In my first post on my Breaking Down The Roof series, I covered the steps prior to roof removal. Today I will discuss the actual process of tearing off the shingles and preparing the house to be re-roofed.
Preparing The Yard
Your contractor likely will have the materials delivered a day or so before getting started. This is to ensure that the materials are there when they need them.
When they arrive, you will likely notice they they brought tarps with them. This is to assist in protecting your landscaping. It will also make clean up much easier.
Old Roof Removal
First off, we need a clean slate. To do this, we need to remove the existing roof. Be wary of contractors who recommend going over the existing roof as a cost saving measure. If you don’t have a clean surface to work with, problems will occur sooner rather than later. If your contractor is recommending this, then chances are that contractor won’t be around to warranty their work. Technically, most manufacturer material warranties will allow overlaying shingles, however, none of the manufacturer’s extended warranties will permit it.
There are an incredibly rare number of times that I recommend leaving the original felt paper (underlayment). If it is a lower-pitch roof, or if there is a high rain chance, are about the only 2 times that I recommend it. It is a good practice to remove all the existing felt so that you can properly inspect the decking.
When preparing the existing roof deck, it is perfectly acceptable to hammer slightly pulled out nails back into the decking. We do not need to pull out every single nail from the decking for it to be solid. To pull out every single nail would be time consuming, labor intensive, and just isn’t necessary. I have had several homeowners ask me to go ahead and do that, and my response each time is that it would be more cost effective to go ahead and replace all the decking instead.
A Word About Decking
If there are old wood shake shingles on 1”x4” runners, you need to have the wood shingles removed, and decking installed. There are several different types of decking, from shiplap (often 1”x6” planks), to oriented strand board (OSB) with radiant barrier. I will cover those in depth in another post. Keep in mind, old 1″x8″ decking is NOT code compliant. In cases where 1″x8″ decking is already installed, it will need to be replaced, or additional decking installed over top of it.
If there is currently a wood deck, then you simply need to determine if it is in good shape. If rot is detected, there will typically be an additional charge. Be sure that it is outlined on the contract what those charges will be before signing! So often unscrupulous contractors will “discover” areas at the end of the project. This can drive up the cost by hundreds of dollars! Ask to see photos if your contractor is claiming that they need to replace large areas of decking.
Until next time,
Travis Diekmann
The Texan Roofer
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