What is a reroof?
When an older roof or a roof that has been installed incorrectly becomes faulty and starts leaking to the point where repairs are not going to help. That’s when it is time to start looking into a new roof.
Reroofing a home can feel very overwhelming immediately. You start asking yourself questions like:
- Who do I call for a Reroof?
- Why do I need a new roof?
- Can I go over my existing roof?
- What is the reroof process?
How much is this going to cost?
That is the big one. Owning a home is a huge undertaking when it comes to all around maintenance. The largest expenses when it come to those areas is the roof. Now regular biannual maintenance can help a lot if you have a roof in already good condition and can add many years to the life of your roof.
See our PNW summer Maintenance blog post here.
Cost of Materials
Depending on the type of roofing you will use the price can vary greatly. Materials for a metal roof replacement will be costlier than a 30-year architectural shingle replacement for the same roof. This is just one example, but as the materials differ so will the price.
Cost of Labor
Just as the price for materials change, so does the cost of labor based on many different factors such as;
- steepness of the roof
- type of material to be installed
- how much material is to be installed
- potential carpentry work
- disposal fee
- delivery surcharge
Once all these factors have been taken into consideration the contractor will then come up with a price that you can decide on. That price can range greatly from project to project and contractor to contractor.
Who do I call for a reroof?
All County Roofing of course. Unfortunately, we are not located everywhere and are only able to service Clark County Washington and surrounding areas. We have crews that can travel up and down the I-5 Corridor stretching from Portland, Oregon to Longview, Washington and everything in between.
How fast can I get the company here to do the work?
Once you get a call into the contractor the time frame can range from a few days to a few weeks depending on the season and the workload of the company. We know that time is a huge factor, especially if it is almost the rainy season and your roof is leaking badly.
We suggest getting a jump on this situation and having a contractor out as early as possible to do an inspection or get a new roof on. The situation is a stressful one if the rain is here and you have water dripping down in the kitchen or bathroom.
Make sure before you hire any random roofer you check their background and make sure they have a business license and are insured. Do your due diligence, it is a huge decision on who you choose.
Why do I need a new roof?
- If your roof has been leaking or has been damaged by any falling tree limbs or high winds.
- If your roof has any buckling, curling, or molding going on, it might be time to take a closer look.
- If your roof has missing shingles or is over 20 years and is starting to look deteriorated.
These are not the only reasons, but they are very important things to look for when deciding if you are ready to call in a contractor to change out that old roof.
Can I go over my existing roof?
Yes, you can go over a roof that has a single layer of roofing. You should make sure your contractor does it right by laying down a water proofing membrane or another type of water-resistant underlayment to help prevent ice and water damage to the sheathing.
Another thing to be cautious about is if the current structure can support the weight of the additional roofing installed over the original.
Most building codes allow for 2 layers, but rarely three, and the slope must be on the steeper side.
What is the reroof process?
Inspection
The contractor will come out and inspect, measure, and look for damaged areas on the roof. They will check to see if there is any damaged sheeting, siding, venting, or flashing.
Most of the time if there is a leak the source can be found easily just by doing a walk over the roof.
Tear Off
Next, crews will come in and tarp off the ground, so landscaping and other shrubs and foliage are not compromised.
It also serves as a catch for all debris and nails that fall off the roof from the tear-off.
Crews will pull up all the old roofing and nails along with old flashing and venting and dispose into their dumpster for disposal.
Replace Damaged Sheathing & Fascia
By tearing off the old roofing and exposing the area under the contractor almost always finds some type of damage. Either it being in the deck sheathing or fascia (trim boards behind gutters and end gables).
Once found the areas are made known to the owner and then decisions on how to fix the issues will be made. These types of fixes usually come at an additional cost unless written in the original contract.
Underlayment
There are different types and styles of underlayment that need to go in different areas.
Low slope roofing (1/4” / 12’ to 4” / 12”) you will need to put down an Ice & Water membrane to protect the decking from damage.
Normal slope, from 4/12 and up, you can use 15# or 30# felt. All County Roofing has done away with using this style of felt paper on the roofs we install. Because the technology of the new style of synthetic underlayment is farther advanced at minimal additional cost.
Flashing
All flashing is usually damaged when old roofing is removed so new flashing is installed on the eaves, gables, dormer side/face walls, and chimneys.
In some instances, it can do more harm to the siding when trying to remove old flashing and it is left in place as to prevent further damage. This is also the case for embedded chimney flashing.
Venting
All pipe boots and attic ventilation boxes will be removed and upgraded ones will be installed. A lot of the time on older roof these styles of vents can become brittle and are a big culprit for leak entrances.
Some people change from the conventional style of box venting and install eaves and ridge venting. This is a style that runs along the very top of the roof and a vent padding in placed under the ridge cap shingle, to allow air to exit from the attic that has been brought in by the eave intake vents.
See our blog post on roofing ventilation for more info
Pipe boots will be changed out as well, the silicone on them deteriorates over time and it is a good idea to change them when the new roof goes on. The cost to change these is minimal, the benefits are by far worth it.
Roofing
The style of roofing to be installed will determine the speed at which it is installed. Metal roofing is more labor-intensive and will take longer than an architectural asphalt shingle roof.
Your local roofing contractor will help you determine the best product for your area and the best design for aesthetics.
All County Roofing uses many different grades and styles of roofing for our customers in Clark County Washington. Customers who live in Camas Washington on top of Prune Hill will need a little bit different type of shingle compared to the customers in downtown Vancouver, Washington.
Really it depends on the altitude of snowfall, wind potential, and several different variables. Our professionals can help with any questions that you may have, give us a call at 360-869-1141 and we will be happy to help.
Make water tight & clean up
Once the new roofing is installed and the roof is looking great then its time to double-check that all the caulking has had time to dry. Ensuring all flashing is installed correctly as we do our final inspections. As professional roofers, we pride ourselves on our installations. No leaks.
Then clean up time, we remove any sign that we were ever on your property. We know it can get annoying having guys walking all around the place. Nailing hundreds if not thousands of nails into your roof.
If the contractor is top notch he will make sure there is not a scrap of roofing or single nail gets left behind.
Timing
From start to finish a roofing job for a 2000 sq ft. home is 2 days. Some are faster, some take more time. It depends on weather, delivery, scope of work to be done, etc.
Remember that it doesn’t matter where you are in or around Clark County, WA, we are here to help with your questions. If you are in the Vancouver, WA area, or close to it and need a roof, don’t hesitate to call us!
