I re-read an earlier post of mine asking how to go about re-roofing my house, and laughed a little. A few weeks later, and (a little) wiser, I'm getting estimates to have the pro's re-roof for me (thanks for the 'what were you thinking?' comments..!). My question now is, what should you consider when deciding on the brand and grade of shingles to have installed? The cheapest, thin ones (25yr) generally do look cheap and thin after you've looked at the expensive (40 yr) thickest ones! The mid-range ones (30 yr) generally look Ok. The price difference is small between each grade, but multiplied out by a large area it becomes a little more significant. I was talking to a roofing co rep today, and the conversation turned quite morbid when we talked about whether people are still around when the warranty period comes to its end....! Also, is there much difference between brands, other than colour and styles? I have one estimate that specified Elk, though they said they work with most brands. The estimate ranged from $7.5k (Prestique II) to $7.8 (Prestique I) to $8.1k (Prestique Plus) through the ranges, so actually not that a big a difference (but half way to a new dishwasher, for example). For GAF Grand Sequoia, from the same company, it jumped to $8.9k (which would pay for a live-in dishwasher!). It included re-sheathing with 7/16" OSB for a 1600 sq ft ranch plus dbl garage. The quote was actually quite impressive; they included about 35 pages of addresses of houses they've re-roofed...!

I had a couple of nephews remove ice from my roof and gutters about a 40 foot section. They did a great job till I noticed several holes in the bottom of the section of gutter they were working on . The holes vary in size and location and look like puncture marks. Question :What and how would be the best way to repair the gutter ? I know replacing the gutter would be the best but that would cost to much. Help leaky gutter