<p>We need to replace our roof. I hate these decisions. I think will get just ashpalt shingles but I could be talked into others. I need as much information as you all want to provide. I am in the mid-atlantic area if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>Find a recommendation from a friend or neighbor. Roofers don’t have the best reputation and roofing is one of the biggest expenses for home repair. Make sure to check your town/city ordinance for the layers of shingles you can have on your roof as sometimes they give you a price for new shingles over old. Sometimes if shingles need to be removed, you also may need new underlayment as well if damage shows up underneath the shingles. Never pay completely in advance and make sure to check the quality of the work before paying the balance. Once you pay, roofers never seem to be able to come back, if there are problems. PS…ask to see their license and insurance policy before contracting with them. You don’t want to end up paying for their fall off your roof!</p>
<p>Get something that will fit in with the neighborhood - you might check with a realtor or just drive around. You don’t want asphalt if everyone else has slate or wood shakes. Similarly, you don’t want to buy a roof that is more expensive / fancier than your neighborhood justifies.</p>
<p>Of course if you never intend to sell your house you can ignore the above advice.</p>
<p>Get multiple quotes. I had quotes ranging from $8000 to $19500.</p>
<p>Ask for references from last two years and go see roofs and talk to owners to find out if they were satisfied.</p>
<p>First thing is I’d think about what needs to be done. That involves knowing what you can about the roof’s history. How old are these shingles? Do you know what work was done last time? Any leaks? Any odd spots where the roof goes? Any sags? (You can check for sags in early morn or evening when the sun is at an angle to throw shadows.) Any venting issues inside? So for example, if the current roof is shingles nailed over shingles, then you know there is a lot to strip off and that means the underlayment may need some work. If the roof is your standard rip and replace, then you don’t want to be sold more work than you need out of ignorance.</p>
<p>Lots of things to work for, contractors don’t always have the best reputation, and for a reason. What other people have mentioned, what style of roofing and so forth, is important, also the warrantee and how much it covers. With choosing a company:</p>
<p>-Try to find local companies, where the people do a lot of work in your area. Sometimes you get these firms putting fliers in your mailbox, saying they are working in the neighborhood and will give you a fantastic price if you just agree to do it in the next week. Problem is, lot of these are fly by night outfits, they don’t have insurance, they hire day laborers off the street, and they are using god knows what materials…</p>
<p>I wound ask them for local, references, and talk to the people.</p>
<p>-Don’t necessarily take the low bid, without researching them. There are firms that routinely do that, then mysteriously discover things ‘not covered in the original contract’ and will soak you, or suddenly will be in the middle of a job, leaving it half done, then will tell you they have a lot to do, and to finish the job soon they need ‘inducement’ i.e more money. </p>
<p>-Verify their license, check with the BBB, and verify their insurance…</p>
<p>-Ask them if they have their own crews, or if they hire guys as needed (i.e day laborers)…the work done by picking up guys like that is spotty, and depending on how much they supervise or not, you can end up with a night mare (on an expansion I had, the crews totally screwed up the roof, I mean did things I wouldn’t do, like lined up the slits in the shingles, put the blower for a ventilation fan fascing up slope, didn’t nail the shingles right…</p>
<p>-Ask them how long it will take them to do the roof, start to finish</p>
<p>The cost depends on the size of the roof and the materials. Asphault shingles generally are 25 years, some of the fiberglass ones claim 50 years, but they are also pro rated (the longer you have it, the less they pay, after the full replacement warranty runs out, it depreciates quickly).</p>
<p>The biggest factor about being local is that they will care about your reputation. Roofing co from the next state over won’t care if they botch your roof and you badmouth them, they probably made their money in your area long time ago, so don’t care, but someone who does a lot of jobs in the area does, plus you know where to get them.</p>
<p>Also ask them what they will do to clean up debris and nails after they’re done. Some do a much better job of getting stray nails and other things than others. </p>
<p>It of the will cost more if you have existing shingles torn off and disposed of. We did that even though we could have added another layer because it is more weight on the roof, which H didn’t want. </p>
<p>Do you live in an area with fire risk? If so, metal roofs are much more fire resistant a x can save your home–our friends home was the only one left standing in the neighborhood because they were the only metal roof. </p>
<p>Consider adding insulation while you’re working on your roof anyway. It might be an ideal time and add value and energy efficiency.</p>
<p>Do you have family that can do it for you? My parents need a new roof and we’re going to put it up ourselves later this spring/summer.</p>
<p>Agree with matching the neighborhood. Also, pick a color that compliments your house. for instance a brown roof might look good on a yellow house but if your house is pink or something then grey or black would look better. :)</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID BIONIC using CC</p>
<p>More information. We have a ashpalt roof now that is 18 1/2 years old. It is the original roof with a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years. We will have it completely removed and any problems fixed before we replace shingles. The roof we have now has had to be fixed multiple times. We also need to have an attic fan removed and the hole fixed. </p>
<p>Someone gave a really good point. The last couple of times we had some day labors assist contractors that have been in business for awhile and to be honest the work was not done well. Is there a way to make sure I don’t get day workers on my properity? I don’t want to assume the responsibility for their health and safety.</p>
<p>One of the ways to ask is to ask them if they have their own crews, or do they subcontract. Contractors will not outright say they hire day laborers, for many reasons (including the fact that more then a few of them are likely to be undocumented immigrants). If they won’t answer that, don’t hire them. Also, if you hire a contractor, ask for references and talk to the people and ask them about the crews they used, they will generally know as well, or probably can tell you if they thought they had their own crews.</p>
<p>Don’t rule out ordering roof job through a place like Lowes or Home Depot. They use independent roofing contractors, but you have Lowes looking over their shoulder making sure they don’t rip you off too bad! They can be competitive on price too and will have insurance and worker comp for crews. Lowes had a roofer do a duplex near us a few weeks ago…the crew was huge with about 50 guys…they showed up at daybreak, tore the old roofing off and had entire 3000 sq ft roof done by about 2:00 p.m. I guess county bldg. dept. just came out and did final inspection a couple of days later…they aren’t as quick as the roofer was.</p>
<p>I would put the architectural shingles on. They are more durable, you might get a small discount on your homeowner’s insurance and they look nice. I would also spend the money and install ridge vents vs the fans. You will be amazed at how much those help cool your house in the summer.</p>
<p>Ask your homeowners’ insurance office if you would qualify for a reduced rate if you install impact-resistant shingles. In some states there is a substantial reduction. ( though if you made it18 years with the same shingles you probably don’t live where it hails a lot)</p>
<p>We had a radient barrier put down before the new shingles, which cut our AC costs as well.</p>
<p>We had our roof done last year( yr before) very happy. local company, gave lots of references. It had MAnY layers so those were all removed. They were so fast & also very polite and careful about cleanup.
