Complete 'Right Way' or 'Good Enough'

Basics: old home; 2/3 shingled, 1/3 tin. Discovered hidden leak when plaster/lathe fell thru drop clg. Leak traced to poor seam joint of the 2 roofs. Removed drops, tore out pl/lathe. Had new roof installed - shingles entire length. Flash forward a few years & we have a NEW leak issue (water following same path, now drywall damaged). Infrared shows leak due to the fact that the tin section was low-pitch roof but not treated as such.

Originalroofer was a friend of our electrician (who was a friend-at the time) & we paid $5K for a very basic 1 rectangular ranch & the small front porch roof. Since we had no ceilings, we could see how much new plywood he replaced & how many wood webs or whatever he repaired/replaced. *(we also had him back later to replace beams in the lvg room & vaulted the ceiling. Great carpenter…).

Estimate just came in for Flintastic: to reslope the RIGHT SIDE ONLY of the back 1/3 of my house is coming in @ 9400, + 800 for ridge vent & 1200 to reflash the chimney: *also note- reference to $3/sf for plywood replace as needed+$50/hr+materials & is followed by a ‘full plywood redeck incuded’ note. So confused…

We did a 2nd to do the roof & add central air, recessed lights & drywall. Now we’re tapped; I’m just having trouble swallowing that 1/6 of my roof could run that much!! Any thoughts?

*located in the Phila 'burbs if anyone’s local!

[quote=“Ceecee18”]Basics: old home; 2/3 shingled, 1/3 tin. Discovered hidden leak when plaster/lathe fell thru drop clg. Leak traced to poor seam joint of the 2 roofs. Removed drops, tore out pl/lathe. Had new roof installed - shingles entire length. Flash forward a few years & we have a NEW leak issue (water following same path, now drywall damaged). Infrared shows leak due to the fact that the tin section was low-pitch roof but not treated as such.

Originalroofer was a friend of our electrician (who was a friend-at the time) & we paid $5K for a very basic 1 rectangular ranch & the small front porch roof. Since we had no ceilings, we could see how much new plywood he replaced & how many wood webs or whatever he repaired/replaced. *(we also had him back later to replace beams in the lvg room & vaulted the ceiling. Great carpenter…).

Estimate just came in for Flintastic: to reslope the RIGHT SIDE ONLY of the back 1/3 of my house is coming in @ 9400, + 800 for ridge vent & 1200 to reflash the chimney: *also note- reference to $3/sf for plywood replace as needed+$50/hr+materials & is followed by a ‘full plywood redeck incuded’ note. So confused…

We did a 2nd to do the roof & add central air, recessed lights & drywall. Now we’re tapped; I’m just having trouble swallowing that 1/6 of my roof could run that much!! Any thoughts?

*located in the Phila 'burbs if anyone’s local![/quote]

Pictures and fewer abbreviations would help. Had a hard time understanding your post. $1200 to reflash chimney does sound a bit high.

Have you looked into another estimate?

Prices range wildly from region to region, 1,200.00 for a small, all copper chimney flashing is avg here. Check into EPDM roofing for your low slope as it may be cheaper that Flintastic. As Bcdemon said, get more estimates.

I charge $500 cash or personal check to re lead a small chimney. I remove the old lead, remove the old step flashings, step back the shingles around the chimney, Grace Ice & Water shield the area, grind in & install new lead & install new shingles. Half a day, one man, 500 bucks cash or personal check. Now masons charge triple what I do, the set up pipe staging, make a mess, & have 2 or 3 men out there for 2 days. That’s in the Boston area, I heard Phili is cheaper, so shop around. Be careful what the word re flash means to some guys! It could mean cement & fabric to some jack leggers!

Getting more estimates this week. Just read the hand notes from the 1st guy out to see the leak :“leaking side of roof has one pitch; should be at least a two pitch”

Chimney reference in estimate is reflash with new copper (includes wood cricket). Complete Greek to me; did find out from husband that he thinks the guy said they sub that work out, which could be why it seems so high.

