Roofing a house

[CLT65]

It appears that I need a new roof on my house. It had a nearly new roof when we bought it less than ten years ago, but apparently it wasn't done very well.

It's a single story house, nothing fancy with the roof, shouldn't be too complicated. Only one side is bad at this time. I've never done a roof before and I'm not a carpenter, but I am fairly handy with such things, and I'm tempted to try my hand at it. I have teenagers in the house who can help. It would be very good for them to supply some muscles and learn to work. On the other hand, I'm not as young as I used to be, and I've never done a roof before.

A friend recommended a good roofer who's going to stop by and look at it next week, but he warned me that he's booked out for the next two months, which puts us into next year because of the rain. It's also about $10k, and right now we're getting ready for the next in a long line of surgeries for my wife (new hip). We're not broke, but it would be very nice if I could do it myself and save some money, maybe do just the one side for now.

I've been warned that roofing is a LOT of physical work, and you have to know what you're doing to do it right and not end up with a mess. Any amateur roofers here, any advice?

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[Certaindeaf]

Does it leak? If not, me personally, I'd leave it alone until it does.

 

[frank linkh]

I'd use sno seal as a temporary solution. Re roof in the spring so that the shingles will setup during the summer heat. Find a good crew to tackle this laborus and shop for roofing products during the off season. If you plan accordingly. Find the right people. Roofs should last 20 years or more

 

[Foreverlost]

Been down a similar road before. Had to sue the builder & five contractors. A minimum amount of ice & water shield might be required by the county at the bottom edge of the overhang. Check with the county requirements before starting or letting others start. Depending on roof valleys, etc., certain ways of roofing are not covered by warranty or the manufacturer of the roofing material. If any of the decking (wood sheeting) shows before the shingle is applied the roofing is wrong and will leak.

The county inspectors missed all of the defects, many!!! The consultant which I had to hire found many of the roofing defect by only walking around my house. Others were found while on the roof or a ladder. Contractors know what county inspectors miss. So do the roofers.

Sad to say.................do your homework. Have an idea what type of roof needs to be replace. Check county requirements. Read carefully the warranty and insist on that exact material, no substitutes! Get it all in writing!

Foreverlost,

 

[CLT65]

Leaking is exactly the problem. There have been minor leaks in the worst of winter several times. It's always been around vents and such, and I've sealed them. This last winter it leaked a couple times very slightly, during a rainstorm when the wind was driving from the west. The west part of the house is an add-on, constructed long before we bought it. They enclosed the back patio; the roof in that section has less slope and nothing between roof and ceiling, no attic space there. I was up there yesterday and it's soft in places, will need new plywood.

I expect it will leak a lot worse this coming winter and do more damage. I'm regretting not addressing this several months ago. Our focus has been on medical issues, and unfortunately I've let some things go.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I heard a rumor that comp shakes can't be used? You might have to use architectural shingles.

 

[Foreverlost]

Roofing is a new language for most of us. A real head cratcher for most of us. Did an architect design the add-on? What is the snow load requirement in your county? If your roof has a valley, some architectural shingles can not be used for a closed cut valley. They are too thick, will crack, & leak. Areas where the slope changes, is an area where ice & water shield is a good candidate.

In my neck of the woods ice & water shield on the roof overhang has to extend 24 inches (horizontal inches) inside the living area. One 3 foot wide pass of ice & water shield ain't gonna do it in most installations. Lots of detail for planning ahead.

The last home that I sold took 6 months for the roofer to arrive. Three years to sue the builder and recover $$$$ of my newest home. Knowing that almost everything we own is under a roof......................how is it sooooooo easy to get it wrong?

Foreverlost,

 

[Ferryman]

I had State Roofing put a metal roof on my house about twenty years ago. I'm not shilling, I'm just saying, they did great work, and over the twenty years I had two warranty issues that they came out and fixed with no waiting, and no argument. I subsequently had them redo my gutters, again, very happy with the result.

 

[Cavedweller]

Did it once - it nearly killed me. It's hard, hot work. Had a friend who had experience with roofing, so I didn't have to figure out what to do, just supplied labor. None the less, it's backbreaking work. I wouldn't try it again, but then I'm way to old for that now.

One thing to think about: When you take an old roof off, especially where there have been leaks, you should expect to find more problems than just the roof. This may cause delays and additional expenses. If not, consider yourself lucky.

