Dynamic Duo Tackles the Outside

My house is covered in faded yellow asbestos shingles.  Under those are the original cedar shingles, forest green.  Because I watch way to much #RehabAddict with @NicoleCurtis I briefly had plans to remove the asbestos to expose the cedar and have it painted.  I quickly got pass that plan after the box gutters were restored.  It totally changed how the house looked and the asbestos shingles actually looked good, to me.  All I needed to do was replace the missing and broken, about 50 shingles.

As everyone should know asbestos is a health hazard and those shingles are no longer available, but GAF makes an excellent solution for replacing asbestos siding, WeatherSide Profile Shingles, that I was able to purchase from Home Depot.  With drywall sanding underway inside, now was the perfect time to tackle this project.  Plus I’m on a countdown clock with my father’s help as he returns home in less than a week.  Months ago I reached out to Ohio’s EPA and learned that a single family dwelling is unregulated, which means the “dreaded expensive abatement company”, frequently shown on every HGTV, DIY show was not necessary as I could remove the shingles myself.  I will need to take them to an approved landfill, Rumpke, but I’ve made that haul twice and it’s no big deal.

As with the gutters the house had to get uglier first, so the first couple of days my cousin Cameron and my father tackled taking down the broken shingles, putting up shims (old pieces of the lathe I saved), and felt paper.  They used a small chisel to gently loosen the existing nails and then nail puller pliers to remove the broken asbestos shingles.

 

Fighting rain for two days the three of us managed to get the new shingles in place.  This was probably the easiest, first time, project I’ve tackled at the house.

 

We broke a few, new and old, on the learning curve, so I’ll need to order another case of shingles or try to find someplace that sells them by the piece.  I only need about 5 more, 18 come in a case, to finish some spots near the gutters.  Once complete I hope to have the house painted by RhinoShield by the end of year.  The house will transforms to Sea Serpent blue and the trim Incredible White.   These are the house colors from HGTV’s 2017 Urban Oasis Giveaway, it was my favorite of all the Urban Giveaway homes, thus far.  I will not be adding the pink door however, instead it will be They call it Mellow yellow, homage to the faded yellow that has stood for probably 60 years.

RhinoShield is a coating, not paint, that has a 25 year product warranty against cracking, chipping, and peeling.  I have gotten a quote to have the house painted and was pleasantly surprised when RhinoShield came in similar to the paint quote.  I asked them for three references, preferably asbestos homes, and all owners raved over their work.
Plus it turned out that my favorite painted house in the neighborhood was done with RhinoShield too.

If any of my followers has a connection with RhinoShield corporate and could work out a product donation for me, I’d be much obliged!