Can someone educate me on replacing my roof (fit in, sales)

[hey_guy]

My roof came with the house back in 93' so it's getting about that time. Can some give any advise or reccomend some shop or another?

What's a good price?
What should i be looking for for impending failure/issues?
What should I be doing?

Any input welcome, thanks

[BoBromhal]

prices vary widely depending on the structure of your roof, and can vary how high up they're going. If you live in a simple, single-gable 1 story, that will be the lowest price roof you can get. A large house with multiple gables and rooflines, and way up in the air? Could easily be double.

You should go up into your attic and check the vent boots and the flashing at the chimney, assuming you have one. Then check the roof decking from inside for signs of leakage

[h2ohzrd]

If you don't need repairs then check to see if you can do a shingle over instead of tear off. Most local codes allow shingle over one layer.

[m378]

There was some pea sized hail last yesterday! Time to get your FREE roof subsidized by your neighbors!

(sorry)

[Myghost]

Originally Posted by BoBromhal

prices vary widely depending on the structure of your roof, and can vary how high up they're going. If you live in a simple, single-gable 1 story, that will be the lowest price roof you can get. A large house with multiple gables and rooflines, and way up in the air? Could easily be double.

You should go up into your attic and check the vent boots and the flashing at the chimney, assuming you have one. Then check the roof decking from inside for signs of leakage

^^This. It is hard to give a baseline because of all the variables.

What I did:
-Researched about 3-5 good companies
-Had them come out, give quotes, asked quesitons
-Decided based on many factors. (I ended up going with the most expensive, but all were in the ballpark)


I chose Baker Roofing, and I was mostly happy. Workmanship was good.

What I learned, was that as you talk to each person, you learn something new. It helped me get a feel for what questions to ask, and what to look for. (Guarantee backed by Mfr, Insured, reputation, and definitely making sure they don't cut corners.)

It kinda sucks for the first person to quote you, because you don't know what to ask them as much, but I could not find a better solution.

FWIW, each case may be different, but I felt like going for the best solution was the right choice. No shingle-overs, and top-quality, engineered shingles. As much as it all costs, I did not think there was much benefit in saving at few hundred bucks when the result was loss of warrantee, or reduced warranty. I'll likely be in senior living before I need another roof...

[Emitchell]

Originally Posted by m378

There was some pea sized hail last yesterday! Time to get your FREE roof subsidized by your neighbors!

(sorry)

Sad, but true. Those insurance-chasing roofers come through my neighborhood frequently. I'm not sure which shingles on my neighbors roof I have sponsored, but I'm sure there are several.

I wish the insurance companies would crack down on this. I suppose they really don't care as long as they make their money, but it costs the rest of us a bundle.

[Momof2KidsinNC]

I personally would not have new shingle over old shingle. I would make them tear off that way you can see other problems with the wood beneath. We had several places that needed new wood. Not to mention, that is a lot of weight on your roof.

Our roofer hand nailed the shingles. We got to pick any color of the 3D shingle we wanted that had a 40 year warranty on the shingle. The roofer offered a five year warranty on labor in the case of leaks. He only worked with the same two guys that had been with him for over a decade. I thought we got a pretty good deal. His quote was 2K less than some of the others that came out. Don't be afraid of getting several quotes. Some of those that came out got pretty aggressive in their follow-up and some were upset that we weren't ready to start same day. I thought we were clear we just wanted an estimate.

[m378]

I have a feeling hand nailing is just a sales gimmick. Hand nailing is tiring and likely inconsistent.

[Sal_M]

Originally Posted by m378

There was some pea sized hail last yesterday! Time to get your FREE roof subsidized by your neighbors!

(sorry)

They storm chasers are not worth the increase you will have in your insurance. They not are giving you a 30 year roof, more like a 10 and the workmanship is terrible. Good luck getting them to come back if you have issues. Chances are if they are like the ones who did mine, you will still be finding roofing nails around the house 3 years later.


You get what you pay for!


My next roof will be done by Allen and Deans. They have taken care of other items for me and I have full trust in them that my roof would we done well.

[m378]

Originally Posted by Sal_M

They storm chasers are not worth the increase you will have in your insurance. They not are giving you a 30 year roof, more like a 10 and the workmanship is terrible. Good luck getting them to come back if you have issues. Chances are if they are like the ones who did mine, you will still be finding roofing nails around the house 3 years later.


You get what you pay for!


My next roof will be done by Allen and Deans. They have taken care of other items for me and I have full trust in them that my roof would we done well.

From what I hear, people aren't getting increases in their insurance. Not any more than their neighbors who aren't working the system at least....

And plenty of the "reputable" roofers around here want insurance work as well. We went through the quoting process and the first thing asked was always "are we looking for hail damage?".