Replacing a roof

[Darwin333]

What would you suggest I consider, Darwin, weighing everything - low price, quality, value, environmentalism? One or more options are ok. Since I know about nothing about this. But I am interested in solar for environmental reasons when I do it.

What features should I try to get?

For example I saw an article saying copper is better than aluminum.

I would suggest a normal architectural shingle with a similar color to what you already have and not a "cool shingle". Copper is FAR superior to aluminum but it's a significant cost increase, and I mean huge, over aluminum and it doesn't make sense on a shingle roof unless you are going for aesthetics and willing to pay for it. If you were getting a tile roof then copper would make sense because you would be installing a lifetime roof but aluminum/galvanized will last as long as your shingle roof will. That's what I would, and did, put on my own house and I get a significant discount <cough>free<cough> on the roof on my house.

If you are willing to spend $750+ a square I would at the very least price out a tile/slate roof because everywhere I have priced one that is right in the range and that will last 100+ years.

No matter what, get multiple quotes and DO NOT sign a contract on your first meeting. Make sure you get all quotes in writing and like I said, feel free to email them to me if you'd like me to evaluate them and give you my opinion.

Edit: Not too many features when it comes to shingle roofs. I would get ice and water shield around the perimeter of the roof because if you are going to have water intrusion that is where it will happen barring an installation snafu.

You never did answer if you have soffit or gable vents. If you do then your roofer should automatically add RIDGE vents to the quote and it's dirt cheap anyway. If you don't have soffit or gable vents you should not add ridge vents, you need both air input and output for it to work.

 

[Craig234]

Thanks. Don't confuse an estimate of $750/square with 'happy to pay $750/square' or a desired pricing. I don't know what soffit or gable vents are.

I just know it gets 30's in the winter and 90's in the summer as the usual extremes that are a bit uncomfortable. Ya, I'm spoiled.

 

[Darwin333]

Thanks. Don't confuse an estimate of $750/square with 'happy to pay $750/square' or a desired pricing. I don't know what soffit or gable vents are.

I just know it gets 30's in the winter and 90's in the summer as the usual extremes that are a bit uncomfortable. Ya, I'm spoiled.

Soffit vents look like air conditioning vents in the overhang of your roof on the exterior of your house. A gable vent is usually a big circle vent on the side of your house that doesn't have roof sloping down. And I am happy to help my friend.

The ridge is the peak of your roof so a ridge vent is, in your scenario, at the highest point of the roof. It is meant to expel hot air out of your attic, in order to work it needs air intake at a lower point to pull in cooler air which is very rarely part of the roof and almost always in the soffit or roof overhang.

Edit: If you are set on a shingle roof than I highly encourage you to consider spending money on insulating your attic versus getting any kind of energy "savings" from your roof other than choosing a light colored shingle instead of a dark one.

I do calculations like these for a living bud and while I haven't ran any hard numbers on your house but I can all but absolutely guarantee you that's how your money is best spent.

 

[Craig234]

I'm with you on the insulation. I'll take a look at that (I have some sort of energy evaluation visit coming up I'm sure that will be the big part of).

It's not that I'm locked into shingles - if i knew something made more sense I'd consider it - I just assume it's the right value etc.

 

[sdifox]

75 per sq ft is metal roof territory.

 

[Darwin333]

I'm with you on the insulation. I'll take a look at that (I have some sort of energy evaluation visit coming up I'm sure that will be the big part of).

It's not that I'm locked into shingles - if i knew something made more sense I'd consider it - I just assume it's the right value etc.

I linked Gerard roofing materials earlier in this thread, I suggest you at least try to get a quote from one of their installers in your area. It ticks a lot of your checkboxes if it comes in even close to the same price as you have.

 

[stormkroe]

These prices are insane. I did about 13 roofs one summer after a hail storm came through town, and the insurance companies were paying $250 per 'square' (100 square feet, usually 3 bundles). I felt like Bill Gates at those rates. I also love working on 4/12, looks like a double wide trailer but so shallow it's hard to tell which way is up some times

 

[Craig234]

I have a roofing repair company doing an inspection this week to say their opinion on whether a new roof or repairs are needed - though they're going to have a biar for repairs since that's how they get paid.

