now that uoi’re got the roof torn off there’s no protection against the rain. This is a big deal on a house but maybe not so much with a garage, but if you finish the tearoff and the sun’s gone down and it looks like rain…

It’s doable but will go much faster if you can rope in a friend or two.

I ment to say adove the actualy shingling may take a day - the whole process is a good long weekend.

[Graham_66]

@pipper

Hopefully there are some Chicago folks that can provide a local reference. I need to re-side and re-roof my garage. Anyone know of a good, cheap and fast (or can I only pick two?) contractor or company? Northside / Lakeview area.

I also guess I could tackle it myself. Anyone ever done siding before? Hanging the long strips is probably simple enough, but how much of an “art” is all of the detail and corner work? Does it require specialized tools?

Thanks-
Matt

Hello Matt, how are you?
I suggest you not to try to fix it yourself because it’s risky and is hard too. I guess you would better have to contact roofing contractors like as Dallas roofing contractors and some other famous contractors. They will repair your roof in cheap price and with grantee, then why just to waste time?
Good bye.