Need a new roof

[bczoom]

Up on the roof today. Most of it is fine but there's places that definitely need repair. Sky light area in particular.

Sky lights are needed.

Any advise on brands for new sky lights? Mrs. Zoom would like the kind with the mini-blinds between the glass.

Also, what's the going rate for a new roof? My plan is I buy the materials but sub out the labor. We'll be buying the architectural shingles. I need rough prices on the labor. Any ideas on a tear-off price/square also appreciated.

Project is probably 40 square (give or take...).

 

[Junkman]

around here ...... $100 - $175 per square for tear off and reshingle... you pay for the carting off of material and cleaning up the ground. Just depends on if you want insured workers or emanuel labour.....

 

[Melensdad]

Also, what's the going rate for a new roof? My plan is I buy the materials but sub out the labor. We'll be buying the architectural shingles.

For architectural shingles, take a serious look at DaVinci Shingles. They are what I plan on using when I have to re-roof (but that is still many years away). By far the best looking shingles I've ever seen. I got samples of their shingles when I built the garage, also got samples of several other brands. NONE even came close to the look and quality of the DaVinci brand.

http://www.roofingstore.ca/DaVinci.htm

http://www.davinciroofscapes.com/

They are a bit on the expensive side, but damn they are awesome

 

[dzalphakilo]

Not sure about the skylights, we have a couple, but not with the blinds between the glass. All of our windows do have that though (blinds between the glass), and the are the Pella brand. Checked their website, they have skylights, but didn't see them with the blinds in between the glass (skylights).

As far as the roof, went with the Owens Corning brand, 25 year architectural shingle. Entire roof, about 35 squares came out to $5100, including shingles and everything cleaned up afterwards. Was not the highest quote, nor was it the lowest quote.

 

[joasis]

Now if you never want to roof again, have a metal roof installed!....For maybe double what you will pay for shingles, you could get a panel style metal roof...I don't know if I can post a link, but if you go to DIY chat dot com, and look my name up, you will find pictures of roofs my guys have done.

 

[dzalphakilo]

Now if you never want to roof again, have a metal roof installed!....For maybe double what you will pay for shingles, you could get a panel style metal roof...I don't know if I can post a link, but if you go to DIY chat dot com, and look my name up, you will find pictures of roofs my guys have done.

Correct me if I'm wrong, there are three types of installations on a metal roof? Each type of installation being more time consuming and more expensive than the other. Cheapest being the "overlay" meathod with the sheet metal screws in the "open". This is the cheapest. The most expensive meathod is the "tounge sp? and groove meathod (where the screws are not in the open). Terms could be off, we actually considered a sheet metal roof, but the guy who I gave the job too talked me out of the sheet metal roof. That being said, he would do the metal roof, but thought for the expense, plus the upkeep, shingles would be a better route. Now, I could be wrong, and this guy could of been feeding me a line of bull, but, he was the one who gave me the most options, explained those options and how much it would cost. He took the time and effort to go over all of these options, which a couple of othe other roofers didn't do. When I got a quote from the others on a sheet metal roof, price wasn't as bad as I thought, but when I asked them the type of installation, it was the "easiest and cheapest" way to put the metal roof on. What had me a little peeved as a consumer is that they did not take the time to tell me how they were going to do the job, just giving me a good price. Now that being said, as mentioned in another post, the guy who did our roof has been a member of the Better Business Buro for quite some time, had high ratings, no complaints, had references, and would do the metal roof if I wanted to, but it would cost me close to 14k. He told me I would be happy with the metal roof if he installed it, but he didn't think I could justify the expense.

Again I could be wrong and misinformed, but as a consumer, appreciated the time this guy took with me, unlike some of the other contractors I called.

 

[joasis]

Since I am a general contractor, and not bidding your job, I can offer an un-biased opinion...The least expensive option you mention is the classic pro panel roof.....and yes, screws are shot through the sheet, into the roof. If the shingles are laying flat, this can be installed over the shingles, and this is an industry approved method, no matter who tells you what...insurance companies allow overlay on one layer of comps. The high end option you mention is a concealed fastener roof, and works the same wa, except the panels lap together, and the screws are under the next panel...like vinyl siding. The high option is a metal stone coated shingle look alike, at $600 a square and higher. I know of very few maintenance issues with the metal roofs we install (over 185 to date) but they beat comps hands down.

Most people resist change for any number of reasons...anything from they don't like the look, or they think it looks like a horse barn,...on and on...but the fact is, in the western US and southwest, it is becoming very common, and insurance companies offer a 25% yearly discount on homeowners insurance if metal is installed. I build new homes alos, and they get a metal roof from day one. Good luck.

 

[mtntopper]

The high end option you mention is a concealed fastener roof, and works the same wa, except the panels lap together, and the screws are under the next panel...like vinyl siding.

