Pry off old roof shingles with pitch fork.
Reshingle vs new roof.
Pro tip for low sloped roofs photo by carl tremblay while asphalt shingle is a good roofing material it s not the best choice in all situations.
In this video this old house general contractor tom silva explains how to reshingle a roof steps.
It s clearly easier and cheaper to leave the old shingles in place but there s some special prep work involved with a re roof removing vents ridge caps and misshapen shingles among other things and you still have to replace or add new flashing which sometimes can be tricky over old roofing.
In fact the only pro to a shingle over is it s cheaper and cleaner.
In general it is not a good roofing practice to overlay a traditional asphalt shingle roof versus a complete tear off and replacement with a new roof for the very reason you stated.
You can t examine the decking to determine if there is any damage that needs repaired.
What you need to know dave law last updated january 24 2020 here is a scenario we hear about all the time.
Most of these will be unknown until you hire a professional to examine your roof.
This contractor told me i don t need to tear off my existing shingles when we re do our roof.
But you must take care to install shingles correctly so they lie flat.
Reroofing is the process of layering one set of new shingles over a set of existing shingles.
One of the most important factors in determining the expenditure of your new roof is the inclusion of the pitch of your roof.
In fact reports show that a new roof yields more than 80 of its original cost upon resale.
Although it sounds like a good idea we can assure you the cons heavily outweigh the pros.
Cover roof deck with 30 pound felt underlayment.
However when done right it also yields the biggest return on your investment.
A bundle or two of new shingles stored flat in the garage comes in handy if your new roof gets damaged later.
Installation is easier than for a tear off job because you can use the existing shingles as guides for laying the new ones.
When contemplating a new roof many people hope to simply do a shingle over and avoid the extra cost and mess of tearing off the existing roof and starting from scratch.
Roof tear off vs.
Nail down loose roof sheathing to rafters.
The roof is one of the biggest investments you will make in your home.
Staple felt every 6 to 8 inches.
Your contractor can then use them for exact match patch repairs.
Nail drip edge flashing to lower edge of roof.
If conditions are right new shingles laid over old shingles can be just as attractive and durable as shingles laid on bare sheathing.
If you don t take your roof down to the sheathing you will never know if you have proper underlayment or are experiencing sheathing rot or ice or water damage.
2nd layer of shingles.
It can only be done once so if you already have two layers of roofing in place reroofing is not an option for you.