New roof

[healey36]

Had a guy come out today and give me an estimate for a new 4000 sq. ft. roof...$41,000. Seems it's no longer a matter of stripping off the old roof, laying new paper and new shingles. Now they've made attic/roof ventilation part of the equation. Ridge vents, attic fans, louvers, etc. apparently are deemed inadequate. Other roofers I've spoken to, probably old school, seem to be in the $12,000-$18,000 range. Guy made a hell of a pitch, but I'm thinking it's nuts.

Healey

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Google him/his co. See what the world says about him.

I did that when I had to have a 3-trunk huge Birch, which towered over the house, removed and it's roots ground away and carted off. I added viewpoints from folks who knew his work around here, too, and ended up quite satisfied. (I Thank God I did all that because this latest storm would have brought one or all of the trunks down on the house or outward towards the main drag and it's power lines.)

Everybody Googles everybody and every entity, nowadays, so there's really no excuse for being under-informed, is there .
Respectfully suggested.
Murph

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Had a guy come out today and give me an estimate for a new 4000 sq. ft. roof...$41,000. Seems it's no longer a matter of stripping off the old roof, laying new paper and new shingles. Now they've made attic/roof ventilation part of the equation. Ridge vents, attic fans, louvers, etc. apparently are deemed inadequate. Other roofers I've spoken to, probably old school, seem to be in the $12,000-$18,000 range. Guy made a hell of a pitch, but I'm thinking it's nuts.

It's usually ridge vents or attic fan, but not both at the same time. There are a lot of new things depending on county and codes thereof pertaining to ice damming and such, but double everyone else would send me to the research center, and also prompt getting 3-5 quotes. Make sure that they can actually do what they put in the contract as well. The end louver attic vents were supposed to be replaced when we did our roof just a few years ago; company found out that they were not standard off the shelf plug-in's and ended up giving up and refunding us vs. actually doing the work that still needs doing. I could make them, but I can't install them....

[robert.]

Run down to home depot and find some day labors. You can probably ask the guy in the roofing section. He'll point you in the direction of some roofers. 3 guys from south of the border can do your roof in a weekend. For $6,000. Why pay some fat cat to sit at home while his guys do your roof?

[Mitch]

Had our roof done 2 years ago this August past. The estimates from the big companies were out of site, and they all had looked over our house from space on Google Earth, and already knew the square footage and came armed with their estimates. The highest was SEARS, at nealy $38 grand. We got a local that ripped off the old and got rid of it, and put on new Owens Corning 50 year shingles for $8500. Included new flashing and building a cricket around the chimney.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Run down to home depot and find some day labors. You can probably ask the guy in the roofing section. He'll point you in the direction of some roofers. 3 guys from south of the border can do your roof in a weekend. For $6,000. Why pay some fat cat to sit at home while his guys do your roof?

Because after the 1st rain, you'll need a new roof.

[healey36]

Thanks for the input. I'm almost certain to use a local roofer, someone that does this for a living, and has done it for some reasonable period of time. Looking at BBB and a few other websites, it does appear that roofing outfits have some of the most egregious "reviews".

Ever notice how many roofs these days have black streaks of mold or mildew all over them? I don't remember that thirty years ago.

Healey

[chuck]

healy36 said:

Ever notice how many roofs these days have black streaks of mold or mildew all over them? I don't remember that thirty years ago

A lot of this is from poor attic ventilation and improper attic insulation. If the ventilation is done properly the roof deck will be pretty chilly and the roof should last even longer. I installed rafter vents between the trusses that lined up with the attic soffit vents. This kept the R-25 batts from sealing off the air flow. The R-25 bats were in addition to the R-25 existing insulation when we bought the house.

BTW, some of those black streaks may be from the loss of the gravel from the existing shingles showing the underlying asphalt and not from any biologic source.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Healey, Would you ever consider having Solar Panels mounted on your roof?

