Our name may be Gunner Roofing, but it’s always a treat when we get called upon to completely transform the exterior of a home through our other lines of business as well. Professional siding contractor? Check. Pro window installation? Check. You do gutter work? Check.
A New Rochelle homeowner needed our expertise when he decided to make over the outside of his house, specifically the roofing, siding, and gutters. In addition to making everything great-looking on the house, we worked with him to complete a solution for the water drainage issues he was having from storms.
HardiePlank Siding Replacement
New Rochelle, NY
Before we go on, let’s take a second to talk about an important but often overlooked aspect when considering a remodel job, as this had a (thankfully) slight impact on this project: permits. Depending on the state and/or town where, say, a roof installation or exterior siding replacement was needed, permits can be tedious and time-consuming, not only to fill out and submit, but also to getting back into your hands with approval. Until that happens, it’s usually mission impossible.
It’s essential to know the rules for the areas you cover. For instance, Connecticut house projects require contractor permits for just about any kind of work. In New York, on the other hand, you don’t always need a permit to do a roof or siding installation if it’s not structurally changing your home. So if you’re not touching the plywood, decking, or sheathing and just replacing shingles or siding, you’re in good shape. No roofing or siding permits needed.
That was the case for this New Rochelle siding (and more) job. The home’s plywood on the roof and sides was in really good shape, so we weren’t going to need to replace it or file a permit. Or so we thought, despite knowing the repair ordinances and receiving approval after checking in with the local building department.
HardiePlank Siding Replacement
New Rochelle, NY
Once we began work, though, we received a visit from someone from the building department. He said that we were missing a permit; we thought this was strange since our project manager had already cleared this job through the visitor’s own office.
Well, turns out we were correct about the repair stuff, but we needed one for a “temporary structure” … which turned out to be, well, a dumpster! (Even this permit isn’t always necessary, depending on the area, but a neighbor apparently didn’t like the idea of seeing it every day and inquired to the building department whether we had/needed a permit for this neighborhood. Which is understandable but also amusing, as we specifically use a dumpster service that features shiny-red and super-clean receptacles that are about the nicest ones you could ever lay eyes on – for what they’re designed for!)
Fortunately, because of the circumstances, we were able to work with the building department to fill out the paperwork quickly and be allowed to keep working in the meantime, so we only lost about a half a day on the timeline.
Back to the project specifics. If you know us, you know we’re James Hardie Badge carriers when it comes to siding. We only install the James Hardie fiber cement brand of lap siding and are a member of that brand’s siding contractor alliance.
Fiber cement siding vs. vinyl siding … no contest for the long run. Vinyl might be less costly, but HardiePlank lap siding is five times thicker, offers better protection against weather than vinyl (or wood), and requires less maintenance. These are things to ponder if you ever seek a James Hardie quote.
The customer chose the Cedarmill plank lap siding option. This Pearl Gray siding was a great color choice to complement the house’s stonework. He also selected GAF Charcoal shingles for the roof and white seamless gutters.
The roof installation went off according to plan, and we coordinated with the homeowner to adjust the gutter placement so that water would drain more efficiently. He had dug up his yard to install underground drains, so in tandem with our work, water coming off the roof would go straight from the gutters to the downspouts and into the underground drains, away from the house.
HardiePlank Siding Replacement
New Rochelle, NY
This was one of those times when doing several repair projects at one time was a good thing, as that allowed us to execute the new gutter plan in one swoop.
And the project’s before-and-after pictures don’t lie. It’s definitely one of those makeovers where you practically can’t tell it was the same house – everything so updated, fresh, and beautiful..
City: New Rochelle
State: New York
ZIP: 10804
Category: Siding
Materials used (manufacturer): James Hardie
Materials used (type): HardiePlank Lap Siding
Materials used (color): Pearl Gray
Project Cost: $40,000
Time to Complete: 10 days