Need NEW roof?


  #1  
Old 11-06-06, 07:19 AM
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Unhappy Need NEW roof?

I bought my house 1 year ago from "Harry Homeowner". He had bragged about putting on a new roof with his wife, Since then, Ive had contractors on the roof who tell me Harry installed the third layer of shingles. The nails he used were not long enough & do not hit the wood he was trying to pound them into, hence, gravity is holding my roof on. My contractor wants to put on a new roof. The house is big (2200 sq ft) & my husband calls it a money pit. He wonders why the contractor cant just use longer nails & re-do it. He doesnt want to spend $20,000 on a new roof. Your thoughts? Thanks/Jina
 
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Old 11-06-06, 08:51 AM
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It would probably cost you more in labor to have someone go through and carefully pry up all the shingles, put in longer nails, and then seal them all back down than it will for a tearoff and re-roof. If you did it your self, it wouldn't be costly but it would be very time consuming. $20,000 for a new roof sounds very costly. I've gotten a few estimates around $4-5K for my house. Unless it's a complex roof, or a very large single story that sounds too high.

If you get a complete tear off and re-shingle your house will thank you and you'll know it's done right.
 
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Old 12-02-06, 12:44 AM
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Originally Posted by thimblyjina
I bought my house 1 year ago from "Harry Homeowner". He had bragged about putting on a new roof with his wife, Since then, Ive had contractors on the roof who tell me Harry installed the third layer of shingles. The nails he used were not long enough & do not hit the wood he was trying to pound them into, hence, gravity is holding my roof on. My contractor wants to put on a new roof. The house is big (2200 sq ft) & my husband calls it a money pit. He wonders why the contractor cant just use longer nails & re-do it. He doesnt want to spend $20,000 on a new roof. Your thoughts? Thanks/Jina
Where are you located? I'm in So Cal and $20K would be for a very large roof. Most comp shingle roofs I sell for the average size home are between 5-8K. Take your square footage (add for the garage as well and the overhang of your eaves) and divide by 100. This will give you an approximate size for your roof in "squares".

Example my home is 1300 sq ft + 600 sq ft garage = 1900 sq ft. + 4' eaves around the perimeter at 4' by about 180' = 720 sq ft + 1900 = 2620 sq ft divided by 100 = 26.2 squares. So Cal 50 year comp roofs with tear off and sheeting go for about $260ish a square. So 26.2 times 260 is $6800 ish for a new roof for my place.
 
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Old 12-02-06, 07:52 AM
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My opinion:

I agree with chandltp. The labor involved in going back and putting longer nails in a third layer of shingles would be very high and you're still likely to have problems.

I'd tear it all off and start fresh.

Good luck.
 
  #5  
Old 12-02-06, 07:56 AM
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Need NEW roof?

3 layers? in PA 2 is maximum.

I'd get a few quotes and if they are very different, find out why. The cost is seldom an indicator of quality in our area.

If your city has a building inspection department, contact them first. Find out if the contractor you choose has a "history" (good or bad) with the department. Also ask what building code they're using, then be certain your contractor is familiar with it.

If you're in an area that experiences ice dams, be sure you get adequate ice and water shield (sometimes 2 courses are required)- if not your insurance company probably won't cover you in the event of damage
 
 

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