Roofing -- How to choose a contractor?

[Cat]

Re-reading my message I see the confusion...sorry!

What I was trying to write was that the two historic structures in my area I visited had cedar shake shingles and that made me think that that might be what was most commonly used on standard (not fancy) farm house. Our (future) home presently has some kind of leaking, decayed composite shingle-looking material installed over a metal roof (not sure how?) with wood beams and lathing strips visible from the attic.

So, I'm trying to figure out what's best (to get quotes):

1) removing all the material and installing a new cedar shingle roof (probably the Certainteed product -- this is the easiest and probably lowest cost option.);

2) removing all the materials and finding a craftsman to install a new metal roof (what kind? I don't know what "standing seam" means exactly. This option has the advantage of matching the house and barns.);

or 3) do some more research and install something else entirely (e.g., slate, real shakes, etc.)?

No matter what this is a major undertaking because the roof, flashing, and soffets are leaking and have caused damage and must be replaced as soon after closing as possible.

[Don M]

Cat, If you can see the metal through the spaces in your "roofing lath" or perhaps "skip sheathing" as Dirk mentioned then your house may have originaly has a wood shingle roof which was removed and covered in metal. If the metal failed perhaps someone then nailed the composite roofing material over the metal for some reason. Our house had something similar; failed standing seam metal roof with homosote board laid between the standing seams overlaid by a Carlisle Rubber roof which also failed making everything worse. We had to remove all of it, resheath and build a new standing seam roof. Standing seam is flat metal about 20 inches wide with metal folded over seams that permanently seal one metal sheet to the next. These are also fastened to the roof decking with hidden fasteners making a solid one piece custom built metal roof which is virtually indestructable. Do a search under standing seam roofing and you can see what I am describing. Don

donaldmcleanjr@ln.amedd.army.mil

[hb]

I agree with Don. Our 1791 house has the wood lath strips across the joists in the attic with the wood shingles visible. The roof is standing seam tin over the wood shingles. It sounds as if in your case they just removed the wood shingles and put the metal down in their place.

I read somewhere that metal roofing was really becoming popular by the 1850's - because production methods finally allowed bigger sheets to be made- so your metal roof may be 150 years old by now.

My wife and I were just down to Williamsburg VA and they are using a cement composite shingle to replicate the wood shingles that their buildings should have. The cement is grey to match the color of weathered wooden shingles and moss even grows on it. I saw a few buildings side by side - one with wood shingles the other with cement -and I was hard pressed to see any difference from the ground. If you call down there they would be happy to tell you who the manufacturer is for this product.

hb2u@yahoo.com

[ceviga]

I’m in the process of hiring a roofer to reshingle my house. As I can’t actually see what is being done or how, e.g. are there enough nails and are they located correctly, did they take the time to replace rotted sheathing and or rake boards, were the roof penetrations sealed properly, were good materials used, is the chimney flashed properly, etc. are they any tips on choosing the right company? I’ve gotten an estimate from a roofer who shingled my house 20+ years ago but he doesn’t go up on the roofs anymore so I’m wondering what he has for a crew. My neighbor is a remodeling contractor who wants the job but another neighbor that he did work for wasn’t thrilled with the job he did for him. Any tips and suggestions would be appreciated. Am I overthinking this? I offered the job to Calvin and would hire him in a heartbeat at whatever $ he wanted…….but he declined….I don’t live far from the location of this year’s Break Fest and I figured he could use the roofing $ to pay for his trip. roofing company springfield va

[V-Man]

I had our old house roof replaced, our primary house roof replaced and my son's townhome roof replaced in last couple of years and my advice is get at least 3 bids and in the case of non-asphalt roofing (such as your wood shakes or a standing seam metal roof), make sure the roofer is experienced in that type, can provide references and pictures of work. As for your questions -- make a list and ask each contractor (i.e., if they encounter rotted wood, do they replace and how much is the additional cost, what underlayment do they use, what else is included/excluded in the bid?). Once you get the 3 bids, what did one company specifically include that another company left out? Often, written bids are notorious for leaving out details. The bid should at least cover (1) removal and disposal of old roof, (2) installation of [specific roofing material/brand/color] and underlayment, (3) underlayment/weather treatment of ridges and valleys, (3) ridge vent, flashing, drip edges, pipe collars, (4) replacement of rotted wood/sheathing and the cost, (5) repair/replacement of fascia/eaves and costs if extra, (6) costs of unknown roof conditions (e.g., if they find additional old layers of roofing to be removed. This applies for example in asphalt roofs where there might have been 2 old layers of asphalt roof shingles), (7) roof and labor warranties, (8) final site clean-up, (9) estimated project start and completion and (10) cost, of course.

[ceviga]

I had our old house roof replaced, our primary house roof replaced and my son's townhome roof replaced in last couple of years and my advice is get at least 3 bids and in the case of non-asphalt roofing (such as your wood shakes or a standing seam metal roof), make sure the roofer is experienced in that type, can provide references and pictures of work. As for your questions -- make a list and ask each contractor (i.e., if they encounter rotted wood, do they replace and how much is the additional cost, what underlayment do they use, what else is included/excluded in the bid?). Once you get the 3 bids, what did one company specifically include that another company left out? Often, written bids are notorious for leaving out details. The bid should at least cover (1) removal and disposal of old roof, (2) installation of [specific roofing material/brand/color] and underlayment, (3) underlayment/weather treatment of ridges and valleys, (3) ridge vent, flashing, drip edges, pipe collars, (4) replacement of rotted wood/sheathing and the cost, (5) repair/replacement of fascia/eaves and costs if extra, (6) costs of unknown roof conditions (e.g., if they find additional old layers of roofing to be removed. This applies for example in asphalt roofs where there might have been 2 old layers of asphalt roof shingles), (7) roof and labor warranties, (8) final site clean-up, (9) estimated project start and completion and (10) cost, of course.

thank you so much for your suggestion roofers in arlington