We purchased this house about 3 years ago. It is about 30 years old. The previous owner put a new roof over the old one - I’m not talking about shingles. but a whole new roof! They basically laid new rafters on top of the old shingled roof, then nailed new plywood decking to that and shingled over top. I’ve never seen that done before and I’m wondering if it is ok to do that. We now need new shingles as the existing ones are curling. I have some concerns about venting - If you go into the attic area, there are only a couple of square holes in the old rooof which where the roof vents used to be, So all the attic are needs to pass through the old vent holes, then through the vents in the new roof. The attic looks ok, no obvious moisture or mold - I did some research online and tis looks like what is kown as a “cold roof” but I’m a little concerned they put the new rafters right on top of the old shingles
Thanks for any insights
i think we may need some inside and outside pics of this one. it sounds like you could be in for a costly project to do it right.
Hi,
You should be okay. Does not sound like anything to worry about. Find out when this second roof was put on and why. The neighbors may be able to help if you can not contact the previous owner.
Post some pictures. Then we can see exactly what you have.
I was told the old roof was leaking and instead of just re shingling they decided to also extend the roof line to cover a deck at the back of the house and I suppose this was the easiest way to tie in the roof line so it looked seamless. From what I can tell on line, this “second roof” or cold roof is not unheard of but it stil seems odd, especially leaving the shingles on the original roof. I will get some pictures in the next few days but it looks perfectly normal from the outside, until i went in the attic and stuck my head up through the hole that had been cut in the old roof, (probably where a vent was) I never would have known about this,
Chris
This is definitely a short cut to roof over the old shingles but not necessarily a problem. It sounds like it was just over one area to extend it out over the deck. If so, it’s not really that uncommon.
The new shingles are probably curling because of too much heat. If they are not over 20 years old you’ll need to allow for proper ventilation so it doesn’t happen again. If you can find an experienced home inspector they can help you design a fix for a reasonable fee.
Home inspectors are usless. A 10 hour class makes them certified morons. You need a professional roofer.
Yes you can hire a roofer as long as you’re sure you can trust them. I’ve met a number who will tell you anything to get the job.
If you can find an experienced home inspector they can help you with this so you’ll know if the roofer you call in later is blowing smoke or not. It’s not exactly rocket science and doesn’t take a high level of knowledge, just a willingness to do the job with your best interests in mind.
to me,
it depends on how well the cold roof was in stalled.
will it take the beating of a reroof.
is the bottom edge, were the rafters are tapered down to nothin, secured well.
if its a ricady structure then your gonna want to go back to origanol
construction.
good luck.
gweedo.