Would anybody here do so?
Murph

[healey36]

First off, I had a guy in to look at the feasibility, and he said without cutting down all of the trees in my back yard it was not worth it. I talked to my local extension agent, and he calculated that I was probably getting 10-15 degrees of cooling from the trees in summer, and that, together with the fact that I enjoy the trees, made it a deal-breaker for me. The installer also said I didn't have enough south-facing roof exposure to make it practicable.

Personally, I would only get solar panels if I owned them outright. Most of the outfits pushing them now, it's a lease arrangement. You're basically leasing your roof to the solar people for a credit applied to your monthly electric bill. Presumably if you're pushing a lot of electricity back onto the grid, the credit goes up, possibly mitigating the monthly utility company charges. It's a pretty complex arrangement, one that the homeowner doesn't necessarily control. Plus you have to maintain your underlying roof, which might mean a roof replacement prior to the panel installation, or worse, a roof replacement years after the panels are installed.

If you're thinking about it, talk to your electric provider. They may have (1) a list of installers they are partnering with, and (2) might offer some sort of financial incentive to do it, i.e. a one-time credit upon install.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

...Personally, I would only get solar panels if I owned them outright. Most of the outfits pushing them now, it's a lease arrangement. You're basically leasing your roof to the solar people for a credit applied to your monthly electric bill. Presumably if you're pushing a lot of electricity back onto the grid, the credit goes up, possibly mitigating the monthly utility company charges. It's a pretty complex arrangement, one that the homeowner doesn't necessarily control. Plus you have to maintain your underlying roof, which might mean a roof replacement prior to the panel installation, or worse, a roof replacement years after the panels are installed.

If you're thinking about it, talk to your electric provider. They may have (1) a list of installers they are partnering with, and (2) might offer some sort of financial incentive to do it, i.e. a one-time credit upon install.

Wow, Healey, Thank You for being so gracious and kind by providing me with that explanation. I had no idea of any of that!
I have noticed, during my exercise-walks, that more and more houses in the extended neighborhood have been getting panels onto their roofs.

My house has one of its slopes entirely facing East, and the opposite side of the house has its slope (if that's what they are called) facing due-West, so I figured that would be ideal for capturing sunlight nearly all day long. However, (a) I don't need help with my electric bill, and (b) it occurred to me that if a storm damaged my roof by having some of those Solar Panels ripped off, who would be paying for the resulting damage, I wondered. So, that made the idea of joining some of my neighbors in having the panels a no-no, for me.
Thanks again for your kindness.
You certainly know how to exercise camaraderie on a forum and make good conversation.
Murph

[Rufus T. Firefly]

So, that made the idea of joining some of my neighbors in having the panels a no-no, for me.

Might be worth looking into the terms on that effort? Was that simply something that the neighbors thought up, or was it something that the utility company in conjunction with a solar outfit was promoting / offering? You don't need help on your electric bill? Electricity must be cheap where you are - rates over in PA at my place are way high.

It seems that the days where a homeowner could opt to do this as an individual have passed and now there are all sorts of regulations regarding certified sources and "preferred companies" set up along side the various counties and townships that also seem very closely connected to the utility companies. Last I looked (just a few months ago) I got the distinct impression that doing anything other than going 100% solar and going off grid that everything favored the utilities. Total reversal of when the encouragement of going solar favored the homeowner.

[E7]

Thanks for the input. I'm almost certain to use a local roofer, someone that does this for a living, and has done it for some reasonable period of time. Looking at BBB and a few other websites, it does appear that roofing outfits have some of the most egregious "reviews".

Ever notice how many roofs these days have black streaks of mold or mildew all over them? I don't remember that thirty years ago.

Healey

Your home owners insurance company should be able to give you names of reputable roofers.

Modern shingles are treated for mildew.

[healey36]

Thanks E7. My homeowners is with the Farm...seems their customer service has taken a substantial hit of late, probably a by-product of their centralized claims processing reorg. I could reach out to them, but I'd harbor some low expectations.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Thank You, Rufus, for sharing your perspective on what I said.
Murph