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Roofing Advice, Please!!!

Laurie S.

Laurie S.

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My house was last reroofed in 1983 and it's time to do it again. I have no experience in dealing with this. So far, I have two quotes. One company has an excellent reputation and will use synthetic fiberglass self-sealing shingles. They will tear off the existing roof down to the sheathing and then put the new roof on. Their cost is $10,240.00 with a four-year warranty. They do indicate additional charges is they have to replace plywood or fascia.

The other company (much smaller firm) did my neighbor's house and his roof looks great. He has known the owner for years and says he's good. They will use asphalt shingles and will lay them over the existing shingles. Their price is $5,934.00 with a five-year warranty.

Both companies will haul everything away and the rest of the quotes seem to be pretty much identical.

Please, I need some input as to which to go with! I probably will get at least one other quote, also.
 
I never like to put shingles over the old. If a problem develops, it is that much more to fight thru. Ask if the lower priced company can remove the old shingles and if so, how much additional. If they do not remove them, how can they give a good review of the plywood?
 
Laurie, I'll bet if you think about it, the description of the work answers your question. Equate it to cars. Wouldn't it be cheaper to paint a car without removing the old paint down to bare metal? I'll bet that if you asked each company for a quote on both re-decking and overlay, thy would be very close to the same price. Roofers bid by the square, and material costs are roughly the same. I think that overlay roofing can be very tricky to get perfect. going all the way down to a new plywood or osb deck will likely look better. Both will be about as durable, as this relates more to the shingle than the underlayment. Ask the company that bid the job for an overlay to tell you a house that they did an overlay on and go see how it looks.
 
I don't know how it works in the heat out west but a lot of people here in the midwest are going with steel roofs, also there is a product out called ondura roofing, kind of looks like fiberglass panels but is asphalt based---the steel roofs can be put over existing shingles(this also helps quiet it in rain)---I just had a new roof put on last year and I wish I had looked at steel now.--mine was around 8 grand with new plywood and owens corning shake style shingles, we tend to be cheaper out in the sticks where I live, that was doing my 24x24 garage also--(no plywood on garage)---I think around 30 squares total.
 
In our town, you can't exceed two layers of roofing shingles. We get all sorts of weather, a few 100 degree days, heavy rains, a fair amount of snow, occasional hurricanes etc... lot's of folks just add a second layer without issue but it is more costly to strip two layers than one. Waste disposal costs seem to be getting worse as time goes on so chances are the 4K difference today will be 8-10K the next time you need it done. Since your probably going to staying there for the long haul, I'd say strip it now if you can afford to do so. I have two distinct roofs on my house, the old section has 2 layers going on about 9 years without issue, but I wish I had stripped it at the time.

On the sheathing, ask them how much per sheet to replace. so that you at least have an idea of what the extras could end up costing.
 
I tried to get a quote for a metal roof, but can't find anyone here in Tucson that does it on residential buildings. I'm going to go ahead and have the roof torn off before putting the new shingles on. I'm afraid of problems that could occur, if they don't remove the current ones. They're in bad shape and would be a bad base layer. Both quotes also included redoing my back porch roofs, which need a lot of work.
 
Laurie,

The only advise that I can give you is to use the longest life shingles that are available in whatever type of roof you have installed. 25 to 30 year IIRC. On my home we have a layer on top of the original roof. The SWMBO can be frugal at times and wanted to save some money. Now on my rental home the owner at the time removed the original tile and installed new shingles. He got a good deal at the Home Depot, he works there. Now for me this is just a personal preference. But I prefer the lightest color possible on my roof, white reflects light and black absorbs it, so that is my logic. :doh

fd
 
Both companies are using shingles with a 30-year warranty, but one describes it as fiberglass self-sealing, and the other as asphalt.
 
I'm not a roofer but here is some generic info.

There are different types, and grades, of asphalt shingles. Basic inexpensive ones are called 3-tab which are the cheapest "style:"
http://www.2000construction.com/images/3-tab-shingle-big.jpg

and there are 3-dimensional asphalt shingles which are not as plain and give a certain architechtural feel to the roof but cost more:
http://www.certainteed.com/images/swatch/large/lmweatheredwoodav.jpg

I'd check the cheaper bid to see what they are using and decide first if you like those.

I'm not familiar with the other type.
 