That said, I would definitely advise working with a contractor. If you want to save money, see if you can do so by removing the old roof yourself. You don't need to be super skilled to do the demolition part. Maybe they will give you a discount for that. Also if they don't have to deal with disposal of the old materials, that may save you money.

If I were you, I would check out the price of a metal roof. If you plan to stay in that house, you'll never have to do it again, and it's about the same price as a shingle roof, or was when I did it last time (about 2018). That's my 2 cents, and good luck with it.

 

[boattail]

I have seen too many home roof jobs go bad. My neighbor had a carport added between his house and shop. The guy broke every rule there was to break. It took two years for a leak he created to finally show up in the house wall. By then the entire wall and floor were damaged. Add on's can be especially troublesome as people often forget the basic rules of proper construction.

If you have to ask if you can do it just wait for the contractor and pay to have it done......

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'm for sod. With a goat on top. Pretty simple really

 

[CLT65]

The reason I ask is because I have some perfectionist tendencies. While I've never roofed a house, I have done smaller projects before, and they've always turned out well. I don't do halfway, and I don't cut corners. If I decide to do it myself, it will be done right, or I won't do it.

I suppose I could have just not asked at all, but a guy's got to start somewhere...

 

[teflon6string]

Didn't read every post above, but here's what I did a few years ago.

I was fortunate to "re-roof" my last home by putting a second layer of regular asphalt shingles over the existing one. Saved a substantial amount by not paying for the demo, new paper, etc. It's waterproof, of course, and provides better insulation in winter and summer. Doing that again would not be an option since (to my limited understanding) you can only have two layers. Contractor asked if I wanted a 25-year or 40-year warranty. I was selling the place that year anyway, and I reminded him that we'd both probably be toes-up in a couple decades, so we went with 25.

 

[boattail]

The reason I ask is because I have some perfectionist tendencies. While I've never roofed a house, I have done smaller projects before, and they've always turned out well. I don't do halfway, and I don't cut corners. If I decide to do it myself, it will be done right, or I won't do it.

I suppose I could have just not asked at all, but a guy's got to start somewhere...

It's a lot of work to strip a house down. With the issues you already have going on taking the time needed to do a roof does not sound like something I would do.

I was working in construction for a time and did some roofing but when it came time to do my own I sourced and bought all the materials then hired a guy to do the work. I ended up saving some cash by being his lacky and buying products direct from the factory. I was working nights and was home all day and I started cleaning up for him....just puttering around I managed to do all his cleanup so he did not have to hire a clean up crew. He cut my price for my efforts. My second home was much harder and I picked a contractor that used the best products. I negotiated everything down to the kind of staples used, and settled on a price with him. When it came time for the unseen repairs to the wood structure I bought all the stuff, painted it all, and had his guys install it. I was very active in the process. I had to be one step ahead of him though so I did not slow him down. He gave me a rundown of possible repairs during tear off and I jumped on getting supplies asap for him.

I liked the fact that the roofer was up on all the codes, new what worked best, and installed everything correctly and did the entire 43 square job in three days. That and the warranty he offered.....peace of mind!

 

[CLT65]

I was working in construction for a time and did some roofing but when it came time to do my own I sourced and bought all the materials then hired a guy to do the work. I ended up saving some cash by being his lacky and buying products direct from the factory. I was working nights and was home all day and I started cleaning up for him....just puttering around I managed to do all his cleanup so he did not have to hire a clean up crew. He cut my price for my efforts.

That sounds like a smart way to do it.

It really looks like the main problem is over the add-on area. I know there's issues beneath the roofing, as there are a couple soft spots indicating rotten plywood (only on the shallow-slope add-on area). I'm really wondering if it's feasible to re-roof the one side only. It's a straight run with nothing fancy, no gables, valleys, windows, just a few vents and the add-on area.

I have a professional roofer coming to take a look next week. He comes highly recommended by a couple different friends, as someone who is honest and does good work. We're not broke, but $10k is a very big deal for us. The only single thing I've spent that much money on in my life (besides the house) was my truck. I paid $11k for it 21 years ago, and I'm still driving it! I've never gotten too tied up in a vehicle; so long as it runs good and gets me where I want to go, I'm happy.