They also gave us addresses of home where they had installed shingles so we could see what the material and color looked like. i went with a grey black, which is darker than I originally planned. But what looks neutral in a chip, looks different on the roof.</p>
<p>We got Architect 80, which has a 30-40 year warranty and looks very nice. We also got a ridge vent, that does really help cool our home which otherwise got pretty hot in the summer and spring. Have had no problems with the roof in the 20+ years since we had it installed. We had it checked recently before installing photovoltaic and the roofer said it was still in excellent shape and would likely last another decade or longer.</p>
<p>Our local roofer was so pleased with how our roof turned out, he got our permission to add our roof job to his portfolio. Same with our hardwood floor installer. I guess we’re in several portfolios now. :)</p>
<p>Architectural shingles are a good choice. There’s some fake slate out there that’s very good looking if it’s appropriate to your house. Your house isn’t quite as old as some I’ve done work on, but IME nearly every house from the 1950’s or 60’s needs new roof sheathing, while older houses will be fine.</p>
<p>We had our roof done last fall, also about 18 years old. We had architectural shingles, and actually got the same color and style to replace them (new shingle company…original one is no longer in business). We doubled the size of our ice damming stuff (rubber under the shingles). </p>
<p>We had estimates done by two contractors who had done roofs on multiple friend’s houses. Both were licensed and insured. We had seen the work and it was good. Estimates were within $500 but we chose the higher one…mostly because he climbed on the roof to inspect it. The other guy didn’t.</p>
<p>It looks great!</p>
<p>We just had our roof replaced and I agree about the architectural shingles; they just look nicer. Our quotes were for roof only and there was another charge for any rotted wood underneath. We did not have much damaged wood underneath. We also got new gutters, but I do not know whether that is normal or not.</p>
<p>I hear the architectural shingles are treated or something so mildew doesn’t grow on them. The regular shingles we got soon got streaky with mildew. At the time I didn’t know the difference or I would have paid for the more expensive but, in the long run, better looking ones.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Spend a few weeks asking everyone you run into for recommendations. A few companies will float to the top. Also ask about companies that friends and neighbors would NOT recommend, and why.</p></li>
<li><p>Weed out most of the roofers. For us, we weeded out “Bill’s cousin Frank, who does roofing on the side”, and similar recommendations.</p></li>
<li><p>Google the companies, check out the BBB, Angie’s list, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>By now, you should be down to a reasonable number of companies to call.</p></li>
<li><p>Research shingles on line. We went with architectual shingles. There are only a couple of big name companies that manufacture them. Pick one of the manufacturers that has been in business for a long time and has good reviews. We went with Certainteed Landmark Lifetime Shingles. There are others that are also fine. The weather in your part of the country will determine what your roofing needs will be.</p></li>
<li><p>Now, call the companies you are interested in, and ask for an onsite estimate for the particular shingles you want. And <strong><em>ask if the company has a Master Shingle Certification from that shingle company</em></strong>. It isn’t a huge big deal, but it indicates that at least they are willing to take a course or two to improve their craft with the shingle you want.</p></li>
<li><p>*** Also ask about warranties offered by the roofing company. If the roofer is a master shingler, they can offer a set of warranties based on their application of the shingle and other roofing products, done to the manufacturer’s specifications, that guarantee their workmanship for ten or more years. The guarantee means they will use particular products from a particular manufacturer, applied in a particular way.***</p></li>
<li><p>Eliminate any roofers who try to give an estimate without going on the roof. Ask for photos of trouble spots. </p></li>
<li><p>Ask to see proof they are licensed, insured, bonded, and use their own permanent crews only. Ask how long they’ve been in business. Eliminate anyone who isn’t eager to work with you, doesn’t respond to your call, or pressures you to sign a contract.</p></li>
<li><p>Ask for references in the area. Of the 5 roofers we got estimates from, all were able to give us a long list of home addresses we could look at, and phone numbers of recent customers we could call.</p></li>
<li><p>In the end, all of our estimates were within a couple thousand dollars of one another, for the same product, to be applied in the same way, with an attic fan to be removed, and replacement of any water damaged wood once the old roof was removed. We would have been happy using any of them.</p></li>
</ol>