Need advice on Roofing repair

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cabble

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Hi,

I just purchased a ranch house. During the home inspection, the inspector mentioned to me that the shingles on the roof are close to the end of their life span. My agent assured me that I may squeeze five more years out of the roof if I replaced the few missing shingles.

This Friday, when I was attempting to climb onto the roof, I happened to notice the valley on the front roof is in bad shape, if not shot already. I could barely see the aluminum underlay and the rotted shingle remnants (please see photos in the link below). I surmise that when they put the 2nd layer on the existing roof, they may skip the valley or did a poor job. It is hard to observe on the ground unless you climb on the roof and inspect there. Does this finding implies that I have to budget for a tear off re-roof or is it still fixable by a reputable roofer? How much does it cost for the replacement or repair? Thanks in advance for all your insightful input.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76053161@N08/6971327821/in/photostream
 
You are close to replacing the roof. As shingles age they start to shrink a bit, this will cause the seal strips at the botom of the shingle to fracture. Wind will then get under the tab and blow off can occur. Also when 2 layers of shingles are applied to a roof you will compromise the life expedency of the roof system. A thicker mat of shingles will retain more heat and you shorten the life cycle of the roof. Heat and UV rays are the enemy of roof shingles.


Oh...and :welcome: to House Repair Talk!
 
Someone knew that that roof had been leaking around that chimmney.
There was suppost to be step flashing, then counter flashing, not globs of roofing tar.
It would be best to repair this as the new roof is being installed or there's a very real chance of the new flashing being damaged as the new roof goes on if you do it later.
I just hate it when someone adds a second layer of shingles. It's now going to cost you twice as much to have the shingles removed and desposed of.
If you plan on staying in this house do not go with those cheap 3 tab shingles again, use architucural instead.
There going to last far longer, look better and less change of blowing off or leaking.
 
Joe, unfournately , there are installers that think that is the proper way to flash a chimney and a lot of homeowners don't know any better.
 
The tar may just be some added goop around the chimney. I see this all the time on chimneys that don't leak. I wish there was a shot of the valley because the rest of the roof did not look that bad. (Not that you can tell all that much from the pictures)

look for areas where the fiberglass mat is showing, generally at the bottom corner of the shingles if you see large areas of missing granules and areas of fiberglass showing, you are near the end. Some of the inspectors here(Pacific Northwest)say the roof is at the end of it's life all the time. We get a lot of rain but not so much hot sun. I have seen roofs that look great that are leakers, and ones that look like they should have been replaced 5 years ago that are fine. Plan to replace but if you are willing you may have a while to go on this one. Please ---be careful, a fall off even a low roof can be devastating. The cost of the ER will be a lot more then the cost of a new roof.
 
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