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Posted by buffalobill on April 13, 2008, 2:13 am
> About 9 years ago the two 20 year old skylights on our 120 year old house
> started to leak, and the 15 year old shingles looked wavy, and we
> reluctantly began to think, a little, about getting a new roof.
>
> Over a period of 9 years or so, we had 7 or 8 roofers come by and give an
> estimate. All but two said the same thing:
> $5000 more or less; $6/sq foot for plywood as needed.
>
> The first of the two exceptions was a two-man outfit who told me the house
> had to have plywood nailed on before the shingles went on and that the job
> would cost about 7500 (this was about 8 years ago).
>
> I remember thinking that they fellow must be crazy since everybody else
> gave a figure of 5000.
>
> But we didn't do anything about the roof except to put down a plastic
> bucket and, later, two plastic buckets, when it rained.
>
> Finally, our next door neighbour had her roof done. Her house is a twin of
> ours and is the same age. She told us it was costing her 9000+ and they
> were going to sheath the house in plywood before putting on the shingles.
> We thought that must be an unnecessary expense since all the other guys
> only used plywood as needed.
>
> While that job was going on, we thought maybe it was time to get the job
> finally done, and called in a big local outfit that had a good reputation
> according to the local newspaper poll.
>
> The salesman was adamant that in a house as old as ours, it was necessary
> to sheath the roof in plywood; and that as a standard thing they then
> added felt, followed by the shingles. He quoted a figure of 9000+
>
> We were shocked at the cost, but not quite as shocked as we would have
> been if we hadn't seen the work being done on our neighbour's house: I
> could see that they were using plywood and felt, and I could see that the
> exposed roofboards looked like hell. I couldn't tell what ours looked like
> because our attic is finished, but it seemed reasonable that they would be
> in similar shape to those of our neighbour.
>
> We called in another outfit that had also been given good marks in the
> poll. Their salesman quoted the usual 5000/$6 per sq foot. By now, I had a
> slightly different perspective and asked him if he thought felt might be
> good to put on the roof before the shingles. He said that would be good
> since it would make the roof 'smoother' - this is without any mention of
> plywood. I then asked him about sheathing in plywood and he said that
> could be done for $1900 or so.
>
> After that, I realized that a roofer who is willing to be honest with you
> about what is needed for a proper roofing job is a rare bird, and we
> decided to have the first outfit do the job.
>
> The roofers arrived in late March. They took 4 days to do the work, and
> when I called to point out a small, almost invisible, 'skirt' they had
> missed, came back the next day to finish. The gentleman who does the
> flashing showed up the next day to flash the chimneys and back porch. The
> roofing team was helpful and pleasant. All in all, the company could not
> have been more professional, or exhibited more knowledge of the ins and
> outs of the business, including how to make it as painless as possible for
> the homeowners.
>
> Given my vast ignorance, I feel we dodged a bullet and were damn lucky to
> find the outfit that finally did the job.
in buffalo ny i use [turn speakers off avoid music]:
http://www.trylock.com/
also, roof components vary by climate, see also:
http://www.buildingscienceconsulting.com/resources/
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