Interviewing a roofing company is a very difficult task. Most will give you addresses to drive by. In reality, do you really know what mistakes to look for? Does the average person know what to look for? Probably not.

The material is not as important as the installation. Concerning the company/person whom told you Timberline has a lifetime warranty, I wouldn't even consider that company. All shingle material is pro-rated, like a car battery. Back when I was in the industry (20+ hard years experience), we gave a lifetime on labor for the life of the material warranty. There's absolutely no reason when done correctly, the labor portion should ever fail, unless there is an act considered an act of God.

You don't name, which area you are in. In my area, turbines were found to be a problem, when they quit turning. Wind driven elements can enter the turbine when the turbine is froze up.

There is a formula for figuring intake for ridge vent. I'm a firm believer in ridge vent such as Shingle Vent ll. It's _not_ a roll out cloth type, which can fail because it rots. The intake uses soffit vents.

A double layer tear off is a little much for a one man band. However, I'd rather have one person who knows what they're doing, instead of several who don't have a clue.

Unless the roof is steep. The usual approach to tear off is opposite of where the debris ends up. If a dumpster or dump truck can only park out front, the tear off should start on the rear of structure. Material should be carried over the roof, placed in a chute or thrown into the dumpster. Upper levels should be done b/4 lower levels so no debris falls on the new material. If someone tells you they place tarps on the lawn/bushes etc, be aware plastic tarps will kill grass/shrubs/bushes in an instant in extreme heat. If shingle material falls on the same in the heat, it burns wherever it lands. Extreme care must be taken.

All decking should be re-fastened as needed. A backpack or leaf blower should be taken to the deck & gutters b/4 any ice/water shield or felt is installed.

Clean up should be noted in contract, at the very least to be every day.

I could go on & on how installation of material should be installed.

My best advice is, ask all potential roofing contractors if they have a _brake_ . You'll no doubt raise a few eyebrows. Any legit installer should have a brake to bend custom flashings.

Ask all for at least 3 job addresses with clients names & phone numbers, which the jobs are at LEAST 5 years old. This allows ample time for any problems to have shown up. If there were problems, ask the clients what they were, and how they were corrected.

My local doesn't require a _roofers license_, but it does require a General Contractors License. You must carry $2 million in liability insurance, and each city requires permits to be pulled.

Good luck on your search.

Im not a roofing professional but after lots of research, I did my own roof. I would go with a synthetic underlayment and ridge vents. The turbines dont do much in my opinion and only really work when the thing is spinning. They are much less appealing as well

Turbines are old fashioned and don't really work. Ridge venting works best, but it MUST be in conjunction with a properly vented soffit. That means redoing your soffit if it's not vented, and it means using the chutes in the attic eaves to be sure that the aire has a direct path and isn't blocked by insulation. If you have the typical builder grade installation of soffits and insulation, you'll have to redo all of that to get the system to work properly.

If you are in a hot/humid climate one possible solution to the attic ventilation issue is to create a non vented attic. That's especially valuable if you have your HVAC and ducting in the attic. The roof deck itself is insulated with spray foam, creating a semi conditioned space where the heat is kept out of the home at the exterior plane, rather than allowed to enter the attic at all.

Whichever route you choose, you're not "just" doing the roof here. You have to address the whole system. If you don't, you can dramatically increase your utility bills and decrease the life of your roof and create moisture problems within the home. So, if you don't have active leaks at the moment, you may want to take your time to do both projects together rather than one closely following the other. It would probably be less stressful to you also to wait until after the wedding. Trying to accomplish projects in time for an artificial deadline always sets you up for problems.

Only thing I'd add to the suggestions above is to go to your county courthouse and check for any claims that have been filed against the contractors.
Only when we had to take our roofing contractor to small claims did we learn that he had 3 earlier claims against him. We won our case............

Further hollysprings' comment, any roofer who still thinks a power ventilator is a good idea (other than for padding his bill) is underinformed, at best. The only study on power ventilators shows that they use more electricity than they save in running the air conditioning.

A ridge vent and unobstructed soffit vents, with the balance towards more soffit vents is ideal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Joe Lstiburek: A Crash Course in Roof Venting

This post was edited by worthy on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 16:21

Roof35, thank you for the great information. The roof is not steep at all. All of the roofing companies that are in good standing with the state are 1 1/2 - 2 hours away. None of the locals have the required licenses.

