It’s that time of year again, when reroofing is on the mind of many people. Winter is on its way and is forecast to be a doozy.
When thinking about doing your roof, some people think they can save a few bucks by roofing over the old roof vs tearing the roof off. Should I tear my roof off? What about the extra weight on the roof? The roof, if left on and covered over with a new roof, will never have the sheathing exposed. Any unseen rot could continue its progress though the life of yet another roof. This is the main reason to remove the old roof so an inspection can be made and the rot fixed. Rot can be repaired much easily with a torn off roof than if the old roof is left on.
The cost of removing a roof is not as much as you may think. Having the roof left on and then repairing the rot later, is very time-consuming and means even more repair dollars. The rotten rafters and overhang boards can be replaced while the roof is off much easier than with a roof on. Some will say, I can just remove the roofing in the bad areas I can see from underneath the roof sheathing. This is true, but you will never see all of the damaged wood or the early stages of mold, mildew and dry rotting wood fibers from looking at the bottom side of the roof sheathing. It is just a better job in the long run to do a tear off.
Repairs are made on damaged plywood that seem to occur in transition areas. Having the roof removed and doing both a low slope roof and a steep slope roof at the same time gives you the best results. Doing it right will give your home a secure roof for decades of rain, snow and ice.