The worlds worst roofing job

deacon

deacon

minor bike philosopher
First of all let me start by saying I wouldn't put a roof on my house. I am terrified just replacing a shingle or two. most of the time I hire someone to do it for me.

So I have them blow off every year. Usually only once a year and no more than four of five. Now for that to happen something has to have been done wrong. There were a lot of things done wrong. Let me say first that I do know a bad job from a good job. What I didn't know then was that some roofers are complete idiots. I'm sure not all are but some are for sure.

I had a perfectly good single roof on my house but it was showing signs of deterioration so it was just a matter of time. So I opted to put a roof over it rather than tear it off. That seemed the most reasonable thing to do. I got estimates from people who were recommended to me. That also seemed a reasonable thing to do.

I allowed them to furnish the roofing, which was a mistake. Oh they got a good brand and I made sure that it had the right warrantee. However it must have come from some really off the wall manufacturer because I have never been able to match it, when a shingle sails off to the south pacific, I wind up with a different color replacement.

Also on the day they put it on my father in law died. It was completely out of the blue. I should have told them to not come, but it didn't seem to be a fair thing to do. So when I finished dealing with that, the roof was on. It was also cold as heck that day. I had it done in the winter trying to save a few bucks on the installation.

I didn't realize until the first shingle blew off that they had attached the shingles with drives staples. I have no idea if this would hold on one shingle into the deck but I tell you right now it will not hold going through two shingles. I would never have allowed that if I had been home at the time.

I am facing doing the roof again maybe this summer maybe a year from now but one thing is I will furnish the shingles through the home depot or Lowe's. I want to be able to match them at least close. I also want control over the brand and warrantee. I will make it plain that if I can not be on site, I will not let them start the job.

I actually blame them for only the drive staples they should have known wouldn't hold. All the rest was just things that worked against me. This next job is going to be tear off two layers of shingles and replace so it won't be cheap but I expect that it will be done right this time.
 
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It sounds like your builder(roofer) didn't follow code. I would think there is a minimum length nails that are required for that type of installation. I would contact the builder first and give him the chance to make it right. If you don't get it resolved then go to the city and have the inspector come out and look at the installation and give his impression. Maybe he can tell how it was signed of by the city that way. And lastly you can contact the better business burough in your area and file a complaint against the roofer. Therefore, no one else will be taken by this roofer and get bad results.
 
As far as color, thats pretty much the way it is. Shingles and tiles are coded in batches precisely because they cannot for some reason make them the same color every time.

On the new roof, or if you ever do any tile work, be sure and put a bundle...or box in the case of tile away somewhere safe in case you ever need repair. Of course, that only helps if the repair happens early enough in the roof's life that the sun hasn't faded the color.
 
Roofing in winter is not always the best idea. Standard tar backed shingles don't seat properly until they heat up and basically melt together. This is where your weather proofing and durability come in. If the sun can't bake the tiles together the wind is going to get under them and send them flying no matter what nails are used.
 
Deacon, have you ever considered a metal roof? My brother had the same problem here in BC when he lived a block from the ocean on a hill side.

Most of the neibours followed him when they saw it worked. Helped sell the house.

Steve.
 
Get a metal roof put on. It will last longer than you will if it is a good quality metal. My mother in law had someone to reroof her house and they removed the old shingles and put the new ones on with a staple gun. Every time the wind got high several shingles would fly off and I had to replace them. I used roofing nails and never lost any that I put on. BTW we never could locate the people that put the roof on, they just disappeared.
 
I agree with everyone's comments. It was a year later that the first shingle blew off and they were long gone. I went through all my extra shingles the second year. I haven't priced any roof yet but I will be pricing metal as well as fiberglass for sure.

I didn't know how he put them roof on till he was gone even though he was recommended. The guy who recommended him is probably chasing his shingles as well.. The roof is nearing the end of it's life and thats why I am debating what to do next.

I did know about the tar seal but I had no idea that the winter sun wouldn't be hot enough for the roof to seal it. But I do know now it's a july roof next, if I go with the fiberglass. I have bought shingles for a shed I roofed from home depot twenty years ago and no they don't match perfectly but they are at least close. The ones I have had to buy don't even come close. Wife says the roof looks like a calico cat.

It's a good idea to get these things out in the open maybe some new guy can learn from my mistakes. Not everyone is willing to admit when they do stupid things, I try to be man enough to step up to my mistakes and try to make something positive from it. So learn from an old fool lol
 
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Elmo said:
Get a metal roof put on. It will last longer than you will if it is a good quality metal.
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Yes Deacon, Metal roofs are the way to go. It's what they use in the homeland and it withstands heavy hurricanes. LOL

j/k
 

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All kidding aside, over here we have tile roofs and they seem to hold up real good. I had a huge 200+ lb branch fall on my roof and all it did was crack two tiles that were easily replaced.
 
drive staples can be used thru 1 layer of shingles, but you need nails to go thru 2 layers.. year b4 last I re roofed my house w/ 3 tab, had help but it was july, hot, took 2 weekends. bought a nailer from HF, couldn't have done w/o it.. not sure I would do it again
 
I found someone to replace the roofing shingles. That wind did a real number on my roof. Several more shingles are missing and even more are hanging on by only a corner. I also am having them replace the seal around the roof openings.

I took a close look at the shingles that blew off. They are thick on the part that was under the shingle above it. the part that was exposed was almost down to the base fiberglass. I think the lack of rigidity helped the wind get under the roof and blow it apart.

I went onto the roof myself and took about ten steps. That is when I realized that I was just about to commit suicide. There is a difference between making your peace with death and rushing headlong into oblivion. I guess I'm not quite as ready as I pretend to be.
 
roofing is no fun - i,ve had a sciatic nerve problem ever since doing my roof ( my own stupidity ) i thought i could save a few trips up the ladder by carrying 2 bundles of shingles at a time ( that lasted all but 3 trips up the ladder )

day 2 had the shingle supplier come with the roof loader .

those roofers make it look so easy , i see a crew of 2 or 3 do it in one day .
and it took 5 of us amateurs 3 days to do ( never again )

unfortunately my roof was an emergency repair , and couldn,t afford the metal roof that i had intended to put on at the time i needed to do the roof .

if you can , get a nice fancy metal , vinyl , or something roof ( they look great , ad tons of curb appeal to the house , which increases the value of the house ) and , some , have a 50 year warranty .
 
yeah, steel is the way to go.
shingling is always great fun, it's not bad unless you have an old house with a really steep roof like this ^
 
It seems when I was younger someone was always needing help with roofing. Since then I have gotten shakier and the roofs have gotten steeper. All in all a recipe for disaster.
 
my parents got a metal roof and now they can use their cell phone in the house. the wi-fi goes screwy too. Just something to consider
 
MaxPower said:
my parents got a metal roof and now they can use their cell phone in the house. the wi-fi goes screwy too. Just something to consider
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yup, that can happen.. solution is to mount an antenne outside and put a repeater inside for cell. but that can get expensive.. larger antenne will work for the wifi also, and that can be inside
 
Elmo said:
I have a metal roof and have absolutely no problems with my cellphone.
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they can tho, it depends on how it's installed.. if the metal roof is raised off of the original roof, it won't effect it, but if it's ontop of the original roof, then it can have an effect.
 
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