I lined up a roofer to strip and shingle my house in Massachusetts about 6 weeks ago. His initial guess was that he’d start in December. I called him a few days ago and got a message back that he’s “running a little behind due to the weather” and won’t get to me until after 1/1. Doesn’t surprise me since I hired him in October and this is New England.
The backgrounder on this is that the chimney was rebuilt last spring and the masons didn’t dare lift the brittle shingles to put the flashing underneath so it is lying on top of the old shingles with some tar smeared under it for a temporary seal. (I told the masons I would be having the roof done this year.) Long story short – I got laid off, money got tight, roof didn’t get done, now I’m working again and can get the roof done. Meanwhile, saw some leaking around the chimney during torrential rains in October. In general the old shingles are in fair-to-poor shape. They’re more than 20 years old and many have cracks.
I’m wondering if roofing in the winter is a bad idea. I worry about 2 things: 1. prolonged interruptions in work due to weather – i.e. I fear having a roof covered with a blue tarp for half the winter; 2. poor sealing of shingles in the cold leaving me with the prospect of a nice, new, leaky roof in winter and early spring.
Would you recommend waiting or go ahead with the job in January?
Thanks in advance.
Replies
hi BobI,
I am in the same situation you are in Massachusetts. I heard that it isn't very good to do the roof in the winter. So, I am trying to put off the roofing till warmer weather.
six of one - half dozen of the other. From 1/1 it is only another three months 'till march! Probably away to seal it until then.
If you trust the judgement and quality reputation of the ropofer, I would have this conversation with him and go with it. And if you don't trust him...
i've had jobs lined up and had to let shingles sit all winter before when I'd palnned to roiof, but weather locked me out. Other times that I've roofed all winter.
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To quote roofers nation wide, "Roofing ain't rocket science"! Doesn't matter a great deal, whether it's done in sub freezing temps or not, unless you're the guy who's doing the work. The shingles will start to seal when the temps rise high enough to make it happen. Until then, you'll have the roofer's warranty on labor, if a big wind comes up and tears out a few shingles. Not likely, really. And not a big deal to fix, if it happens.
The new flashing should present no problems either.
Edited 12/8/2005 5:52 pm ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Edited 12/8/2005 5:54 pm ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Bob,
roofing is my main gig.
I will replace entire roofs primarily from mid march untill thanksgiving.
from thanksgiving untill mid march I limit work basically to repairs only.
Occasionally a warm spell will come along when it would be feasible to do a quality replacement job mid winter----but that occasion is not to be counted on---not worth the hassle.
I once started a roof in late november and it took untill Feb. to complete it--- it's just not worth it.
basically the upside to doing it in January---isn't worth the risk of the probable downside.
likely the best you can hope for in January---is a job that is " good enough"---more likely you will recieve a job that will make it through the contractors warranty with minimal problems---but overall the lifespan of the new roof may have 10 years or more cut off it.
BTw-- I try to schedule to avoid July /August for some of the heat damage related issues as well.
Stephen
I'd say it depends on what the wind is like in your area. The main issue is that the shingles won't get warm enough to seal together until spring & you could lose a couple in high winds.
the issue is also partly---that once the shingles are installed--the seal down strips will begin losing solvents--- which will affect the shingles eventual ability to EVER seal down properly---or to at least seal down as good as during proper weather.
the heavier weight 50 year shingles generally have better seal down strips that MIGHT give you more "finagle room" in this regaurd----but they also might be more prone to cracking in the cold
So how warm does it have to get before roofing is okay? It went into the 60s early January this year. Got a rotting roof deck that I was hoping to get repaired before the winter weather struck, chimney flashed, etc. Now all of that and insulation are on hold.....
When I do shingle work when it's below 32 degrees out I make a point of hand nailing the shingles so that less damage is done to the shingle during nailing.
When laminates are cold and curled somewhat from the way they're packaged the worst way to install would be with a gun,IMHO,too much chance of blow through with the nails.
If your roof needs to be done then wait for a 4 or 5 day stretch between storms and have at it.
If done carefully the results will be very good,albeit might not seal fully for a few months.
Taylor--- the air temp may occasionally hit the 60's
but the new shingles may still be frozen bundles of ice.
and---if you are trying to do one of these jobs professionally---- it can be impossible to gather regular workers together for a hit or miss 2 day winter project.
a lot of the times it warms up into the 40's, BRIEFLY each day ------maybe a few minutes at 1:30 on the west side of a house.
In the winter I have often kicked back at home untill after noon . I will have had a bundle of shingles stashed in my basement for days staying comparatively warm and dry---waiting for a warm snap to replace some blow offs.
I have a heat gun now also.
but it just isn't worth the hassel to me to try to replace an entire roof mid winter----or to do any roofing project that is going to take more than a couple of warm hours.
Fairly often I do go out and replace gutters that have come down in ice storms----more as a courtesy to established customers----and as a defense against boredom---just to get out of the house.
but it really isn't smart to be slogging through snow and climbing up aluminum D rungs on ladders with snow covered boots on.
I actually had a nasty little fall last winter ( FEB)when I set a ladder up on what I thought was some dry concrete-------- turns out it was that stamped concrete---to look like stonework????--and there was this little patch of glare ice right under a ladder foot
I got about 12 feet up the ladder when the feet kicked out. I came down WHAM with my hands and knees right on the ladder rails. did I mention I had Knee surgery last December----that ladder kicking out didn't do my knee re-hab any good at all.
sorry to be so arrogant----but roofing is risky enough in GOOD weather. I have nothing but disdain for people who don't plan ahead and then expect me to take additional risks mid winter to bail 'em out of their own poor planning-------------------and on top of that---they seem to think they are entitled to some cut rate price mid winter during my SLOW time LOL
Best wishes to you, however,
Stephen
sorry to be so arrogant----but roofing is risky enough in GOOD weather.
Hey if you were I missed it....I appreciate the advice.....I'll talk to my (new!) roofer but I'm probably going to wait unless he has a good story to tell.....I thought I had a few more weeks, but winter storms came early this year.....
We just had one side of our roof reshingled (had a leak). Highest temp the week it was done was like 21 degrees! We'll see how they fare in winds. When I was a framer, we shingled all through the winter. Only time we had trouble was on a lake when a storm came up and blew shingles off before they sealed--and we also found out that one of the guys was only using three staples per single (staples are not a good idea either, in my opinion, but....).
Edited 12/9/2005 1:41 pm ET by Danno
Well, looking out my office window today in Natick, MA I'm starting to think that it might be wise to wait until spring. The wind is whipping snow around so that I had to study the scene for about a minute before I could barely make out the headlights of the cars on the highway which is less than 75 yards away. Needless to say they are moving slowly. Anyway, this weather makes me think that good adhesion of shingles would be a very good thing.
Thank you all for responding to my question!