Entries Tagged 'Roofing' ↓

Do you want to give your Mansard-style roof an upgrade while giving your house a face-lift? I decided to use synthetic slate on mine. While my house originally had a slate mansard, it had been roofed with ugly asphalt shingles years ago. These shingles were starting to fail (and they were hideous 3-tabs) so I had to make the decision of what route to go. Luckily, I discovered slate underneath the roll roofing on the rear slope of the mansard- this confirmed that the roof was originally slate. Next I had to remove the asphalt shingles (and I was desperately hoping that the original slate did NOT still exist under the asphalt shingles on the front slope). When asphalt shingles are installed over slate, the nails driven into the slate shatters the slate and you are left with thousands of razor-sharp pieces of rock to contend with. Luckily, the original had been removed prior to the installation of the asphalt. I was stunned. The guys who put the asphalt shingles on some 25 years ago neglected to install ANY flashing at all (step, counter, drip-edge, etc.) and simply applied huge gobs of black asphalt roof cement to the rake edges of the roof. UGH. Fortunately, the age of the tar and the temperatures being in the mid 50′s meant that the tar was relatively brittle. Solution- a flat-blade cold chisel and mason’s hammer chipped most of the chunks right off. UNFORTUNATELY- asphalt cement also stains the brick and the stains are nearly impossible to remove without damaging the brick. I will have to learn to live with some imperfection. Observe the before:

Once all the cruddy old roofing and paper was removed, it was time to do some assessing. The existing framing was sufficient to support the new roofing. I knew this for two reasons:

1. The new roof is synthetic slate which is SUBSTANTIALLY lighter than natural slate, and the roof was originally roofed with natural slate. Therefore, it had held the larger weight at one time.
2. I had repaired the rafter tails and supports for the mansard 2 years prior to this project when I had replaced the damaged soffits and fascia on the front of the house. I put in additional cribbage bracing when I did this which was bearing on the masonry wall at a 60 degree angle and took the “bounce” out of the 2×4 mansard rafters.

Next I had to investigate the existing sheathing for problems. The sheathing was 1×12 planks original to the house. Codes prefer that these be replaced with plywood, but do not require it unless the existing is damaged. While I did find some damage to the existing, it was isolated to one piece on the main slope and one each on the two small “hip” sides. I replaced the small piece on the main with old-growth clear douglas fir which matched what was there. On the hips, I cut triangles out of Advantech decking plywood and installed that. I did do the replacement as per code preference because the vast majority of decking was in great shape, I did not want to disturb the underframing structure, and the plywood preference by code is due to the stability needed for asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles require a plywood deck with NO gaps or wind can rip away the shingles-slate/tile do not require this nor does synthetic slate provided all the nailstrikes are into solid material.

Once those repairs were made, I “papered in” with #30 roofing felt. I prefer the #30 over the standard #15 as it has a lot more strength, is much more tear-resistant, and can handle winds much better. It is required for natural slate installations, but not for synthetic slate installations. I was battling rain and consistent 15-25mph windy days with some days offering 35-40 mph gusts. Needless to say, this part was nothing but good times. I did get the paper on before the first rains came, and we were 100% watertight.

And as this lovely roof boasted a 16/12 pitch, I did the lower section using ladders/planks/scaffolding, the midsection using planks on roofjacks and a chicken ladder, and the top from the main flat roof. I will say, there were moments I had my nerves a little frayed (especially on the windy days), but I am a believer in and practitioner of fall-arrest harness use.  I didn’t use the amount of nailers and rails I would have preferred, but I knew that if I fell, it would suck a lot less. Harnessed falls do still hurt, but they slow the decent with less force and prevent complete drops.

I then installed the aluminum drip edge, snapped my chalk lines, and installed the starter and 1st courses. Once past the initial layout, I did my 2nd and third courses using the markings on the shingles. At course three, I took multiple measurements and snapped a new king line to make sure I wasn’t veering off or wandering on my accuracy. After that, I didn’t need to snap any more lines as the shingle markings were extremely accurate (one HUGE plus with the synthetic slate) and the nature of the roughness around the shingle allows some play. I am glad I did this check-up line though, if I had been off line, each successive course makes the error show more and it just gets worse and worse. I installed aluminum step flashing as I went at the rakes and hips. The cards I made were 10″x13″. I had to terminate the two hips under the fifth course, and while I had my concerns about how this would come out, it worked quite well with the preformed hip/and/ridge shingles.

