roof woes

Lee Henderson · 02-21-2011, 05:51 PM

I've attached pics of a roof recently installed. 1st pic is of broken shingle; there are several. Roofer said he would cut out pieces and glue them in. 2nd Pic is of tear that was patched? Why would a new shingle need to be patched like this? 3rd is exposed nails at end of ridge vent. 4th is shingle that doesn't seem to be installed properly; quite a few of these. Roofer said that it was due to defect in shingles. 5th is where shingles meet deck. Two types of 'gunk' used. Obviously, I'm very inexperienced with roofing but I'm not afraid to climb up on the roof to take pictures. I'm not afraid of learning either so any info would be greatly appreciated.
Sara Lee

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**Benjamin Thompson** · 02-21-2011, 05:58 PM

The workmanship doesn't look great. There shouldn't be exposed nail heads and the mastic in the last pic was probably not the way to go. The slight extra reveal shouldn't make much difference if it is only on 1 or 2 shingles. Since you went with 3-tab shingles (the cheapest available, I didn't know anybody used them anymore), I would assume you went with the lowest bidder. You got what you paid for!

Lee Henderson · 02-21-2011, 06:24 PM

You are so kind. No, I didn't go with the lowest bidder but I appreciate your honesty. Like I said, I'm inexperienced with roofs and trusted someone who did a great job on another project. Oh, I might as well just face it; I'm inexperienced in this whole remodeling thing. I don't know where to go for answers or help; that's why I chose this site. Every bidder had their sales pitch. I did have enough sense to look everyone up on BBB, get references, look at previous work, etc. I guess that's just not enough.

**Scott Patterson** · 02-21-2011, 06:30 PM

Just an overall poor roofing job. No, you should not have cracks in a new ridgecap. My SWAG is that the roof was put on when it was cold and the shingles were stiff and not very pliable.

**Benjamin Thompson** · 02-21-2011, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by Lee Henderson

You are so kind. No, I didn't go with the lowest bidder but I appreciate your honesty.

BUT, do you appreciate my sarcasm

Seriously, I don't see anything in those pictures that would significantly reduce the life of the roof. These are typical defects we see every day and report but mostly they go un-maintained. I recommend, have your roofer do what he / she is willing to do and have the roof looked at in a year or two and repaired where needed. From the pictures, these are minor issues and easily repaired with typical roof maintenance down the road (by a different roofer). And Scott, at least the roofer "repaired" the split ridge cap!

**Rick Cantrell** · 02-21-2011, 07:00 PM

As Scott said, shingles were likely cold and will crack when bent.
#1 Looks worse than it is. Will not effect the roofs life or cause a leak.
#2 Cap shingle was likely to cold to bend and had to have a relief cut into it. Should be replaced.
#3 Last ridge cap shingle that was put up. Mastic should have been used instead of nails, but nailing is very common. Unlikely to be a problem.
#4 Shingles were not set in a straight line by the roofer. From what I see it will not cause a problem.
#5 The picture is too close for me to get a perspective on what there is.
Looks really really sloppy.

If this is the worst, not much to worry about. Mostly cosmetic.
Winter can be a good time to get a good price, but not as good a time to replace the roof. Cold shingles and cold hands make for a job like this, or worse.

Get the roofer to agree to make repairs (in writing) when the weather is warmer.

Lee Henderson · 02-21-2011, 07:57 PM

Thank you RC, BT, and SP. I'm learning a lot and appreciate your replies. Unfortunately there are more pics but it's a little embarrassing to post them. You should see the actual ridge vent; pathetic. (But man, do I take good pics!