 

[Darwin333]

I have a roofing repair company doing an inspection this week to say their opinion on whether a new roof or repairs are needed - though they're going to have a biar for repairs since that's how they get paid.

Be sure you consider the fact that your roof IS reaching the end of its lifespan into the cost of the repairs. If it's dirt cheap then it might be worth it to buy you a few more years but regardless you should be budgeting to replace it in the next few years. Our weather is a bit harsher here but you are lucky to get 20 years out of an architectural shingle roof around here. It looks like you have old school 3-tab shingles too.

 

[Darwin333]

These prices are insane. I did about 13 roofs one summer after a hail storm came through town, and the insurance companies were paying $250 per 'square' (100 square feet, usually 3 bundles). I felt like Bill Gates at those rates. I also love working on 4/12, looks like a double wide trailer but so shallow it's hard to tell which way is up some times

Yeah, if I do it under the table, which I neither confirm or deny that I sometimes do for friends, I can easily get down to prices like that even for much more complex roofs. Not only could I cover their deductible but I made darn good money just for floating the cash on the material, setting up a delivery and scheduling the sub. Man we need another hail storm lol. Heck when I was just getting into the industry you could do 3-tabs for $150 a square all day long.

 

[Craig234]

Be sure you consider the fact that your roof IS reaching the end of its lifespan into the cost of the repairs. If it's dirt cheap then it might be worth it to buy you a few more years but regardless you should be budgeting to replace it in the next few years. Our weather is a bit harsher here but you are lucky to get 20 years out of an architectural shingle roof around here. It looks like you have old school 3-tab shingles too.

Ya, I'm not really interested in repairs, which I told them - I'm just looking for how long before replacing. No idea what those shingles are.

 

[piasabird]

I live in an area that is prone to Hail which can easily damage shingles. Nothing you can do once they are damaged. I don't care how long the shingle warranty is, it probably does not cover hail damage. That is what home insurance is for. If you are going to have to remove all the shingles, consider putting some vents on the roof if you don't have much venting. It lets some of the hot air escape from the attic and cools down the roof a bit.

If your roof line has a lot of valleys and angles it may be prone to leaking in those areas. Usually they put down a liner in those areas to shore it up. Then often you might also see some water damage or rot and some of the plywood on the roof may have to be replaced. So you have to expect about 25% extra for replacement of damaged areas. Most roofers want the money for the roof replacement the day they finish the job.

I live in a fairly small Brick Ranch and my last roof job costs about $5k give or take. I also replaced the metal chimney pipe after that.

 

[NoCreativity]

I don't know what downs are, but the estimate includes new gutters. Looks like they didn't leave the estimate - they just showed me a pad of paper where they had calculated $15,000 (with a $1,500 incentive making it $13,500). This was for aluminum, not copper.

Every roof estimate I got came on a proper quote sheet. It listed type of materials proposed, material amounts, roof size, labor cost etc. If someone handed me a sheet of paper with a final cost on it with nothing else I'd promptly throw it away and continue on to the next quote.

 

[Craig234]

Roof repair guy came by and said the roof should be replaced. So, off to get estimates. Not sure what type to ask for etc. He suggested getting 'dimension' roofing and sticking with the asphalt over metal.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Really, if your roof isn't actively leaking, you can just check to see how brittle the shingles are by inspecting them. For asphalt shingles, they start losing their gravel after so many years and you end up with a lot of debris in your gutters as a result of it. If you know the approximate age, it's just better safe than sorry to go ahead and replace them OR roof over them with a second layer (cheaper). The biggest disadvantages of second layer roofs are the weight (mostly an issue in areas of high snow load) and that you can't inspect your decking. If you do a full tearoff, you can invest in materials that may not have been installed 20+ years ago....like an ice and water shield barrier. This comes in a big roll and can be installed int he first 3 feet or so up the decking to keep rot and ice dam seepage at bay.

