New roof tips?

[kul]

Hi! We’re getting a new roof in a couple of months. Waiting to get bids, but in the mean time wanted to ask - has anyone here gotten their roof replaced? Ours is just a tile roof. Anything to look out for in terms of picking a contractor? Or things to keep in mind in general? Or anything you recall that was something you wished you knew beforehand?

We don’t know very much about roofs, but are about to learn a lot more.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

With our roof Skippy went around with a big magnet after the crew left to find all the dropped nails and such. Not sure if a tile roof actually uses nail? But it was worthwhile doing for sure. Try to cover your pool as debris will get in there

Maddie

 

[PoolStored]

Make sure you get a double layer of synthetic felt under your tiles...

 

[kul]

With our roof Skippy went around with a big magnet after the crew left to find all the dropped nails and such. Not sure if a tile roof actually uses nail? But it was worthwhile doing for sure. Try to cover your pool as debris will get in there

Maddie

Thanks for the tip. Yes. They require nails. I wonder if we have a tiled roof. Uhm. It’s composite shingles. Sorry. Anyway, yes nails required. And will cover the pool!

 

[Newdude]

Miss Kul, I'm saddened to say I'm disappointed in you. You MOST certainly know better. I shallst await the pics, lest this thread be useless.

 

[kul]

current roof

 

[Toxophilite]

current roof

Why a new roof? Those shingles don't look bad at all. Hail damage?

 

[Newdude]

THANKS. Have some links.

Asphalt Shingles vs. Composite (Synthetic) Shingles: Which is Better?

Trying to decide between asphalt shingles and composite (synthetic) shingles for your roof replacement? If so, you need to know how asphalt shingles compare to composite (synthetic) shingles are key factors. In this article, we compare the two materials on curb appeal, lifespan, materials, and cost.

www.billraganroofing.com

Learn Everything You Need to Know About Your Roof

As a homeowner, you should know a thing or two about what is shielding your most valuable asset from the elements.

www.dumpsters.com

Composite Shingles: Are They Better Than Standard Asphalt Shingles?

Learn who comes out on top in the battle of composite shingles vs. asphalt shingles in our comprehensive guide.

www.fixr.com

Bob Vila’s Guide to Roofing

To help you decide which of today's many roofing materials will work best on your home, take a look at our quick, cut-to-the-chase rundown of the most common options.

www.bobvila.com

5 Steps to Hiring the Right Roofer

Roofing ranks among the largest and most expensive projects a homeowner can undertake. Make certain you hire a roofing contractor you trust.

www.bobvila.com

10 TIPS FOR CHOOSING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR

When it comes to your home improvement projects, DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Here's Mike Holmes' 10 tips for choosing a roofing contractor.

makeitright.ca

Click 'find a contractor' on the GAF website for certified installers in your area

GAF Timberline Shingles & Roofing Materials | GAF Roofing

GAF Roofing shingles and roofing materials from North America’s largest roofing manufacturer. Roofing supplies, roof vents, asphalt, and membrane roofing.

www.gaf.com

 

[kul]

Why a new roof? Those shingles don't look bad at all. Hail damage?

During the last couple of years, heavy rains have led to leaks near a skylight. We replaced the skylight, and that did not help. We learned this year that basically we were sold a skylight replacement we didn’t need because the issue is the roof shingles- water under the bridge now.

This year we continued to have a leak in the same area. The roof has a large flat section. Water is pooling on the shingles and then going into the roof etc. We had about 5 roof repair companies come out and all had the same finding which is that the shingles need replacement around the flat part of the roof. also discovered some other areas of the roof where tiles are worn. The cost for repairs was about half the cost of a roof and not guaranteed to last very long. The roof is about 20 years old. So we have decided to just bite the bullet and get it all fixed at one time and hopefully solve our leak issues.
The alternative would be to do the repairs and cross our fingers and then pay for a full roof in about 5 years. So financially, since we have to eventually get a roof anyway didn’t make sense to spend money first on the repairs and then on the full roof. No contractor around here will do a half roof later.

