Roofing

[Bun-bun]

Before you start, you want to read the manufacturers instruction for nail sched and underlayment spec.  If you deviate from that they will not warranty the roof, even if your change had nothing to do with the problem.  Any shingle I've put down called for the nail to go below the tar strip.  I've never laid a 5-tab shingle, but on a traditional 3-tab if you put the nails in the center of the tab it will be exposed when you lay the next course.  High wind nailing calls for a nail on each end and two nails over each cut-out instead of one.  +1 on the cool day, or at least no direct sun.

Dan has a point. That should have read ON the tar line. The 5 nails per shingle comes from the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) guidelines for roofing(revised). The nails will not show since the tar line is above the cut on the overlapping shingle.


Good catch.

[Vindingo]

another "BIG" little detail is that tar paper is SUPER slippery when it isnt stapled in.  Do NOT roll it out and then attempt to stand on it while it is on the roof.  I was reroofing a house with this idot and he fell off of the second story.  It seemed to happen in slow motion and I couldnt stop laughing!  The dude fell 18' and he was fine! 

You also might want to get one of those nifty foam pads to kneel on so you dont fall off of the edge.  Stay cool  (you should have done this a 2 months ago  )

[Bun-bun]

Ihad one customer who really liked the look of the architectural shingles, but didn't like the price, so he decided to have us roof the front of his house with the architectural shingles, and the back with the 25 year 3-tabs.
He said the only one who could see the back of the house were his neighbors, and he didn't like them anyway.

[Popeye the Sailor]

I always liked the slate tiles 

[NAKID]

I just had my roof redone yesterday. 20 year 3 tab overlay. $3150....

[ODrides]

+1 on stripping the old BECAUSE it gives you a chance to patch the underlay.  51 years is a long time without checking for problems.  BTW, roofing sucks, especially in the heat.  It's mindless work, but IMO, hiring a pro is money well spent.

I like the idea of expensive shingles out front and cheap ones in the back!

[ducpainter]

+1 on stripping the old BECAUSE it gives you a chance to patch the underlay.  51 years is a long time without checking for problems.  BTW, roofing sucks, especially in the heat.  It's mindless work, but IMO, hiring a pro is money well spent.

I like the idea of expensive shingles out front and cheap ones in the back!

For mindless work you'd be amazed at the ways some pros invent to screw it up.

[ODrides]

For mindless work you'd be amazed at the ways some pros invent to screw it up.

No doubt...  Get references!

[Grampa]

No doubt...  Get references!

yeah.... if you can, stay home to keep an eye on yer stuff. The guy who sells you the job, will not be the same guy who does the work.

things in a roofers tool box

hammer

an assortment of nails

crack pipe

reciept from pawn shop

a pack of Camels

two Red Bull cans full of tobacco spit

a worn copy of Juggs

[B.Rock]

I always liked the slate tiles 

Roof's not set up for it. I'd have to rebuild the whole thing pretty much. Otherwise, yeah!
Nakid, that's a good price.

+1 on stripping the old BECAUSE it gives you a chance to patch the underlay.  51 years is a long time without checking for problems.  BTW, roofing sucks, especially in the heat.  It's mindless work, but IMO, hiring a pro is money well spent.

I do have a couple areas around the edge that need replacing so that'll get stripped off (stupid lack of flashing). For the whole thing, we're getting close to doubling the cost though. Still  on that.

As far as two months ago - yeah, no fooling. Me bad! Fortunately it's not TOO hot here right now. I'm sure that when I get those shingles dropped on the roof it'll be a record high though.
I was going to hire someone but the bids were way high - like 10k and up - and work is slow right now for both my neighbor and I, so...

As a side note, as if I needed any more reason to hate Home Depot, their roofing service is a make the beast with two backsing joke. We got a bid from them just for fun. It was obscenely high and poor service as well. Total waste of time.

[hbliam]

I have sold roofs for over 12 years. Full time for 11.5 and now it's my side gig.

-Strip the existing roof off. You need to repair/replace any wood that's been rotting/termite eaten for the last 51 years. Also the new roof will last longer and look better. It will last longer because the old roof will increase the temp that the new roof rises to. Heat degrades your roof.
-You most likely need to increase the ventilation on your roof with additional metal dormers. This helps maintain the roof with regards to heat. It's a manufacturers requirement to have a valid warranty.
-There is nothing wrong with Certainteed roofing materials. 20 year roofs (3 tab) are the cheapest, thinnest roofs you can buy. If they are not properly installed, venilated or are installed over an exisitng layer or two it would be expected that the life would decrease. It would with any manufacturer.
-Good products: Owens corning, GAF, certainteed. I primarily sell Owens Corning.
-Dimensional shingles come in 30, 40, 50, and now lifetime warranty. It simply means thick, thicker, thickest. If you plan to stay in the home for 5-10 years I would get at the least a 40 year roof. Looks much better then the 30 and the warranty is transferable to the next homeowner. Retail on an average roof that I am selling it's usually a differance of 4-500 dollars to move up to 40 and then 50 and so on.
-30# felt. Do not use 15#. For the few dollars you save you are cutting the life of the roof.
-If you are going to install yourself, hire a crew to strip the roof. It's cheaper then renting the bin to haul it away and will take them 3-4 hours vs you 2 days and a bigger mess.


Where in CA are you? I can possibly get you a discount at my supplier (which has offices all over CA and the US). You are going to want the material roof loaded. Strip the roof, replace the damaged wood, then roof loaded. Don't forget your permit and inspections. I can also get you some good references for your area if you need them.

