# replace tar & gravel roof with shingles & torch down



## rt1035 (Dec 16, 2005)

Hi,

I have a tar and gravel roof that is about 20 years old. It is not leaking in the house yet but there is an area over the patio that is rotted through and must be replaced. The rest of the roof over the house is definately showing wear and will need to be replaced sooner or later. Since I am getting the house fixed up for sale I have decided to replace the whole roof.

I had one roofer look at it today and he suggested removing the rock and laying down composite shingles. However, the pitch around the perimiter of the roof is too flat for shingles so he recommeded torch down.

My question is do you think his approach is okay? Will using shingles and torch down work together? He said he can match the colors and people would not be able to see the torch down portion.

Are there any questions I should ask the contractor to make sure he knows what he is doing? I plan on getting a couple others estimates as well. The current estimate I have is $4800 for the house and garage (the house is about 1400 sq ft & 2 car garage). The house is in Riverside California which is a very hot and dry area in the summer with a few months of heavy rain in the winters.

attached are a few pictures of the roof (only from the bottom - sorry). 

I appreciate any advice or concerns anyone can provide.

Thanks
Robert


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## Bonus (Aug 25, 2005)

The whole thing looks too flat for shingles to me, what's the slope? A roofer will be along soon, no doubt.


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## AaronB (Jan 29, 2005)

I dont think the main roof is too flat for shingles, but the price definitely seems way low for California. 

This project will tak a lot of time to do it right because of all the tie-ins and metal work. he will have to remove fascia cladding at the overhangs above the flat roof in order to flash up behind, and replace the cladding (if there is cladding) if there is no cladding, then flashing up in there to the wall. All the new metal for the flast roof will be expensive. If he said just to take off the gravel, he is whacked. Get some more opinions, and simply ask "What is the best way to do this AND be cost-effective?" Ask for a detailed proposal. Ask them to put in writing EVERY detail. Then you can compare competency of the contractors. If you have any further questions, please ask. Aslo, if you could get some shots from rooftop, this would be helpful.


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## rt1035 (Dec 16, 2005)

Thanks for the advice Aaron. I will definately get more estimates and ask for detailed proposals.

I'll let you know what they say and get more pictures of the roof top.

Thanks again


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## rt1035 (Dec 16, 2005)

I received another quote and this time he says it will cost $6100 and includes: 

"Tear off old rock roof and haul away. Replace any damaged wood @ $2.50/ft for facia and $40/sheet for plywood. Re-roof with 30 year Dimentional shingles over 30# felt underlay. Ridgeglass Ridge, 2x2 metal drip edge, new pipe flashings, paint pipe flashings to color of shingles, clean up and haul away all debris. Includes 30 yr manufacture warrantly and 10 year warranty on workmanship"

He said he could use tile everywhere except over the patio section where he will do a torch down.

Does this quote look complete or is there something else he should specify or that I should ask about?

What is a Ridgeglass ridge?
What is metal drip edge?
What are pipe flashings

Sorry, I wasn't able to get additional pictures.

Thanks a lot for you help


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