We installed the above type concealed fastener metal roof last year. It has something like a 50 year warranty. No screws show except at the sides. We live in an area that is very susceptible to wild fires and this roof is just more insurance on saving the home. I will never have one that does not have the concealed fastener system again. The screws on the cheaper metal roofs will not seal tight as they age and are subject to water leakage as they age. The cost is more for the concealed fasteners, but will worth it. I will not have to worry for many years about another roof. Just going to try to out live the warranty......

 

[kensfarm]

Since I am a general contractor, and not bidding your job, I can offer an un-biased opinion...

Any metal roof coatings better then the rest out there.. for my old farm house roof?

 

[Melensdad]

Have you considered a solar cell roof? I just got my new issue of Mother Earth News and it has a couple articles about solar installation, cost, payback, etc.

Here is a link to one of the articles, and the first part of that article . . .

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Alternative_Energy/2006-10-01/Easy_Solar_Power

Easy Solar Power


By Cheryl Long


Installing clean, reliable, inflation-proof solar power is easier than ever, thanks to the invention of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) laminates that can be bonded directly onto metal roofing panels. Unlike crystalline PV material, there’s no need for obtrusive racks and heavy, expensive glass. Instead, unbreakable thin-film PV is produced using amorphous silicon, encapsulated in Teflon and other polymers.

Thanks to pioneering work by Steve Heckeroth, a Mother Earth News contributing editor and the director of building-integrated photovoltaics for Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) Ovonics, this thin-film PV is now available in easily shippable, 16-inch-wide rolls. It’s a peel-and-stick laminate. You just unroll the sheet, lay it faceup on a flat metal roofing panel and press it onto the panel while your assistant pulls the protective sheet off the sticky backing.

Invented by ECD Ovonics co-founder Stan Ovshinsky, thin-film laminates offer several advantages over crystalline PV panels. (See “Meet Stan Ovshinsky, the Energy Genius” for a profile of Ovshinsky and his remarkable renewable energy inventions.) Thin-film sheets perform better in high temperatures and in partly shaded conditions, and they require 100 times less silicon, which means thin-film PV is expected to become less expensive than crystalline as production capacity expands over the next few years.

We had a chance to get a firsthand look at this exciting new PV option after Heckeroth offered to install it on the new metal roof I was putting on my small barn last summer. We invited the public, and Heckeroth led a workshop about solar power. Nearly 50 folks spent an unusually hot, 100 degree May day watching and helping as Heckeroth showed volunteers how to bond the thin-film PV laminates to the metal roof panels. Then local architect and builder Kenton Knowles and his Global Homes crew installed the panels on the barn. As the sequence of photos shows, it’s hard to imagine a simpler way to install grid-tied, solar-electric power on a new or replacement metal roof. It took only five to 10 minutes to apply each PV sheet to a roof panel.

Our new metal roof was 24-gauge Galvalume steel from Englert, Inc. It should last at least 50 years, and the steel can be recycled, making it an excellent sustainable choice for any building. After the roofing panels were installed, Heckeroth danced briefly along the ridge to snap the connecting wires together, and then our electrician, Robert Gore, wired the direct-current output from the thin-film PV into a Fronius inverter. The inverter converts the direct-current power generated by the solar panels to standard 110-volt alternating current. Then the power flows through the new meters installed by the utility company (at no charge!) and into my home.

The sun was blazing, and the roofers were really sweaty, but as soon as Gore flipped the switch, everyone smiled as the inverter kicked on and the digital readout quickly climbed to “1,530 watts,” showing exactly how much electricity the new system was delivering to the house. Anytime the house needs more power than the PV is producing, the system draws from the utility grid.
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[nixon]

Brian, Can't help you much as to most of Your questions . But,as far as Sky lights Velux is a very decent brand .

 

[bczoom]

All,

Thanks for the replies and thoughts.

As it stands right now, we're thinking of just repairing the roof around the skylights and replacing the skylights themselves. The rest of the roof is in decent shape and we can get some more years out of it. Being as we're approaching October, we would need to rush for a complete new roof. The patch job/new lights will buy us some time to better consider the roof and the whole picture (since we're considering additions and such).

John - Velux is one of the brands we're considering. My neighbor owns a roofing company and mentioned another good brand but I can't think of it right now.

Bob - I live in a deep valley. Solar wouldn't work well for us.

 

[Mith]

Brian, we have Velux skylights. They are about 16 years old and work and look like new.

Some freinds have some cheaper brand, they are under 2 years old and are a little worn already. Much more plastic.

 

[Melensdad]

About 4 years ago I had some Velux skylights put into my garage. They are the fixed panel type with dual pane glass. None of the fancy options, they don't open, don't have shades, I simply wanted light in a windowless garage. At the time I had a handyman working at the house, he put them in for me (which did cause me some worry because he was only a marginal carpenter) but they have not leaked at all. The dual pane glass does not fog. The brand was recommended to me by several people.