I need a new roof-what questions do I ask the roofer?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Just hire this guy. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2JNmOJNTsdE

[Charlie Velasquez]

?....Finally, don't pay final bill until it passes inspection! (Our insurance company gave the roofer a "down payment" to cover materials and part of labor, which is typical.)

yes and no. I have paid for materials up front, but now I only pay directly to supplier by credit card (allows you to not actually pay till cc pay date, which gives you time to dispute charge if something goes wrong) and have materials delivered to my house.

I learned the hard way the first time. Thought I did everything right. Went with a young local roofer, got recommendations/references -one from the president of a local bank, went out to look at the guy's work at several other houses. Talked with those homeowners. Spelled out everything in the contract. Gave him a check for materials up front.
What I didn't know was the roofer was going through a divorce, was financially in the hole, and ready to skip town.

Guess he did this to several people before he left.
Sued him and won in absentia, but he never returned to Iowa, and was out the check AND the court cost.

[Jim Matthews]

Hand nailing is better. With gun nailing you get a high percentage of angled nails that tear the shingles. Also a good idea to get high wind nailing. The difference is small, two extra nails per shingle strip.

Hand nailing means the roofer can't afford the current equipment. They charge more for this and there's no evidence that it makes for a better roof.
Any roofer worth their fee has a pneumatic system and moves quickly - they're also more experienced.

Unless they're putting on wooden shingles, this is not a credible assertion.

*****

Proof of insurance for the job and the roofer's crew is vital.
If someone takes a fall or is injured, your homeowner's policy is at risk.

Plus one on making sure the soffit vents are clear.
I used vents built into the drip edge and had ice dams
over every gutter this year - all the vents were sealed,
which created a feedback loop.

When the soffits are exposed, insulation must be pushed back into the attic
to allow a pathway to prevent this sort of problem.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/arti...131346,00.html

[Larry Frank]

Ask for references and go see some roofs that he has done and ask them about how he did along with cleanup. Check how the shingles are laid out along with overhang on gutters. Check your gutters and see if they need replaced.

With my last roof, I walked the yard with the head guy and he was really upset with his guys leaving so many nails in grass and beds.

[Rich Riddle]

Most of the guys I work with in my roofing days could hand nail, I could hand nail about 7 squares of field on a good day,With a Coil nailer I could double that,easy. Never know when the compressor is going to poop out so I would think any decent roofer could hand nail. If he wants to eat.
Plywood instead of OSB is better in my opinion holds nails better.Aj

Plywood is better for many reasons. If it gets a bit damp it won't deteriorate. Its structurally stronger. It holds nails better. Ask if they tarp the roof if rain is near/present. Ask the price to replace bad plywood or OSB per sheet.

[roger wiegand]

Pay the slight extra to double the ice and water shield so that its 4 ft rather than 2 ft up from edges and valleys. On a low slope roof just cover the whole thing with ice and water shield. Its cheap insurance. Avoid guys who use staples at all costs.

[Ole Anderson]

Had our roof done last year, along with 600 roofs in our neighborhood after a hail storm. Ask how many crews the company has and pick one with more crews, and one that has been in business locally over 5 years. Get insurance certs (including workman's comp) and a contract. Get a better quality shingle with a longer warrantee. We went with GAF Timberline dimensional shingles with a lifetime warranty from GAF and a 10 year warranty on labor from the installer. Lifetime GAF warrantee only applies if a minimum number of GAF products are used, in our case shingles, felt, ice and water shield and ridge vent. Almost everyone uses a nail gun. We ended up making final payment before the township inspection as they were 3 month behind and that wasn't the installer's fault. Have them form the ice and water shield down the fascia enough to just be covered by the drip edge. Make sure they ice shield the valleys and 6 feet up the eaves, or further as may be required by code.

A huge item is: will they do a complete tear off? That is the only way they will be able to do the ice and water shield properly. Don't try to save a few bucks by going over your existing shingles, it isn't worth it. Now is the time to make sure you have proper attic ventilation, a good roofer will verify if it meets code, if not, the warranty is no good.

[Larry Edgerton]

Just hire this guy. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2JNmOJNTsdE

He is very fast. Faster than I was in my day, and I could hand nail 15 sq. a day on a good roof. That being said, he is going over the old shingles, so in my book that makes him a hack. A fast hack, but a hack just the same.

Read the fine print in the warranty on most shingles. It is void if done over old shingles, and for good reason. They will last roughly 1/2 as long and the next roof will cost you three times as much for tearoff.

[Phil Thien]

He is very fast. Faster than I was in my day, and I could hand nail 15 sq. a day on a good roof. That being said, he is going over the old shingles, so in my book that makes him a hack. A fast hack, but a hack just the same.

Read the fine print in the warranty on most shingles. It is void if done over old shingles, and for good reason. They will last roughly 1/2 as long and the next roof will cost you three times as much for tearoff.

That video is 15 square a day. So you apparently went that fast.

Agree w/ going over old shingles. Doesn't make financial sense to anyone but a buy flipping a house.

