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I am having a rough time picking someone to do my new roof. Company A has been in business for 79 years and offers 2 year workmanship warranty and IKO shingles. Company B has been in business for 10 years and offers 10 year workmanship warranty and GAF shingles. Both have good online reviews. Their quotes are with $1,000 of each other (B is slightly more but gives 1st 64 sq/ft of underlying plywood free). They pretty much cost the same. The 10 year warranty sounds great until you realize they've only been in business for 10 years. I've researched both shingles. They are equivalent in quality. As for the companies supporting them, I've seen negatives and positives regarding both brands. At the end of the day, a poorly installed good shingle performs as well as a bad shingle.
I had the same issue recently when I replaced my roof, all three quotes were close in materials, price and reputation. I chose the company that was in the same city as me and they also used synthetic underlayment vs the other two using felt. I was also able to visit a few of his jobs since they lived close by to see his work. Find the subtle differences that you like and pick that one. I wouldn't ding them on the warranty, I've seen 80 yr old and 10 yr companies go out of business, make sure they do a good install and you probably won't need that labor warranty.
I'd lean towards the first company. Two sheets of plywood installed doesn't cost nearly $1K. As was mentioned, the underlay is very important. Synthetic or extra thickness felt can keep a roof watertight even if the shingles are damaged or in poor shape - ask for it and pay the few $ extra. Sometimes, if a crew is careless, the standard felt seems more to provide a guide to straight laying of shingles than being treated as a barrier.
It's in MA. The New England weather can be pretty harsh too. After doing some more research, I've read that IKO is a decent brand, but it's generally rated below GAF. Sadly, if you look hard enough. You can find negative stories about any brand of tile. I had such a hard time picking that I asked for 3rd quote. The company has been around for 32 years, offers 10yr warranty on workmanship, and they use Certainteed.
I'll repeat my earlier advice wrt which roofing contractor hand nails.
(too many don't)
If they're doing this step properly it's a good bet that they'll be just as careful
to do the rest of the job carefully too (eg: edges, underlayment types, plywood repairs, vents, etc)
and they'll be installing a brand of shingle material that has a meaningful warranty.
The third roofer hand nails his roofs. He also told me that I don't need a new one yet, which shocked me considering the roof has two layers of 3-tab asphalt shingles and is 17 yrs old.
He also told me that I don't need a new one yet, which shocked me
considering the roof has two layers of 3-tab asphalt shingles and is 17 yrs old.
Sounds like you found your roofer.
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