Roofing and Shingles

In this climate a roof is judged in February, not July.

Your roof comes off down to the deck every time. Tearing off is the only way to see the sheathing you are paying to cover, and any of it that is soft or rotten gets replaced before the new roof goes on instead of being buried under it. Roofing over an existing layer hides the part of the roof that is actually failing.

The estimate names the shingle, the underlayment and the ice and water shield going on your house, so when you price the job somewhere else you are comparing the same roof and not a cheaper one with the same word on it. No more than a third of it is due up front. Estimates are free within 100 miles of Seekonk, under Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor 213949 and Rhode Island contractor registration GC-51642.

Ice dams start under the roof

Ice dams are the New England roof problem, and they are an insulation and ventilation problem before they are a shingle problem. Heat leaking into your attic melts the snow sitting on the upper roof. That water runs down to the cold eave, freezes where the roof hangs past the wall, and backs the next melt up under the shingles. Shingles shed water that is running downhill, they do not hold back water that is standing still, so the stain shows up on your ceiling while the roof still looks fine from the street.

Two things answer that, and neither of them is the shingle. Ice and water shield runs well up from the eaves and into the valleys, above the line where ice backs up, so water sitting there has nowhere to get in. Then the air: soffit intake and ridge exhaust have to work together instead of fighting each other, which means the intake stays open at the eave and the ridge has something to pull. A deck kept cold does not melt snow it has no business melting, and the ice never forms at the edge to begin with.

How the job runs

Protect first Tarps go down the walls and over the plantings, and plywood goes against anything that can be hit.
Tear off Every layer comes off so the deck is in plain sight, because nothing here gets roofed over what is already there.
Inspect the deck Soft sheathing comes out, and you hear what was found and what it costs before the new deck goes back on.
Dry in Ice and water shield goes down, then underlayment, so your roof is weathertight the same day whatever the forecast says.
Shingles, flashing, ventilation Step flashing at the walls, then valleys and pipe boots, then shingles up to the ridge and the ridge vent.
Sweep with a magnet Twice: once when the job is finished, and again the next morning, because nails work their way up out of a lawn.