[Andrew Hughes]

I worked with guy who was really fast and he didn't use a nail stripper,He also had a helper feeding him shingles.
He was only good for production his details were horrible.Since I was a foreman I would keep away from the tin shingle runs or valleys.
Whats wrong with a re cover? If the shingle aren't curlying should be good.
One thing always wondered why don't the Midwest roofers break the key ways up. Scratching my head Aj

[Larry Edgerton]

Andrew, our climate is diametrically opposite of yours so what you experience may not be that same as us. I am working in about as bad a climate as you will find for houses. Temps swings of about 150 degrees, and moisture off of the great lakes constantly, with a lot of freeze/thaw cycles as temps jump back and forth across the 32 degree mark for 7 months of the year.

I talked to a GAF rep about it and what he said was two fold, one in our climate moisture gets trapped in the old shingles below and they degrade, compromising the shingles above. Shingles are water resistant contrary to what would seem logical. They can become waterlogged. Probably not a problem in So. Cal. I have seen this when I have torn off roof overs. Moist shingles below all crumbly.

The other thing is heat buildup and this would be an issue where you live. His claim was that without being able to pass heat through to the bottom side of the roof it would essentially boil the tar out of the shingles. Not sure I buy all that factory reps say, so I am just repeating.

Here is an interesting discussion on venting and shingle temp.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...e-temperatures

I think a more important consideration is color. The lighter the better. I did two identical houses 16 years ago at the same time, one in black and one in tan. One is my parents house and when I recommended a lighter color my dad picked black of course. I did mom and dads roof last year and I should have done it the year before. There was no tar left in the shingles, even on the North side that does not get sun at a very steep angle. The house next door was still in fine shape in the tan color. My dad wanted black again until I told him to do it himself.........

This will also help bring down attic temps a bit as well.

I just built a house for myself, did a lot of searching and decided to go with GAF lifetime shingles. That way "I" will never have to put them on again. When I did a search for class action lawsuits, GAf did not come up. Tamko and Certianteed had a ton of them. I have a couple of house I built about 14 years ago with Certianteeds best shingles that are failing. I went and looked at them, but what can I do at this point. Makes me look bad.

If all goes well I will never shingle another roof, but I'm sure I will. I only shingle my own work because it is so hard to find good subs. A bad shingle job can make a straight house look crooked, and I do not want leaks in a new house.

[Phil Thien]

I worked with guy who was really fast and he didn't use a nail stripper,He also had a helper feeding him shingles.
He was only good for production his details were horrible.Since I was a foreman I would keep away from the tin shingle runs or valleys.
Whats wrong with a re cover? If the shingle aren't curlying should be good.
One thing always wondered why don't the Midwest roofers break the key ways up. Scratching my head Aj

I just ran into this on my daughter's house. The seller wanted to just toss a 2nd layer on there. I declined.

And good thing, too. Tore it off and found problems with step flashing that was installed incorrectly, and some other problems that resulted in some rot.

Tear it off, I say.

[Lee Schierer]

I just re-roofed my 16 x 24 pole barn. It had one layer of 3 tab shingles that were old, but very flat.

I told each roofer that came what I wanted, which was:

1. Remove old shingles and take them away.
2. I want at least 30 year warranted shingles to closely match the color on the house.
3. What type of under layment will you use.
4. New drip edge all the way around.
5. Ice and water shield on the upper portion which has a low pitch since it is a Dutch Gambrel style roof.
6. The cupola is functional so I don't want a ridge vent. Remove and re-shingle the cupola.
7. How would they handle the angle change between the upper roof and the lower roof.
8. How long will it take.
9. When can you do it.
10. What is your insurance.
11. What down payment if any do you want. (This ranged from nothing to 1/2)
12. How long have you been in business.
13. Can you provide recent references.
14. I need a written quote of what you are going to do.
15. I gave them a rough time frame of when I wanted the work done by.

I had five roofers give me quotes. One guy wrote his estimate on the back of a business card...he didn't get the job. They ranged from $2350 to $3800 for the same roof. I went with the next to lowest bid, they came 2 days after I said go ahead, finished in a day and a half. They tar[ed the roof over night even though it wasn't supposed to rain and they had the under layment in place. Yes they used nail guns. Yes I watched them work, I didn't observe any crooked nails or torn shingles. The shingles had a white tape nail stripe that they put all the nails into. They put tarps on the ground to catch the old shingles and nails as they came off the roof and cleaned up any debris and nails that missed the tarps. They also swept my driveway where they had parked their truck and did some trimming of shingles. It looks really nice.

[Andrew Hughes]

Yeah I see your point, with your climate it's best to get it right.Ive never had to chase leaks on a half frozen roof leaking in the spring.Sounds like a pain in the ass.
Im glad I don't have to roof anymore to make a living,But I still have some of my tools and make a buck or two now and then plus someday I'll have to do my house.
Shingles were really not my specialty I did lots two piece clay,Spanish style.All kinds nail on,100 percent cement,and wire tye.Still have my nippers.Kinda miss that work.Aj

[Larry Edgerton]

I have been thinking of selling off all the construction equipment just so I can't used it. Especially the roofing stuff!

I HATE working with the harness/safety lines!