I had a friend of mine roof my house. I had about $5k in materials and paid him probably $2500 for a 3 day job with 2 other guys....which was $6k under the cheapest quote I got from the local crews....it was like a 42 square job and had a trailer to haul the old shingles off myself.

 

[Craig234]

Sounds like you saved a lot of money. A guy came today and will deliver a quote soon. I'll have to decide how many quotes to get. He offered 'dimensional' tiles without my asking.

He also indicated it's best to do solar at the same time, otherwise the solar people will make holes and damage the roof and it's not warrantied. So probably both. Now who to get to do solar...

 

[Craig234]

Should I get insulation with the new roof?

Here's the first quote.

Tear off and dispose of all the existing roofing layers
Remove and replace all the dry rot damages. $10 per linear foot to repair rafter tails & fascia board (Description as required over the roof deck only) paint work not included

Install one ply of felt roofing paper underlayment,

Install 30-year dimensional shingle class A fire rated (owner to choose color and style).

Remove and replace all the metal flashing edge flashing-X-Step Flashing-Reglet/Counter flashing.

Remove and replace all roof jacks, vent caps from roof penetrations, install eyebrow vents system.

Seal all the roof penetrations with flashing compound as required.

Install new seamless aluminum gutters (white color).

Install new aluminum downspouts (white color).

Additional Work / Comments: for 40-year shingle ADD $1,000…. 50-year shingle ADD $2,000…50-year presidential ADD
$3,000…. and TL lifetime shingle ADD $5,000. To the contract price below

GUARANTEE: Conditional guarantee on workmanship: FIVE (5) year(s)

All material is guaranteed to be specified and work is to be completed in a completed in workmanlike for the sum of:
Eleven thousand nine hundred eighty dollars and zero cents ($11,980.00)

Additional ($5,000.00) dollars for insulation in the attic

 

[Greenman]

Should I get insulation with the new roof?

Here's the first quote.

It doesn't say how much roof they're replacing, and the attic insulation price is way out of line. Hire an insulation contractor for that part.

 

[Craig234]

It doesn't say, but the previous company estimated it as 20 squares (2000 sq feet). The insulation does seem outrageous. But is it worth doing even with another contractor in this climate?

 

[Greenman]

The insulation is worth doing, but it should be half the amount quoted. There isn't any reason to get the roofer involved in the insulation, he's just coming to call an insulator and make two grand on the deal.

 

[Craig234]

So there's no benefit to doing the insulation at the same time as the roof, if they have better access when the old roof is removed?

 

[sdifox]

So there's no benefit to doing the insulation at the same time as the roof, if they have better access when the old roof is removed?

There is no better access unless you are ripping out plywood that makes up your roof.

 

[Greenman]

So there's no benefit to doing the insulation at the same time as the roof, if they have better access when the old roof is removed?

Doesn't help at all having the roof open. That would allow the insulation to blow out and rain down on your neighbors.

 

[Craig234]

Their 'limited 5 year warranty' says how they think of the roofing, but are any of the improvements worth buying over the '20 year tiles' - the 30 year, 40 year, 'president', or 'president tl'?

 

[Greenman]

Their 'limited 5 year warranty' says how they think of the roofing, but are any of the improvements worth buying over the '20 year tiles' - the 30 year, 40 year, 'president', or 'president tl'?

The 5 year warranty is the contractors warranty, not the roofing material manufactures warranty. Contractors licence law only requires him to warrant his work for one year, unless it's determined to be a latent defect, then they warranty is ten years.
As far as what material you use, the presidential is a very thick butt high definition shingle, and a waste of money on your house. Most of the projects I do end up using 30 year shingles, they look good and most folks figure 30 years is long enough for a roof to last. Part of the equation is how long you plan on staying there. If you're looking at 40 or 50 years, the upgrade might make sense. You're the only one who can decide how much you want to spend.