 

[kul]

Gosh @Newdude ! Thanks for those links. Looks like we are actually dealing with asphalt shingles. Now a lot more of what we were told by various roof repair companies makes more sense, especially about their longevity. Additionally, whoever installed these 20 years ago left out flashing in several key joint areas so that will be something to do this time around.
Not blaming, just not always sure of how work was done on roofs around here at that time. I see some neighbors have roofs similar to mine without flashing at the joints and they are also older. Hmmm. My walks around the neighborhood have gotten more interesting - I was just looking at colors before.

 

[ajw22]

How old is your roof and tiles?

I had a 25 year old tile roof that had the roofing paper deteriorating and developing some leaks.

My roofer did the following:

• Removal of all tiles from top to bottom, including wood strips
• Replacement of any rotted plywood of which there was little
• Install new rubber ice and water shield as underlayment
• Install new lead copper coated drip flashings along gutter lines
• Install new 18" wide lead copper coated valleys and chimney flashing
• Install tiles back using existing tiles or new ones

He did not know how many tiles would be broken when removed and he had me buy 10% new tiles which was 300 tiles at $30 each and he ended up using maybe 200 of them.

The old underlayment looked like this in spots...



And they installed...

 

[ajw22]

Ah, so we are talking about a shingle roof.

I did a shingle roof on my sons house we renovated on LI. Not sure about the age of the roof as he just bought the house and the roof was the first things we did on it.

When the roofers got on the roof they said it felt like a trampoline and the plywood as the thickness of cardboard. Here is what came off the roof...

 

[kul]

Thanks for the detailed information @ajw22
Yes this is a shingled roof - with a large flat section where we have a skylight. The roof is roughly 20 years old. We bought this home in 2020 so are not super sure about the level of detail regarding what was done at that time. I have a feeling that some of the plywood surrounding the flat area will need replacement, but of course won’t know the scoop until the top layer is removed.
For your son’s home with the shingles - did he go with asphalt shingles or did he splurge with composite?
My understanding from reading so far is composite last longer but are much more expensive. I won’t know the price for sure until we start bids in May.

While I’m not completely sure, I think our missing flashings have shortened the life of this roof. Sometimes with things like this it’s hard to say how the damage occurred over time and if it was due to poor installation, information available about roofing at the time, etc.

 

[NCMike]

Id at least get your homeowners insurance to take a look at it. That's what they are their for. They may be able to offset some or all of the cost of the replacement.

 

[ajw22]

He did Owens Corning architectural, charcoal grey, asphalt shingles with 3 foot ice shield membrane and synthetic felt underlayment.

In 2020 he had an allowance for the replacement of 10 sheets of plywood. Any additional plywood will be charged at $75.00 a sheet conversely any replacement less than 10 sheets will result in a refund to the homeowner.

I specified the number of nails per shingle but don't remember what that was.

On my roof I had problems with the flashing around the plumbing vents that was not done correctly. And I had the gutters replaced and there was not flashing covering the gap between the gutter and the roof.

You can see the gap here between the gutter and roof...




In this pic you can see the metal flashing they put on that overlapped the roof and gutters to seal the gap...

 

[VinnyinNJ]

We had our roof replaced here in NJ, it was 2 layers thick and it was about 40 YO (estimate that the top layer was around 20 YO). We replaced it with 30 year asphalt shingles. There are 2 types of shingles that I am aware of totally flat and ones that have texture to them. If you get the totally flat, they are usually cheaper and you may be able to get another layer on top of them if the code allows it these days. We had to replace the top half of our house due to a wind storm coming through and ripping some of the shingles off the new roof being about 6 YO.