I had to cut the top tiles into 10″ pieces, and I decided to use some poly-adhesive under the bottoms of these shingles for a little extra insurance against wind. At this point, I have not installed the ridge cap shingles or the counterflashing at the rakes, I am waiting on the shingles to arrive at the supplier (unfortunately, none of this stuff is stock or easily returnable). As for the counterflashing, I ab fabricating it out of 18ga sheet copper now as my next post will show in detail. Current state of the roof looks like this:

Note: I have not removed the jack brackets yet. Also, I mixed the random colors myself as I purchased these before you could get the “premixed bundles” the suppliers now offer. I am glad I did this though as I was sure that the pattern would be totally random, which is more historically accurate to this time period in my opinion. I also, wanted the roof to look like it had been there long enough to have had repair pieces put in that didn’t necessarily match the others….

There are things in life one should never skimp on. The most common I hear are:

1. Lunchmeat
2. Cheese
3. Toilet paper

There are things in construction that bear the same simple rules. I would say the same for all construction, but at the very least (from a safety standpoint) they are:

1. Electrical
2. Structural (framing/masonry/concrete)
3. Roofing
4. Plumbing (remember we are talking about human waste and potable/drinking water)

Lets hit on roofing. There are lots of crews in this business that will bid lowest for installing the same stuff as the reputable guys (same stuff meaning the same brand materials). This leads to the thought “it is the same brand and material, right? It has the same warranty, right? Why pay more than the lowest bid?”

Well, if you hang a 300lb mirror on the wall with one 100lb-rated hook instead of three or four, it is still installed. Right? At least until it falls off the wall.

Standard nailing for an asphalt shingle roof is usually 4 nails per shingle. Some manufacturers even want five, and once you get into slate/tile/composite, it is totally different. I you don’t follow the manufacturer’s installation specs, the manufacturer won’t honor the warranty. See Tamko’s site info on shingle installation requirements by clicking here.

We are currently repairing some missing shingles on a roof that is only six years old. The new shingles we are installing in the repair are the same brand and color as the original, but they don’t match. This is because the six-year-old shingles have faded. It looks kind of odd right now, but they will blend better over time as the new shingles weather.

Why does a 6 year old roof need shingles replaced? No there was not a hurricane. The original roofers installed new decking over the original, and installed the shingles with 3 nails per shingle, and they did not install underlayment (tar paper)!

The homeowner paid $8000 to have the roofing done six years ago, and after I let him know the cost to re-roof it now, he said that he had already paid the 8K to do it before, he didn’t want to pay again. “Repair it” he said. So now we are repairing it by installing tar paper and shingles wherever they have blown or fallen off- with 4 nails this time.

But- the original contractor was cheap and they were FAST!

We are doing good repairs, but the only real lasting repair in this case is to redo the whole roof. And he will have to do just that long before the shingles’ lifespan is out. Our patches will hold, and we will warranty them, but other spots on the roof will continue to come apart.

Oh yeah- and there is no warranty offered or honored by the shingle manufacturers if you don’t install underlayment and you don’t follow a 4-nail minimum nailing pattern. Also, the nails have to be the proper depth, proper nail length, and nailed in the proper locations on the shingle.

So now the homeowner finds out that there is no warranty from the manufacturer on the shingles.

So he called the original roofer – repeatedly – and was unable to reach the original roofer. In fact (big surprise) the number has been disconnected. We have performed two major repairs so far, and he will still need a new roof in the next five years. If he had spent $2500 to $3000 more when the roof was installed and hired a licensed and insured contractor, he could have saved the repair costs which are already close to the $2500 difference, and would not be looking at a new roof in a few years.

Time period – 25 years

Amount spent on the current roof – likely to be a total of $25000 when the new roof is installed in a few years.

Amount to do it right the first time – $11000

Savings if it had been done right in the first place – $14000

But those original roofers were the lowest bid, and they were so FAST!

Buyer beware! The lowest bid does not mean the best bid.