Replacing Weatherboards

We have mainly a double-brick house, except for the very back (which obviously was an extension) which is weatherboards. The weatherboards down one side are due for replacement: the top ones are cracked and are letting in the weather, and possums have decided to finish a few off with their teeth and make our roof space their home.

The area in question is about 2.8m wide, and about 8 metres high (we have high ceilings inside). There are 36 weatherboards in total. Strictly speaking, only the top 10 or so weatherboards need replacing now, but I figure that they all might as well be done as several of the others are showing their age.

I got our regular carpenter in to give us a quote. Since it is high, scaffolding is required. He quoted $1300 for the scaffolding (installed) for a few days (which seems about right), and $4000 for himself for the job (including materials).

$4000 for the job, to me, sounds ridiculously high for a job which seems to be easy (since the scaffolding will already be in place). I phoned around, and found that hardwood weatherboards can be bought for $17 each, so under $800 for materials (including delivery). That leaves $3200 for labour.

It appears that each board gets nailed on at the bottom, through the top of the board behind it, to the joists behind. There are 5 joists. So about 200 nails.

I'm now considering doing the job myself. It seems all pretty easy to me. I've replaced two or three weatherboards before and it hasn't been hard. I think I could rip of the existing boards in a couple of hours, then spend the rest of the day nailing new ones on.

Admittedly, there is a bit of work at the top (a couple of extra pieces of wood). But where does $3200 labour come from (about $16 per nail)? Am I missing something?

Attached is a pic of the wall in question.

Attached Thumbnails http://www.renovateforum.com/attachm...therboards.jpg



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