Looks like I may need a roof

[imoldernu]

Water shield... That's what Visqueen is... mentioned in earlier post... a little expensive, but nothing compared to a new roof.

Still no answer from anyone who has had full roof replaced under warranty, or how much they recieved. I am suspicious that the guarantees are bascially worthless, similar to the warrantees on Hot Water Heaters. Ten year guarantee, 9 years old... $600 original price $60 towards the new HWH.

A funny story about a customer trying to get a "replacement HWH".
http://www.justanswer.com/hvac/5imjw-50-gal-smith-hot-water-heater-warranty.html

Hmmm... warranty on anything... Trust, but verify.

 

[Dimsumkid]

IIRC her house is ~40 * 28 and the garage is probably ~24 * 30.

I'm a big believer in ice and water shielding the whole roof rather than just the edges. It'll cost you a couple hundred more but I believe the roof will last longer and the chances of leaks will be lower.

Grace Ice and water shield is $160-170 per roll (225 sq ft) at Home Depot and that doesn't incl. any extra labor costs! For just the house roof you mentioned, it'll cost you a lot more than a couple hundred to do the whole roof, not incl. the garage roof. I'm sure a lot of people will balk at an extra $1-2k added onto the bill.

 

[MikeWillRetire]

I'm with imoldernu on this one. Roofs almost never leak due to shingles wearing out. They do leak due to shingles blowing off, flashing pulling out of place or ice damming. I'd get someone up there and see why it is leaking. Just because a boot on a vent pipe fails is no reason to replace a whole roof.

Agree. My vent pipe boot deteriorated before the shingles, so I just bought a new one and placed it directly over the old one.

 

[golfnut]

Anything I should consider or look out for? Never had to do this before.

Current roof is architectural shingles, new construction 15 years ago in spring 1999. I was told 3 years ago my roof wouldn't last 6 more months by 1 crook and another said 1 year. Another said I have 4-5 years then will need one. So looks like he was the most truthful. In this state they are required to remove everything, you can not put a 2nd layer on the 1st like we used to years ago so it is expensive to strip and put on new shingles. There are no trees near the house if that matters, 1 story raised ranch.

Do companies only warranty their shingles IF an approved installer they approve does the work?

I don't want a metal roof as they are double the cost. 15 years ago it would have been a wise choice, today perhaps not. I may live here only a few more years or 10 or 15 but no more than that as by then the work will be too much. Even today I question the work and so that's why I say maybe just a few more. I want a good quality roof not cheap but the metal is just too much.

Thanks.

We're are in the same boat as you. Our house is a 2 story and about 2800 sq. ft. We got 2 quotes last November ranging from $9,000 to $12,000 for architectural shingles. The lower quote is from a small Polish contractor (can hardly understand the him) who put 2 roofs on for 2 of our neighbors. Our present roof is going on 23 yrs.

 

[pb4uski]

Grace Ice and water shield is $160-170 per roll (225 sq ft) at Home Depot and that doesn't incl. any extra labor costs! For just the house roof you mentioned, it'll cost you a lot more than a couple hundred to do the whole roof, not incl. the garage roof. I'm sure a lot of people will balk at an extra $1-2k added onto the bill.

I'll admit that you made me curious. On our house the bill shows a "Tarco/Carlisle Ice & Water" product that my cost was $41.40 for a 2 square roll so it was about 1/4 of the cost of the brand-name Grace product.

 

[Sue J]

In our area the water and ice shield membrane is installed on the bottom section of all roofs. Our kitchen has a lower slope that the rest of the house and on that section we had the water and ice shield installed all the way up. We had had ice damming problems previously and since it was just a small section we had it done on the entire part that was the lower slope.

 

[Dimsumkid]

I'll admit that you made me curious. On our house the bill shows a "Tarco/Carlisle Ice & Water" product that my cost was $41.40 for a 2 square roll so it was about 1/4 of the cost of the brand-name Grace product.

Thanks for the update. Grace seems to be the gold standard for Ice & Water shield and it seems a lot of roofer's swear by it even with the premium price tag.

I would only go this route after investigating in/out vent air flow and increasing attic insulation first. My eaves had 4" x 16" intake vents, but the holes were only cut 1" x 7"! I changed all of these to 8" x 16" and maximized the openings. Also chopped off the tip of my roof line and installed a ridge vent. I remember on a 75 degree day, my attic was over 110+.

