The roof

[golfnut]

If anyone lives in the Chicagoland area and need a good roofer, let me know. The roofer I used is great. He did my neighbor's, my best friend's, my brother's and my roof all in the last 2 years. The houses were all different types ranging in 2300 to 4000 sq. ft.

 

[Bamaman]

I do most all repairs on a house, but if I'm looking for a plumber or HVAC guy I'm looking for small construction firms.

On my small lake house, I used the small individual roofer--with 1 helper. Day one was hot, and they about croaked having to pry up the old roof and haul away the old itchy shingles. Day 2, the helper didn't show up and no work was done. Day 3, the roofer and his brother, another roofer that was physically broken down, showed. When they were nailing shingles, they were really skilled. But at 40 years old, their best years were behind them.

On my main house, I'll be re-roofing in another 5 years--and it'll be a massive job. The ceiling in my attic is at least 15' tall, and every roof plane is very steep. I'll be looking for a larger roofing crew--8-10 people that can rip this roof off and reshingle in no more than 2 days. They will cost more, but it'll be worth it.

My next door neighbor recently had a metal roof installed--looks almost like chrome. The roof is very steep (45 degrees) and tall. I simply couldn't get over those guys climbing all over that steep and slick roof. And I have no idea how they keep installers from getting hurt. Not all metal roofs are created equal, and neither are installers. They should be installed by metal roof specialists that only do that one job.

 

[akck]

that's why I asked about the skylight. mine leaked to a spot 20 ft away

+1

The fall before we replaced our roof, we had a stain near the outer wall. When I went up to look for damage, there was a torn shingle near the top of the roof and no damage near the spot. I caulked the spot with stuff that could be applied in the rain and no more leak. I figured out later that the water ran down a truss before dripping by the outer wall.

A son and I ended up replacing the roof ourselves. While we were doing it, we got 3 requests from others to do their roofs b

 

[W2R]

samclem, here's an article talking about different "looks" for metal roofs. You probably know all this but anyway if not this will give you some idea.

Metal Roofs 101 - Bob Vila

 

[Music Lover]

A son and I ended up replacing the roof ourselves. While we were doing it, we got 3 requests from others to do their roofs

I used to do roofing as a side gig when I was younger...3 of us would take on easy jobs (not too steep, 1 storey only). It can be a very lucrative gig, but it's hard work. I would make in one day what it took me all week to earn in the cube farm. I'm proud that of the close to 100 roofs we did, and we never got a single call back due to a leak or poor installation. Almost every time, people would stop by and ask us to do their house. I no longer do roofs, but will fix leaks or maybe shingle a shed for a friend.

 

[Music Lover]

Music lover I think you missed the big heaping pile of sarcasm there.

Oops...

 

[eytonxav]

Why have you needed 4 new roofs in 23 years? Are these all on the same house, or is it multiple homes??

Same house, cause: one was due to defective shingles and the other three due to hail storms. North Texas is one of the worst places in the country for hail.

 

[HFWR]

Same house, cause: one was due to defective shingles and the other three due to hail storms. North Texas is one of the worst places in the country for hail.

Yep, in line for my replacement...

 

[NW-Bound]

Reading all this makes one want to sell his home and move into a tiny home. With a tiny home, one can do everything himself. Heck, people with no previous experience even build their own tiny home.

I respectfully disagree. Small homes may be easier due to the size, but unless you know what you're doing, you can't just "build" a house. It doesn't work that way...knowledge of basic construction techniques is required whether it is a 200 sq. ft. house or a 2000 sq. ft. house.

Music lover I think you missed the big heaping pile of sarcasm there.

Oops...

Well, I was only half-joking.

Yes, building even a tiny house requires some basic knowledge of framing. However, unless one is really ignorant and does not follow some basic principles on structural strength of material, any ineptitude will not cause loss of life and limb, and should not be too costly to fix either.

Back on the leaky roof problem faced by the OP, when one's roof can be covered with a bundle or two of shingles, well, nothing keeps one from climbing up there and reshingle it in a few hours.

 

[Walt34]

The only glitch: I'm in a typical suburban neighborhood with homes built in the late 50's/early 60s (mostly single-level ranch over basement). Nobody has a metal roof in my neighborhood, and I don't know if the house will look out of place, an/ord if the neighbors will be grabbing pitchforks if I do this.

There are metal roofing materials that look like shingles. These are two that I found:

Metal Roofs That Look Like Shingles - But Better!

Metal Roofing Materials | Best Buy Metals

 

[meierlde]

One other consideration for metal roofs is that if you live in an area with lots of hail a metal roof (if impact resistant) will survive the hail better than a shingle roof. Where I live (and my parents lived) in Tx hail storms seem to destroy roofs every 8-10 years. AFter two such storms my dad put a metal roof on in 2002. Since then the neighbors have all gotten new roofs due to hail once. Also as noted metal roofs keep the house cooler. The longer life of metal roofs is shown by insurance companies giving a discount on homeowners if you have an impact resistant roof. (Supposedly if done right tile roofs are also impact resistant).

