The roofers just left my house, and though I didn’t watch most of the roofing but what I did see was quite good. But the last part of the roof they did was where the garage meets and wraps around the house. Here I saw them leave a small gap – maybe less than 6″x6″ that had no underlayment. They just shingled over the wood there. It was a gap between the I&W shield that goes under the flashing, and the felt that covers the rest of the roof.
Is this a big deal? They said no, but I said I was uncomfortable and asked them to redo tomorrow, when they come back. They agreed. Now I’m wondering if I’m making too much of a big deal out of this and if the fix will be worse than the original.
Just seems like a bad spot for a mistake.
Replies
Of course it's not a big deal. If the roof leaks, it won't be in their house.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
We've argued this on this forum before, but my opinion is if a roofer has to rely on the underlayment to keep a finished roof from leaking, he needs to switch to drywalling or landscaping or some other trade.
That being said, the underlayment is necessary to keep the house and it's contents dry during reroofing and to provide a slip sheet between the shingles and the sheathing. I don't think a 6"x6' area is that big of a deal, but why did this happen? My guess is they got in a hurry. What else did they get in a hurry about?
Good luck.
http://grantlogan.net/
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but I think it was an end of the day sloppiness thing since everything else looked good. So what's your opinion - get them to redo it or not? I'm a little worried that getting them to take off enough shingles to fix it will open up another problem. I'm assuming you have to take them off in the order you put them on to get to the bad spot - maybe 5-10 rows.
No, you can just open up a specific spot to do a repair. It should not be that big of a deal.
It should be fixed. Roofs are a system. It's stupid to leave one part of that system broken.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I guess my point is, if everything else looks good, I wouldn't worry about it, especially if the roofer is reputable and you think he'll come back if there's a problem. If they have to redo something that's not important in their minds (and in reality), they might cut a corner later to compensate. If you're comfortable with everything else, I'd let it go. I was a little late reading your other thread about how to treat crews working on your home. I know that the ones that bring drinks or a snack out or just tell my guys they're appreciated get little extras. When a warranty problem rears it's ugly head, the customers that paid their bills promptly get the prompest service. Good luck.I like my sandwiches with three pieces of bread. I think I'll start a club.
http://grantlogan.net/
I tore down a house several years ago that had ZERO underlayment under the shingles and it had never leaked in over 30 years.
But it was, otherwise, a hack-built house, so, in the over-all scheme of things, it was a little ironic that the poorly done roof was the only aspect of the structure still in fine shape.
That being said, as the homeowner, you are perfectly within your right to insist on the work being completed correctly.
As a builder, I bear the responsibility for the durability and longevity of the work that I do, and I will always do my best to take care of those seemingly insignificant things that may, in the long term, protect me from an irate phone call on a stormy Sunday night 3 years down the road that may (or may not) be the result of me, or one of my employees cutting a corner as a job is finishing up.
If you are satisfied with the end result, and a leak occurs down the road, it then may fall into the category of a repair and may be the result of something other than the roof job. But, if that little square of underlayment isn't addressed NOW, that spot will remain in your brain as the seed that was the beginning of your home's demise. :-)
It's your money and, unless you're a totally unreasonable pin-head (there are some of those) you have every right to expect good worksmanship.
The roofer came back and fixed the one spot. It took him only 10 minute or so and I felt good about it.To sort of change topic:
The roof was finished friday and it rained saturday. I crawled up into the attic to check for leaks and didn't find any. However, I noticed that many nails had missed the mark and been shot (nail gun) between two 1x6 sheathing boards, instead of into wood. I think all the shingles probably have some nails in wood but are the nails that aren't in any wood (essentially, just nailed into the felt) a problem? I couldn't find anyone who'd hand nail the whole roof, so I sort of figured this might happen - despite my roofers guarantees that they'd know if they missed the mark.