We bought a new(er) car for my wife a couple years ago, paid $4k for an '09 Scion. Great little car for the money, and she just came home about an hour ago to tell me that she crunched the front fender on it this afternoon. It hasn't been a terribly good day today.

 

[Provincial]

We had a roof replaced on a 25-year-old manufactured home that we inherited and use as a rental. The original roof was made with poor quality materials (OSB sheathing, cheap staples, thin asphalt shingles, inadequate tar paper/ice shield, etc.) and a roof design created by the sales department (probably without any engineering review) that let water back up and get past the sheathing, into the ceiling.

We hired a roofer with good references, and I worked closely with him to get the problems fixed. He had a good crew, so everything went well. This winter we will find out how well it is working, but I am confident that it was done right.

Plywood was very expensive at the time, but it has come back down some. All the other materials have gone up. You may find that material for your job will be more expensive that you expect. It sounds like you have high standards, and that will help keep the quality of the job good. Don't go less than 30-year asphalt shingles, if you choose to go that way. I've seen even 25-year shingles fail way early.

We have had two shop buildings re-roofed with "hidden fastener" steel panels. I have been very happy with them. We live in the forest, but have large open hay fields around the building complex that acts as a fire break. The metal roofs will help keep airborne cinders from setting us on fire if things go bad. We find that the steel roofs require little maintenance, and look good.

When choosing a roofer, customer references are your friend. Ask around your area to check out reputations. I think that doing it yourself would be hard, especially if your wife is having a knee done. Mine had one done a few years ago, and needed more support (physical and emotional) than she expected. Being there for her is more important than the roof!

 

[TTSX]

I'm currently roofing mine and it's a TON of work. More than you think going into it. Only done a couple of roofs, myself, though if you're older and haven't done one before, I'd wait until next season so you don't have anything uncovered when the rain starts this month. Even a bad roof is better than no roof at all

My materials cost, fwiw, are looking at about $3500-4k, less than half of that is shingles. It's everything else that's truly expensive

 

[CLT65]

When choosing a roofer, customer references are your friend. Ask around your area to check out reputations. I think that doing it yourself would be hard, especially if your wife is having a knee done. Mine had one done a few years ago, and needed more support (physical and emotional) than she expected. Being there for her is more important than the roof!

Thanks everyone, you all have me inclined to hire a professional. I'm not "old" yet, but I'm not young anymore either. The guy coming next week did good work for two different friends of mine, both reliable, respectable people themselves.

My wife is getting a new hip actually, not a knee. We've been through this so many time it's getting to be routine. Tumors ate up her ankle joint ten years ago, and she's been through I think seven ankle surgeries, eventually resulting in an artificial ankle as well as a fused subtalar joint. Her ankle is finally doing better, but lately her hip was hurting. She had an MRI done and found that tumors are now eating up her hip joint. The doctor said he's not used to doing hips on anyone in their 40's, but there's just no other option in this case.

Like I said, we're not broke but we have spent a small fortune on medical bills in the last ten years, so I was trying to figure out how to avoid spending $10k on a roof. If it must be done though, it must be done. I'm starting to get the feeling that it may be for the best to hire it done.

 

[JackFrost]

Roofing is a sonofabuck when it comes to tear off and resheating, but after that it's not too bad, especially if it's a single story with no goofy angles, offset valleys and no surprises which by your description it sounds pretty straightforward.
If you have help then I say go for it, there are a ton of video tutorials on YouTube if you get stuck, and as long as you install your flashing correctly and overlap all the shingles properly you are good to go. Just FYI, due to the scamdemic, comp Roofing is in short supply, we are getting ready to reroof our house and the 1st 3 color choices my wife picked are all unavailable.

 

[TTSX]

Roofing is a sonofabuck when it comes to tear off and resheating, but after that it's not too bad, especially if it's a single story with no goofy angles, offset valleys and no surprises which by your description it sounds pretty straightforward.
If you have help then I say go for it, there are a ton of video tutorials on YouTube if you get stuck, and as long as you install your flashing correctly and overlap all the shingles properly you are good to go. Just FYI, due to the scamdemic, comp Roofing is in short supply, we are getting ready to reroof our house and the 1st 3 color choices my wife picked are all unavailable.

Where were you looking, what colors? My first choice had one package left, kind of a gray/brown, but every single other option from every brand had more than enough. At Jerry's. I think they even had the oddly popular green available