8mpg, I hate those turbines anyway.

holly, more good information, thank you. They didn't mention anything about soffits so I will call them tomorrow.

annz, I checked them out with BBB and the state. It is a great idea to check the county records too. Thanks.

worthy, that article explained a lot. I am not sure what my attic rafters look like or if they have enough air space. We have deep eaves and no vents in the soffits which are covered by vinyl siding.

Questions...
1. Would I be unreasonable if I asked the roofers not to throw the nails on the ground?

2. Should the roofers do anything or check anything inside my attic before they put a ridge vent in?

3. My house was a small lake cabin that has been added on to over the years. It still has the original roof and rafters below the current roof. My husband has been up in the attic and he said the original wood shingles are still there. So it seems that we have a roof over a roof that will block air flow. But if the roof ever leaks, it will have to leak through both of them. So is it a bad thing to have a double roof? I know the wood shake shingles are very dry, and if we ever have a fire, they will burn quickly.

Thanks for your help. Peke

I forgot to mention that I live in Oklahoma, and we have all weather temperatures from below zero ice storms to 115 degree summers plus lots of humidity. Peke

If you have 2 roof's now they HAVE to come off no matter what the roofers say. You HAVE to have a licensed roofer do your roof in my opinion. Sufficient Soffit Vents and Ridge Vent are a must in my opinion as well and anything other than all of the above your pissing away money!

That's a lot of weight for your foundation and walls to be carrying. You will probably need all new sheathing as well since the first layer is cedar. That's not usually installed on solid sheathing like asphalt shingles need to be.

This is a BIG job, and shouldn't be farmed out to the lowest bidder. You need a nice sized outfit who can handle the intricacies of the job. You've got multiple systems to address here, with the insulation, ventilation, and roofing all being intertwined. I'll also add gutters to that mix. It doesn't make any sense to have a contractor there redoing the roofing with the scaffolding all in place and not address the gutters as well.

No reputable contractor will deliberately throw nails onto your property. But neither will one guarantee that some nails won't make it to the ground rather than the dumpster. If you have some concerns about this, then wait until fall after the first frost so you yourself can tarp all around the house and police the nails. That way no plants will be harmed by the protective measures. Or, be willing to pay extra for a contractor to take that extra protective step.

So is it a bad thing to have a double roof?

One of my neighbours has the same thing, the result of a major reno 29 years ago that included changing the roofline strictly for aesthetic reasons.

In a mixed climate such as Oklahoma--panhandle is mixed dry, the rest is mixed-humid--a vented attic serves two purposes, says Lstiburek:

1) in hot weather it expels solar-heated hot air to reduce cooling loads;

2) In cold weather, "the primary purpose of ventilation is to maintain a cold roof temperature to avoid ice dams created by melting snow and to vent any moisture that moves from the conditioned living space to the attic."

To work, a vented attic needs to be slightly pressurized. That means vents low and high.

******
I am curious as to why a previous poster insists the encapsulated roof has to be removed.

This post was edited by worthy on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 16:47

"I am curious as to why a previous poster insists the encapsulated roof has to be removed."

Because American insurance companies will require it. Most will be cancel your policy if you have more than two layers of roofing on a home. Plus, the weight issue.

Just to add to live_wire_oak's statement about the sheathing.

Some wood shake shingles are/were installed with what is called _skip sheathing_. A method used with slate roofs.

If this is the case, you may be looking at full sheathing deck replacement.

This post was edited by Roof35 on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 18:22

Oh my gosh. What a mess!

Let me make sure I have explained the roof inside another roof problem.

1. There are two layers of shingles on the one story house and two story garage. They will remove both.

2. The second story only has one roof or attic.

3. The main house has one shallow pitched roof plus a higher roof over it. You can climb up in the attic under the original roof AND climb on top of the original wood shingles. You can look up and see the inside roof of the second roof. It looks like they nailed to the original rafters and made the add on a higher pitch. Then they put a 30' beam in.

I wish I could take a picture.

4. So with this information are you telling me the roofer should have gone inside the attic to look at it?

5. Am I right in thinking that the insurance will only pay for the underlayment up to the shingles? Then I would have to pay for all new trusses/rafters/decking?

6. Are you telling me that the "entire" roof has to come off? I will see the sky?

7. How much more would the cost be to totally redo the roof? (If I have to remove the whole thing.)

I can see how the two architectural roofs would put a lot of weight on the foundations and walls.

That would be my luck.....remodel the kitchen and the house falls down! (my husband hates flying on an airplane with me. He says that I have horrible luck and he shouldn't ride in the same plane.)

I think I have a headache.

Thanks for your help. I hope I explained it better. You guys probably understood, but I am not sure about my explanation and use of roofing terminology.
Peke