Will try to get photos to give a reference the area. Again, the low slope is the rear 1/3 of our house, and they’re only doing the right side. Seems like I might be able to get more done for $11K+ !!!

Around here you would be losing money doing that.

500 pays for the material and labor.
Where is the profit and warranty money?

[quote=“Ceecee18”]Getting more estimates this week. Just read the hand notes from the 1st guy out to see the leak :“leaking side of roof has one pitch; should be at least a two pitch”

Chimney reference in estimate is reflash with new copper (includes wood cricket). Complete Greek to me; did find out from husband that he thinks the guy said they sub that work out, which could be why it seems so high.

Will try to get photos to give a reference the area. Again, the low slope is the rear 1/3 of our house, and they’re only doing the right side. Seems like I might be able to get more done for $11K+ !!![/quote]

Building a cricket and new copper? 1200 is a fair price then.

I make out, most of the material is leftover from previous chimney & roof jobs. Also, I’m a one man show so no overhead. Cash or personal check, it’s all profit. $500 for what 3 hours work? Also remember I said lead, not copper. If I had a $500 chimney everyday I’d be a millionaire!

Almost every roofer in my area does the job just good enough, and most customers are damned happy with that because they “got a deal” and have no clue that it’s the minor things they can’t see because they don’t understand roofs, that make the real difference in the longevity of the roof.

Having standards and always trying to do the job right has lost me countless jobs, and the guys cutting corners offering a cheaper price usually make more on the same job than I would. Hmmmmm

I believe the roof we had done 5 yrs ago was ‘good enough’ ~~ I think it was a combo of him not ‘getting’ the pitch problem, and I think the little dip we see is from weakened ply that was acceptable when he pulled the old tin off.

It’s just there are so many variables that people pull out to justify/explain why it’s this much for one guy but that much for you… And repairing 1/4 of the roof for 2x what the original cost just seemed excessive. Running the #'s for a metal roof seems to be putting me @/about the $11K estimate for repairs, and eliminates my pitch problem (if I’m not mistaken, please correct if I’m wrong).

*A note about the chimney: the cost seems to be up because they sub it out & take a bite.

Waiting for estimate from 2nd contractor ~~ husband had a hard time getting anyone out to give estimate, I think because he kept saying we needed a repair job. I said ‘replace’ & suddenly the calls poured in.

Anyway … the guy out Fri said the slope is fine, but the dip/sag area is the problem. Of course it’s in an area of the home where there’s literally no crawlspace access (w/o tearing out interior ceiling).

Can someone confirm/deny that aluminum can be installed over shingle, &/or over not-perfect ply?

Not quite understanding the original post. Why would the roof need a second pitch? A shed roof only has 1 pitch.

If it’s a pitch issue as in not enough for asphalt shingles, use a low slope product. Flintlastic SA is a interesting product that LOOKS nice on homes with visible lower slope sections say a 2:12 pitch.

If it’s got any pitch to it at all and isn’t 100% flat which it shouldn’t be… get a estimate for EPDM. Flintlastic SA should be much cheaper than EPDM in my opinion as it is faster to install, and overall cheaper. EPDM rolls are cheap per sq ft but the accessories to seam and finish the roofing system properly are a fortune comparatively.

If you have pictures of the failed roof it would help people on here out a bunch more I am sure. A picture is really worth a thousand words!

[quote=“Ceecee18”]Waiting for estimate from 2nd contractor ~~ husband had a hard time getting anyone out to give estimate, I think because he kept saying we needed a repair job. I said ‘replace’ & suddenly the calls poured in.

Anyway … the guy out Fri said the slope is fine, but the dip/sag area is the problem. Of course it’s in an area of the home where there’s literally no crawlspace access (w/o tearing out interior ceiling).

Can someone confirm/deny that aluminum can be installed over shingle, &/or over not-perfect ply?[/quote]

Also if there is a few bad sheets of plywood, it’s easily changed during a tear off and installation of a new roof. If the roof was shingled and has a low pitch there should have been ice and water barrier installed over the whole substrate as per manufacture installation guidelines. If it’s under a 2:12 pitch it shouldn’t be shingled.