Potential Roofing Surprises

Your roofer should send over an inspector before they make you a project estimate—and a good roofer will offer this service free of charge. But even a great inspector can’t predict every roofing issue. Once your roofing team pulls off the shingles or tiles under your roof, there’s a chance they might find damaged underlayment, like one of the following conditions.

Surprise 1: Rotten decking

The number one issue roofers uncover during a tear-off is rotten or soft roof decking. Decking is the plywood sheathing that sits below your roof’s shingles and doesn’t always get replaced in every roofing project. In fact, if the decking seems to be in good shape, an honest roofer will usually leave it alone. However, if the roofer finds rotting or soft plywood when they tear off your home’s shingles, they’ll need to put in new sheathing first, before adding the roof on top of that.

Surprise 2: Inadequate decking

If the roofer starts walking on your roof and finds that the decking is springy or bouncy, they’ll also recommend new sheathing. Modern decking is made from half-inch-thick plywood or OSB panels. But at one time, some local building departments didn’t require anything thicker than ⅜-inch. This thin plywood is now considered inadequate, so a roofer will usually replace it when they find it. Make sure your roofer is using the proper materials and installing your roof according to code. If they try to cut corners, you’ll probably end up expanding your roofing emergency budget.

Source: modernize