 

[target2019]

Ray,
I know you had knees done, so getting in the attic not recommended. However, can you find a young person to go in there with a camera?

I agree with you that primary suspect is that flashing you mentioned.

If someone goes up with a hose, and you stay in the kitchen...

 

[Sunset]

I have noticed metal roofs are being used more. They are not just for barns anymore.
Besides the incredible lifespan of the roof, the heat deflecting effect is great.
currently I have a shingle roof and I stuck a remote thermometer in the attic, now being in IL it's not like Texas, but the attic got up to 124 F at the attic floor level.

 

[Sunset]

OMG... This is all we needed.

Awaiting roofers for approved insured replacement (hail damage).

Gotta go take a Prozac.

So when this happened to me, the insurance adjuster gave me a list of how much insurance would pay for roof, deck chairs, planters, vinyl siding.
I had told him I didn't pick out a roofer yet.
He said if the roofer said it was more than the ins. estimate, to have the roofer call him.
Then I had the local roofers (not the storm chasers) come and quote.
For the quotes I insisted on 4 extra roof vents, and min 35 yr shingles (not the cheap ones).
I checked them all out on BBB and googled for complaints.
Their cost was less than the ins company.
My deal was I'd pay them, as I already got the cash from the ins. company (less 10% , which the ins. company paid for each covered part after I submitted proof of the work.).

 

[RAE]

In my view, metal roofs are the way to go, at least in my part of the world (Upper Midwest). Snow slides right off, no more ice dams, no leaks, and no more replacing shingles every 15 years or so (sometimes less). I look at a lot of roofs with asphalt shingles as I drive around, and a whole lot of them where one side of the house has full south exposure have shingles that are cupped or otherwise disintegrating on the south side of the house. I don't know if they are making asphalt shingles more cheaply these days or what, but they don't seem to last very long when they are exposed to the sun all day long. I had a metal roof put on our house about 10 years ago now, and I've been very satisfied. Hopefully it is the last roof I will every have to deal with on this house. Fortunately, the crew that installed it was good, and they did a nice job.

 

[imoldernu]

A Work in Progress

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

6:25 A.M. Bleary eyed... "What the...?" Opened the blind a little, and there's a guy spreading out canvas right in font of me. Three trucks out front, and 6 coolers, out by the curb.
Dressed, and carefully out the front door... shingles, felt, nails, vents, pouring down.
Out front to take a look. Nine guys swarming the entire roof... pitchforks, shovels... and working like I've never seen before. Young guys ... actually running, with 75 lbs if shingles in their heads... to toss them into the big container in the driveway.
8:07 A.M. 90% of the roof... including the "dormer" bedroom and garage roofs, are now clear. 1680 s.f. house.
Hmm... no one speaks English, including the foreman, but he says to me...
"Two PM"... I don't understand... me "You mean done by 2 PM?"... he "Yes".

So we'll see. A work in progress...

 

[imoldernu]

8:30 AM... Old shingles... almost clear.
Temperature 85F.

 

[imoldernu]

10:30 AM
Debris from old roof cleaned up. Good start on the new one. Turned slightly cloudy, so a little cooler. Now the rat-a-tat-tat from the new shingles. Constant, but livable.

 

[imoldernu]

Roof was done at 2PM . Crew gone, with two guys left for clean up of nails, etc., a few pieces of trim, and replacement of TV antenna.

Some inside painting (water stain) and a few screen repairs to be finished by another crew. So far, so good. wouldn't have believed a full roof strip and reshingle in 8 hours. Insurance pays all but $500 deductible.

 

[rayinpenn]

Ray, do you have a skylight anywhere near the leak?

Also, it could be leaking around the roof piping.

No skylights sir... They rescheduled and are coming Friday...


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forumh

 

[Just_Steve]

Roof was done at 2PM . Crew gone, with two guys left for clean up of nails, etc., a few pieces of trim, and replacement of TV antenna.

Some inside painting (water stain) and a few screen repairs to be finished by another crew. So far, so good. wouldn't have believed a full roof strip and reshingle in 8 hours. Insurance pays all but $500 deductible.

Sounds like this crew has this down to a science.

 

[Sunset]

Just hope they used 4 or 6 nails or staples per shingle and didn't forget the roof venting

I had the same issue of speech, only 1 guy knew English, so when I told them to stop putting roof vents in the garage, there was some confusion as they didnt understand why I didn't want all the vents evenly spaced across the roof.

All worked out in the end.

 

[rayinpenn]

On the first go round at fixing the leak...they replaced a bad vent as it didn't have a snow guard...
(Essentially a piece of paper) Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forumh

 

[ponyboy]

Were there any chalk lines on that roof when they were running the shingles? If not...good luck.

 

[ponyboy]

Just hope they used 4 or 6 nails or staples per shingle and didn't forget the roof venting

I dont know a roofer worth his salt that would use 6 nails per shingle. Not only is that excessive but its also a waste.