And yes Home Depot is out of control. It's because a sales company has the contract to sell roofs under their name. They pay a normal roofer a very slightly discounted rate to install the roof, they then add 25% to the cost for home depot, and then they add their cut. They are normally 50 to 100% higher then me on bids. I love when my customers pick them for a competitive bid.

Edit: How big is your roof? 10K for a roof could be legit if it's a large home. I put a $25K roof on a home last month. Tile? I like it. It's on my house and with lightweight tile you don't have to restructure the whole roof.

-Use starter on your first course, not flipped over shingles.
-Don't use a hammer tacker to install your felt, use plastic cap nails.
-Use a metal valley if you have valleys. Acts as a rain gutter to clear your valleys.

[B.Rock]

I have sold roofs for over 12 years. Full time for 11.5 and now it's my side gig.

-Strip the existing roof off. You need to repair/replace any wood that's been rotting/termite eaten for the last 51 years. Also the new roof will last longer and look better. It will last longer because the old roof will increase the temp that the new roof rises to. Heat degrades your roof.
-You most likely need to increase the ventilation on your roof with additional metal dormers. This helps maintain the roof with regards to heat. It's a manufacturers requirement to have a valid warranty.
-There is nothing wrong with Certainteed roofing materials. 20 year roofs (3 tab) are the cheapest, thinnest roofs you can buy. If they are not properly installed, venilated or are installed over an exisitng layer or two it would be expected that the life would decrease. It would with any manufacturer.
-Good products: Owens corning, GAF, certainteed. I primarily sell Owens Corning.
-Dimensional shingles come in 30, 40, 50, and now lifetime warranty. It simply means thick, thicker, thickest. If you plan to stay in the home for 5-10 years I would get at the least a 40 year roof. Looks much better then the 30 and the warranty is transferable to the next homeowner. Retail on an average roof that I am selling it's usually a differance of 4-500 dollars to move up to 40 and then 50 and so on.
-30# felt. Do not use 15#. For the few dollars you save you are cutting the life of the roof.
-If you are going to install yourself, hire a crew to strip the roof. It's cheaper then renting the bin to haul it away and will take them 3-4 hours vs you 2 days and a bigger mess.


Where in CA are you? I can possibly get you a discount at my supplier (which has offices all over CA and the US). You are going to want the material roof loaded. Strip the roof, replace the damaged wood, then roof loaded. Don't forget your permit and inspections. I can also get you some good references for your area if you need them.

And yes Home Depot is out of control. It's because a sales company has the contract to sell roofs under their name. They pay a normal roofer a very slightly discounted rate to install the roof, they then add 25% to the cost for home depot, and then they add their cut. They are normally 50 to 100% higher then me on bids. I love when my customers pick them for a competitive bid.

Edit: How big is your roof? 10K for a roof could be legit if it's a large home. I put a $25K roof on a home last month. Tile? I like it. It's on my house and with lightweight tile you don't have to restructure the whole roof.

I'm in the East Bay. The roof is not that big - 1400 sf or so.
I'd planned on 40 year shingles tentatively.
Planned on a ridge vent.
I was thinking 30# felt so that's a good validation.
DEFINITELY getting it roof loaded. No way am I hauling all that crap up a ladder.
Permits. Eh. I probably will but I'm making a very small roof extension over the back porch and I'm worried that'll kill a re-roof permit.

[hbliam]

metal

last forever, looks good the whole time

-Only product in CA required to be installed with a fire block.
-More difficult to vent during a fire.
-Dents when you walk on it.
-More expensive them a tile roof.
-The stones on the stone coated steel roofs flakes off.  
-Class B (as opposed to the better Class A) fire rated unless sheeted with plywood AND drywall. This negates the only benefit of steel, weight.

Copper is good but is primarily used here on commercial projects, mountain homes, etc. Not normal residential.

[hbliam]

I'm in the East Bay. The roof is not that big - 1400 sf or so.
I'd planned on 40 year shingles tentatively.
Planned on a ridge vent.
I was thinking 30# felt so that's a good validation.
DEFINITELY getting it roof loaded. No way am I hauling all that crap up a ladder.
Permits. Eh. I probably will but I'm making a very small roof extension over the back porch and I'm worried that'll kill a re-roof permit.

-Have you actually measured the roof? My home is 1300 sq ft. My roof is 2600 sq ft. That includes the eaves and the garage which isn't calculated into your homes sq. footage.
-Good call. I tell all my friends to do 40 at the minimum.
-Ridge vent is OK but may not satisfy the minimum calculations required. Do the math. Make sure it works. A few small dormer vents may be needed and only cost about $50 each.
-Permits. Depending on the extension it may not be that big of a deal. Permits on a roof are very important to potential buyers in the future. City can also stop work on you if they see you working without one. Then the fees increase and they are even more apt to nitpick your work.

[B.Rock]

-Have you actually measured the roof? My home is 1300 sq ft. My roof is 2600 sq ft. That includes the eaves and the garage which isn't calculated into your homes sq. footage.
-Good call. I tell all my friends to do 40 at the minimum.
-Ridge vent is OK but may not satisfy the minimum calculations required. Do the math. Make sure it works. A few small dormer vents may be needed and only cost about $50 each.
-Permits. Depending on the extension it may not be that big of a deal. Permits on a roof are very important to potential buyers in the future. City can also stop work on you if they see you working without one. Then the fees increase and they are even more apt to nitpick your work.

Yeah, I have, I just don't recall it. Obviously I will have that when I go to purchase.  Upstairs is 1k sf or so, garage is underneath (with the basement). I'll do the math on the ridge vent.
I plan to pull a permit, I'm just very nonplussed with Contra Costa building inspection.  Fees are relatively minimal on a reroof, the nitpicking is problematic. So any suppliers in the area you recommend, per chance?