Fixing hardie plank siding

[nisryus]

So a few weeks back we have experienced a freak hail storm in my area.

The hails ranged from the sizes of pin pong balls to softballs. My east facing side of the house have four to five holes, and the back of the house has one. The chimney also suffered a hit.

A company came and quoted me $4500 to replace the siding. They will also fix the chimney for another $4.5k. So a total of $9k!

Is that normally to cost this much?



chimney and the back

 

[Ken g6]

Personally, I'd be thinking about filler putty and paint for the siding. But I'm a cheapskate and I don't actually know if that's an effective solution for this kind of siding. The other issue might be, not the siding itself, but the location of some of these holes above pitched roofs - a dangerous place to work.

On the other hand, unless the chimney is a cosmetic remnant that has no hot gas going through it, getting it repaired properly is likely a health and safety issue.

 

[Thump553]

You have contacted your homeowner's insurance haven't you-this should be covered.

 

[pete6032]

Insurance should cover it. You probably need a new roof too.

 

[iRONic]

Hopefully your deductible isn’t exorbitant.

 

[Greenman]

I'll fly to wherever you are and repair the siding for the price you were quoted. It's a two day job for a man, if he's slow, less than a hundred bucks worth of material.

 

[nisryus]

Unfortunately, just a few months before this freak hail storm hit, wife listened to her friend on how to save a little money on insurance.. and changed the dedutible from 1% to 5%. So insurance adjuster came and told me they could only give me $2k... the rest I have to pay myself.

So yeah, I have to somehow cough up $15k to fix the roof, and $7k (using the 2k from insurance to bring it down from $9k) for the siding and chimney... this is why i tried to find the less expensive way to fix the sidings first. Several places I contacted all gave me $9k to $7 quotes because they have to replace the entire side and part of the back, and fix the chimeny.

I think like what Ken G said, the chimney only has a corner damaged and can be fixed witout stripping it down. Plus we never use the fireplace, there is no danger for it to catch fire.

Just not sure if the sidings for the entire side of the house, and part of the back, need to be removed and then replaced.

I am thinking of hiring a contractor (hopefully a reputable one) and fix the sidings. Probably cheaper than a company.

But the roof, man, thats gonna hurt.

 

[BoomerD]

Unfortunately, just a few months before this freak hail storm hit, wife listened to her friend on how to save a little money on insurance.. and changed the dedutible from 1% to 5%. So insurance adjuster came and told me they could only give me $2k... the rest I have to pay myself.

So yeah, I have to somehow cough up $15k to fix the roof, and $7k (using the 2k from insurance to bring it down from $9k) for the siding and chimney... this is why i tried to find the less expensive way to fix the sidings first. Several places I contacted all gave me $9k to $7 quotes because they have to replace the entire side and part of the back, and fix the chimeny.

I think like what Ken G said, the chimney only has a corner damaged and can be fixed witout stripping it down. Plus we never use the fireplace, there is no danger for it to catch fire.

Just not sure if the sidings for the entire side of the house, and part of the back, need to be removed and then replaced.

I am thinking of hiring a contractor (hopefully a reputable one) and fix the sidings. Probably cheaper than a company.

But the roof, man, thats gonna hurt.

I don't know how big your house is...nor the complexity of the roof, but $15,000 isn't horrible for re-roofing a house. I had ours done about 2 years ago, with tax, one skylight, ($900) and slightly upgraded shingles ($300) the total was over $14,000....and our roof is relatively simple. AFAIK, the Hardie siding CAN be patched. It might not be quite as good as replacing it...and there's no easy way to check for any water damage under it, but it should be fairly easy to patch. There are specific patching materials made for the cement board...be sure to use one of those, not caulk or something like wood putty.,

 

[nisryus]

The house is 2456 sq ft, two stories. The roof was actually replaced just less than two years ago for $16500 (insurance covered $13500 back then when I had dedutible of 1%) Most houses of similar sizes were between $15000 and $17000.

I have seen those patching materials but were told they are for patching small cracks, nail holes, anything smaller than 1 inch. Since the holes on my siding are two to five inches, patching wouldn't work right.

 

[lxskllr]

If it was me, I'd try patching the siding. It's already broken. You aren't gonna break it more. I'd have to contemplate it in person, but something like a wire backing epoxied to the back of the siding might make a good scaffold for patch material.

 

[Greenman]

Unfortunately, just a few months before this freak hail storm hit, wife listened to her friend on how to save a little money on insurance.. and changed the dedutible from 1% to 5%. So insurance adjuster came and told me they could only give me $2k... the rest I have to pay myself.

So yeah, I have to somehow cough up $15k to fix the roof, and $7k (using the 2k from insurance to bring it down from $9k) for the siding and chimney... this is why i tried to find the less expensive way to fix the sidings first. Several places I contacted all gave me $9k to $7 quotes because they have to replace the entire side and part of the back, and fix the chimeny.

I think like what Ken G said, the chimney only has a corner damaged and can be fixed witout stripping it down. Plus we never use the fireplace, there is no danger for it to catch fire.

Just not sure if the sidings for the entire side of the house, and part of the back, need to be removed and then replaced.

I am thinking of hiring a contractor (hopefully a reputable one) and fix the sidings. Probably cheaper than a company.

But the roof, man, thats gonna hurt.

I seem to have missed the roof damage. Is the entire roof ruined? Can you post a pic?

Patching the siding is possible, though a bit tricky. If the membrane behind the siding is intact, a small square can be cut out and patched in. The manufacturer won't accept it as a proper repair, but it can be done and should get you at least 5 years service. The trick will be finding someone to do it, no contractor wants the liability.

 

[pete6032]

If you are looking at complete roof replacement plus complete siding replacement that would almost certainly be more than 5% of home value unless the land is super valuable?

 

[nisryus]

Spoke with the adjuster again today, since I never got any picture the insurane company took, and the roofer that worked with me never gave me his pictures of the roof. The adjuster actually told me the roof looked ok, there was no holes, only bruises. So the shingles would still last for a year or so. I don't actually need to replace the whole roof now, and can wait a little. Also he said that quote for the siding is too much, and wouldn't be 3k or above.
I am calling several local contractors and see if i can get a better siding prices than that bigger company.

 

[nisryus]

So I have a question on bruised roof shingles.. insurance drone shown about16 to 18 pieces of shingles have bruises.

Is it ok not to replace them for less than a year?

 

[Greenman]

If they're composition shingles, they should be fine for a year.
I don't understand why the roof would need to be replaced because of 18 damaged shingles. Replacing them would be less than a day's work and under a hundred bucks for the material. What am I missing here?

 

[nisryus]

Most roofing companies want to make money.. so far none of the places i called want to do it. They want to me to sign the contract and then see my insurance pay out first

 

[Greenman]

Most roofing companies want to make money.. so far none of the places i called want to do it. They want to me to sign the contract and then see my insurance pay out first

Find a handy man.

 

[nisryus]

Finally found a company that do repair, not replace. Will see how much it will cost me tomorrow when they come and look.

 

[Greenman]

If the fellow asks if it's an insurance job, just reply with "I'll be writing a check".