PDA

View Full Version : New Roof - Any professional thoughts?



Dan Mages
09-17-2009, 1:31 PM
Wifey and I finally got the money together to install a new roof on the house. It is a TAMKO Heritage 30 year roof in Slatetone Grey. I know nothing about roofs, so any comments on the work based on what you see here would be greatly appreciated. I posted this in a roofing forum and a couple of comments came up on the chimney flashing and the vent boots.

Thanks!

Dan


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v647/DanMages/Roof/

Joe Mioux
09-17-2009, 1:50 PM
I probably would have the carpenters make a cricket to shed the water away from your chimney. the way it is currently done will/could cause problems in future, ie. ice damming comes to mind if you get severe ice/rain/snow days

joe

btw: i ain't no professional roofer, but have installed a couple and have paid for a few more.

Cary Falk
09-17-2009, 2:17 PM
I have worked for an outfit that shingled roofs in my younger days. The buckled shingles next to the flashing is not good. I am wondering why they reused the pipe boots. We used to replace them. The ridge line with the 2 differnet directions of shingles and the connecting one with the exposed nails looks bad. We have very few exposed and when we couldn't get around it we would put a dap of black jack on them to seal the holes and seal the nail to keep from rusting. It may turn out that the stuff is purely cosmetic, but it wouldn't have met our standards.

Brian Effinger
09-17-2009, 9:09 PM
As Joe said, a cricket behind the chimney would have been good, but that was the way the house was built. There are some cosmetic issues, as Cary stated, but overall it should be OK. The only real concerns I would have (other than the cricket), would be the flashing/roofing around the chimney looks a little wonky, and even though you can't see it, ice & water shield should have went down before the shingles.

Darius Ferlas
09-17-2009, 10:46 PM
I did roofing some 20 years ago as a part of my contracting adventure that lasted about 5 years before I moved to Canada.

Some parts of workmanship can be properly evaluated only for a given climatic zone - amount of rainfall, Winter temperatures, average speed and direction of wind and such.

Looking at this roof from my climate (Niagara, Canada) these are my thoughts:

Flashing around the chimney
It is unclear whether the top line of the flashing is embedded in the brick joints. It should. It doesn't take much - 1/8" to 1/4" is plenty. From what I see, the general approach is correct and I wouldn't spend time and money on any structural changes to the roof behind the chimney if the copper is indeed embedded in the brick joints..

Boots around vents and vents
While I don't believe this is a must, I do not look favorably at roofers who do not do complete exchange of these wherever practical and doable for parts over the roof line. Whataver was done around your vents looks good though.

101_0082.jpg - I would put a couple more nail in there. In fact I would put screws with rubber collars seals. Using only nails, and only 3 of them poses a risk of gradual lifting of the nails as the wind continues to hit the vent.

101_0089.jpg the row of shingles just above the vent. WTF happened there? Did they shrink from rain ? ;)

101_0090.jpg this shows a correct approach to the way copper is bent under the shingles but the execution is wrong. You don't need a "barrier" that tall. Bending the copper almost flat is sufficient. Water will not travel over the thickness of the copper flushing. As it is shwon on the picture (depending on wind direction) there is a risk of that shingle being gradually lifted and eventually torn.

101_0057.jpg - I hope these valeys have something under them, such as at least 12 inches of aluminum flashing on both sides of the valley line.

101_0059.jpg the first row of shingles on the left seem a little too long, leaving a little less space between their edges and the edge of the gutter than I would have left. If that row is not sitting on some kind of edge cap then they will eventually bend down, crack at the bend and the ends will tear off. Not a leak concern, but this looks ugly and poses a risk of plugging downspout during heavy rains.

101_0063.jpg the overlap doesn't seem to be very generous, but that may depend on manufacturer's recommendations.

101_0068.jpg - similar as described before for the vent, the wind is very likely to work its way through lifting that shingle and tearing it put. There is a possibility of lifting nails currently hidden by the shingle behind it. The optics of this photo are a bit confusing, so IF the slope is from the front to the far side of what is shown there then this botched shingle is badly placed. In fact, it would then make the entire ridge cap incorrect. It should run in one direction.

Alan Trout
09-17-2009, 11:39 PM
I am a professional inspector and see several things wrong just looking at pictures. Some things I can't tell for sure unless I was on the roof. First there is no cricket at the chimney. There really should be. The counter flashing at the chimney does not appear to be properly cut into the masonry. I hate rubber roof jacks. In South Texas they are dead in 5 years in our sun and always are source of leaks. It is always best to use lead roof jacks. They will last a lifetime. No visible upper end roof ventilation which can be as serious of an issue up in your neck of the woods as in ours for different reasons. I our part of the country you are trying to keep the attic space cool in the summer. Up in your areas you are trying to keep it cold in the winter to help prevent ice dams. Heat from the house can buildup in the attic space can cause ice dams if there is no way for the heat to escape. Exposed nail heads should be sealed over. Step flashings at the sides of the chimney is not done correctly.

Good Luck

Alan

Dan Mages
09-18-2009, 8:52 AM
Thanks for the comments. I will see if I can get a city inspector to look over the roof and see if he has problems with what has been mentioned. Hopefully these issues will be resolved quickly.

Dan

Cliff Rohrabacher
09-18-2009, 2:19 PM
I probably would have the carpenters make a cricket

Ive built a few of these.

Never knew what it was called.
Thanks

128186

Michael Wetzel
09-18-2009, 8:03 PM
1. Silicon caulk on a roof is not acceptable.
2. Not changing boots and vents is not acceptable.
3. Chimney flashing is questionable and the lifted shingles next to the chimney isn't good.
4. I hope the valleys are done properly.