 

[aja8888]

I would only go this route after investigating in/out vent air flow and increasing attic insulation first. My eaves had 4" x 16" intake vents, but the holes were only cut 1" x 7"! I changed all of these to 8" x 16" and maximized the openings. Also chopped off the tip of my roof line and installed a ridge vent. I remember on a 75 degree day, my attic was over 110+.

When we re-roofed last October, I ran into the same thing with 4" holes under the ventilation grates. Since the Fascia board was rotted, I went ahead and rebuilt the soffits with Hardiplank soffit with drilled holes the length of the soffit run. Don't need grates anymore. We also installed a ridge vent.

 

[veremchuka]

I'm with imoldernu on this one. Roofs almost never leak due to shingles wearing out. They do leak due to shingles blowing off, flashing pulling out of place or ice damming. I'd get someone up there and see why it is leaking. Just because a boot on a vent pipe fails is no reason to replace a whole roof.

That's my concerns! There are just 2 place where water is getting in through the roof and both are at the vent pipes! I'm not a rocket scientist but it sure seems that the boot on each pipe is a problem. If I had leaks in different places I'd say the roof is bad but in both cases the water is on/dripping off the vent pipes.

I have an appt for Monday. I'm OK with new boots and even new non matching shingles if that is needed (see further on) but an entire roof is a very expensive job. House is 1500 sq ft with a small porch on the back.

The east vent pipe has been a problem over several years but 3 years ago a roofer found it wasn't the boot. Instead the shingles were lifted up a few times looking for trouble, replacing the boot, tarring around the vent pipe base and they lost their sticky attachment to the other shingles. I probably damaged the vent boot originally moving the pipe in the attic up and down flexing the boot. But that boot was replaced at least 2 or 3 times and the shingles around it were lifted 2 or 3 times too. So when the roofer fixed the shingles that were lifting up the problem was solved until now. I told him water only got in when strong winds blew from the east 20+ mph. So that shows they were lifting in strong windy storms not regular rain w/o winds from the east. If there were 50 mph winds from the other 3 directions there never was a drop of water through that east vent pipe. So now 3 years later the east vent pipe leak is back in addition to the west side pipe. When the east side boot was replaced 3 years ago he and he saw the glue was shot on the shingles he used old original matching shingles from 11 years ago when the house was built. Those shingles were kept in the attic so maybe after 3 years the glue on them has started to let go from the heat up there for the 12 years they were stored in the attic?

I can see light coming through the west side vent pipe where the boot should be sealing out the weather. So I assume that shows the boot is open/ripped or light wouldn't be passing into the attic.

Bottom line…check you boots and collars 1st….you might get another 5 years out of your roof!

That's what I am hoping for.

I have a ridge vent that runs the length of the roof plus there are (?) soffit vents along the edge of the roof where it mets the top of the house. It is open and air can circulate so I assume the venting in the attic is adequate.

 

[pb4uski]

Thanks for the update. Grace seems to be the gold standard for Ice & Water shield and it seems a lot of roofer's swear by it even with the premium price tag.

I would only go this route after investigating in/out vent air flow and increasing attic insulation first. My eaves had 4" x 16" intake vents, but the holes were only cut 1" x 7"! I changed all of these to 8" x 16" and maximized the openings. Also chopped off the tip of my roof line and installed a ridge vent. I remember on a 75 degree day, my attic was over 110+.

I have a "hot" roof (no ventilation - 5" of sprayfoam on the underside of the roof deck) so ventilation isn't an issue for me but I concede that ventilation is important to roof life.

 

[Dimsumkid]

There are just 2 place where water is getting in through the roof and both are at the vent pipes!

Those shingles were kept in the attic so maybe after 3 years the glue on them has started to let go from the heat up there for the 12 years they were stored in the attic?

I believe you have rubber boots? If these are causing you problems, ask for lead boots (they cost more), as long as you don't puncture them, they'll last forever. The "glue" on shingles really don't go bad, they stick by sun/heat over the summer months. So if you don't get adhesion, just add some roof cement between shingles to get them to stick again. I would go around and check the problem areas sliding a scraper in between shingle rows to make sure you have proper adhesion.

 

[travelover]

..............I can see light coming through the west side vent pipe where the boot should be sealing out the weather. So I assume that shows the boot is open/ripped or light wouldn't be passing into the attic. .......

Not necessarily. I can see light around mine, but that is because I'm looking at an angle. The shingles seal by overlapping enough so the water runs down before it runs sideways enough to enter the building. That said, I'd have it looked at to be sure.