So, you’ve decided to get a new roof installed. You may be wondering what’s involved. There’s a lot that goes into installing a new roof, but it’s pretty easy to understand.
Making Your Home Ready
In many cases, you’ll see materials arrive a few days before the project begins. If you’re using asphalt shingles, they may appear on your driveway or your roof. You may also see a dumpster or two before the roofers arrive, but they are more likely to be dropped off on the day the project starts.
Out With the Old Roof
When the roofers arrive, they’ll start tearing down your old roof. This is the loudest and messiest part of the process, so you may want to make arrangements for your children or pets for the day. Tarps are placed all around your house, and the roofers will use shingle forks to rip out the shingles, underlayment and flashing. This also gives them a chance to look at your roof deck and make replacements if needed.
This usually takes no more than a day to finish, but larger and steeper roofs can take two days. Some roofers will even tear out the roof in sections and replace it that way. This limits how long your roof deck is exposed.
Checking the Deck
Roofers will then take a look at your roof deck. If there’s any sign of rot, cracking or waterlogged boards, they get torn out and replaced right away. Just putting a new roof on bad boards reduces your new roof’s lifespan.
The next step is to add ice and water shields on your eaves, valleys and rakes, which will keep the deck protected from the elements. Then, the underlayment gets laid down on the rest of the deck for the same purpose.
On With the New Roof
The roofing team will use high-powered nail guns and measuring lines to assemble your new roof from the bottom edges upward. This process can take anywhere from one to seven days, and the time depends on the roofing materials. They’ll also install new flashing around your chimney and roof valleys as an extra layer of protection.
Once all of that’s done, it’s time for the cleanup. Professional roofers will rake your lawn to remove roofing nails, shingle bits and underlayment bits. You may see them use magnetic sweeps and check your gutters for debris as well.
And that’s the whole process. They’ll remove your old roof, check and replace your roof deck, install the new roof and clean up afterwards. It can be noisy, and it will take a few days, but you’ll have a fantastic new roof when all’s finished. When you need roof installation services in Etna, ME, contact Home Roofing Solutions.