As I reside my house, another question has arisen: after our house was built 17 years ago, I built a small pent roof over the French doors that lead to the deck. At that time, I simply attached the ledger over the siding thru to 2nd floor rim joists. I’ve got the old pent roof and LP siding removed and will be residing with Hardiplank over 1/2″ furring (rain screen). Ordinarily, I would have gone ahead and installed the Hardiplank, then the new roof ledger over the siding in the same way as I did the first time, but now I wonder whether I should fasten the new ledger directly to the housewrapped sheathing, then install the rain-screen furring with siding above and below the ledger separately. It will be more work that way, since I’ll have to detail the top and bottom of the rain screen an additional time (more bug screen, etc.), and I don’t plan to install rafters and sheathing + surface until the siding is done (various reasons, one being that I haven’t decided on what kind of roofing surface to use), so at this point I’d basically just be installing the ledger, but aside from leaving space above the ledger and below the first course of siding for roof sheathing and surfacing, are there other reasons I should or shouldn’t do it this way?
FWIW, I’ll also be replacing the window and door trim.
And PS, living room is on 2nd floor, and fireplace chimney is cantilevered out from house (faux brick w/ stainless steel chimney pipe)
Replies
Don't foget the flashing
Just be sure to install your flashing at the roof wall intersection as the siding goes up.
Flashing is the real fly in the ointment for me here. Assuming I install the ledger first (before siding), I won't be installing the rafters or roof sheathing/surfacing until last, so I'll have to figure on how much space to leave to the first siding course above, how to detail the flashing w/o the sheathing present, etc.
If the ledger's pre-installed make it a couple of inches taller and have your roof level be below the top of the ledger, with Z flashing from siding to ledger and another L piece tucked under the Z to carry it onto the roof.
In other words, instead of aligning the top of the rafters (2x4) with the top of the ledger (2x6), move the rafters farther down on the ledger and let the wall end of the sheathing rest on the rafters alone, right? That should work, thanks.
You have the siding off already. Mark out a story pole and figure out what your course runs are, then lay out your ledger location.
Plan it all before you start the siding.
Don't wing it.
A Sharpie and story pole will save you a bunch of grief down the road.
thanks, I'd indeed thought about "winging it" and let the chips fall where they may, but calculating the courses is a much better way to do it.