My younger brother is a contractor who for a time specialized in roofing. Mostly because there was so much money to be made. With him I learned about roofing. Adding to what has already been posted:

When installing new shingles read the fine print on your warranty paperwork.... installing new shingles onto a roof without first removing the old shingles immediately voids any possible warranty claims. "Double layering" shingles causes them to "cook", which causes the lower edge of the shingle to "peel back". Don't do it/allow it. It'll take a good 5-8 years of hot summers for the new shingles to cook (fail) and by then usually your contractor has disappeared. Strip the roof to the sheeting. Replace the underlayment (tar paper). Replace the drip edge trim. When finishing off the peak of the house explore the different methods of venting the heat from the attic. In this part of the country most buildings use a vented ridge cap, but I remember seeing a lot of houses in the Southwest that had turbine vent fans installed.

Personally, $10k for a new roof is highway robbery... equate it to paying $250 to rotate the tires on your truck. Sure, the work is labor intensive, but a square (3 bundles = 100sqft of surface area) of 30yr architechural shingles shouldn't be more than ~$60. Assuming you have a 2500 sqft house your roof shouldn't require more than 35 squares. 35x$60=$2100. The price of supporting materials (nails, tar paper, drip edge and vents) adds ~$200. The entire job from start to finish shouldn't take 2-3 people more than 2-3 days to complete. Your contractor may also require you to pay a "shingle disposal fee". This is usually a BS charge. Granted the old shingles will have to be disposed of and to do it properly the contractor would have to pay a disposal fee, but 99% of contractors pocket this "fee" as profit and dump the old shingles wherever they can get away with it.

Roofs are bid around here at $110 a square.... this includes all materials. With your $10k quote.... you'd have to have a 7-8000 sqft house to generate that kind of quote. Understand that once the roof is stripped and papered even a novice roofer can install 2 square/hour. If you have 2-3 roofers working, shingles are being installed at a rate of 400-600 sqft/hour. It's a very quick process.

I need to move to Tucson and start roofing for a living.
 
Good quality fiberglass stranded shingles are running about 25.00 a bundle. 2500 sqft = 1875.00
tearoff/disposale adverage is 1.00 sqft = 2500.00
typ flashing, dripedge, caps, pipe hoods, fasneners = 350.00

Materials =4725.00
labor for install = 2400.00
total I would expect to pay for 2500 sqft roof is less than 7500.00
 
Ask the lower bidder for a quote that includes removing the existing roofing...... Also, referrals from trusted contractors that have done good work for you in the past are priceless.....
 
I did ask the cheaper company for a new quote today. I also got in a quote from the other company for a metal roof--almost $51,000! Not going that route. I will get a couple more quotes before proceeding.

My house is about 1300 square feet but it has a lot of roof. LOL It's a pitched roof. The bids also include redoing the back porch roof, which extends almost the length of the house. I think that's going to take more work than the main roof.
 
Take a long weekend and a helper or two and do the roof yourself.....I am sure you could convince Midlife to help...... :lol
 
I think I'll pass on that idea. The supplies of Yukon Jack would cost more than hiring a roofer. ;)
 
$51,000 is a joke for a metal roof---it is about 20% more than conventional around here I believe---were they adding on a room with the new roof?
 
I looked at the quote again and it's closer to $54,000. They wanted another $2,500 to reinstall my roof turbines. I don't think so.....
 
"Laurie S." said:
Both companies are using shingles with a 30-year warranty, but one describes it as fiberglass self-sealing, and the other as asphalt.
Click to expand...
This was a question on my GC exam, so I know this one:

All standard (ie, not tile) shingles are made from an asphalt material, and all have to have a self sealing strip per code. Also, all the shingles I've put on have used fiberglass as the reinforcement.

So, although the description is the different, the construction type is basically the same. However, as others have pointed out, there are diffrenet grades of these materials. Get a 30(or greater) year shingle from a major manufacturer (Owens, Johns Mnasfiled, or GAF) for the best long term results.
 
I also have finally learned my lesson on shingles--there were near new Tampko brand on my house when I bought it---they soaked up water and curled bad---replaced the roof (tear off old) with Gaf--they lasted about 10 years and they cracked and split and curled---they did warranty them some---had a lot of problems I guess with them, they were supposed to be the 30 year shingle---I had owens corning put on this time---algae resistant for 10 years, 110 mph wind rated--30 year shingle---they lay down the best of any of the previous shingles---I had all the right venting also---good luck
 
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