You want them to remove all the shingles, examine the wood underneath the shingles and replace any that may be bad. Here in the NE, they need to put a ice shield membrane under the first course followed by roofing paper. You should have all new flashing around skylights and any protrusions coming from the roof. They cut a ridge vent into the roof and put a plastic ridge vent cap along with shingles. Depending on the size of your roof they can probably do a tear off and replace in one day.

Yes you'll find stuff around even though they tarp and try to be as clean as they can. If you can use a strong magnet to pick up the nails, they do sell a rolling device for this, not sure how expensive it is.

Here's a photo of the roof with texture, I think they call it something like Architectural Shingles. I left the photo larger so you can kind of see they have texture to them and the ridge vent can be seen.

 

[kul]

He did Owens Corning architectural, charcoal grey, asphalt shingles with 3 foot ice shield membrane and synthetic felt underlayment.

In 2020 he had an allowance for the replacement of 10 sheets of plywood. Any additional plywood will be charged at $75.00 a sheet conversely any replacement less than 10 sheets will result in a refund to the homeowner.

I specified the number of nails per shingle but don't remember what that was.

On my roof I had problems with the flashing around the plumbing vents that was not done correctly. And I had the gutters replaced and there was not flashing covering the gap between the gutter and the roof.

You can see the gap here between the gutter and roof...


View attachment 480961

In this pic you can see the metal flashing they put on that overlapped the roof and gutters to seal the gap...

View attachment 480962

Thanks for giving me an idea of what a contract should include. Especially regarding plywood. I appreciate the pictures of the flashing. That is very important and we want to make sure since we are doing it all that it’s done properly.

 

[kul]

We had our roof replaced here in NJ, it was 2 layers thick and it was about 40 YO (estimate that the top layer was around 20 YO). We replaced it with 30 year asphalt shingles. There are 2 types of shingles that I am aware of totally flat and ones that have texture to them. If you get the totally flat, they are usually cheaper and you may be able to get another layer on top of them if the code allows it these days. We had to replace the top half of our house due to a wind storm coming through and ripping some of the shingles off the new roof being about 6 YO.

You want them to remove all the shingles, examine the wood underneath the shingles and replace any that may be bad. Here in the NE, they need to put a ice shield membrane under the first course followed by roofing paper. You should have all new flashing around skylights and any protrusions coming from the roof. They cut a ridge vent into the roof and put a plastic ridge vent cap along with shingles. Depending on the size of your roof they can probably do a tear off and replace in one day.

Yes you'll find stuff around even though they tarp and try to be as clean as they can. If you can use a strong magnet to pick up the nails, they do sell a rolling device for this, not sure how expensive it is.

Here's a photo of the roof with texture, I think they call it something like Architectural Shingles. I left the photo larger so you can kind of see they have texture to them and the ridge vent can be seen.View attachment 480968

Thanks for the details. I’m not familiar with ridge vents so will read about them. The vents we have on our roof at this time look like silver chef hats that spin. I like the textured look on your roof!

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Thanks for the details. I’m not familiar with ridge vents so will read about them. The vents we have on our roof at this time look like silver chef hats that spin. I like the textured look on your roof!

Thanks! The textured roof is something that was/is "in". You can't see it in the photo but the roof also has slightly different similar colors in it. The ridge vent was new to me as I had a gable vent and I wanted to put one of those mushroom shaped ventilators on the roof but the roofer said these are better because there's no moving parts to wear out. The concept of the ridge vent is hot air rises, goes out the ridge and is replaced by cooler air. I've seen some of the vents you are speaking of but here in NJ they are usually rusted where they won't move anymore.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks for the details. I’m not familiar with ridge vents so will read about them. The vents we have on our roof at this time look like silver chef hats that spin. I like the textured look on your roof!

We did ridge vents on my sons roof. He had one of those spinning round vents. It was removed and a sheet of plywood filled the space.

I would expect that ridge vent would be standard construction in 2023. They sawcut off the tip of the roof and installed the ridge vent the entire length.