Roofing Worcester Call (555) 555-0142

Roof Replacement

Tear-Off and Re-Roof: What a Replacement Involves

Counting the layers, stripping to the deck, repairing what that exposes, and drying the roof in before a single new course goes on.

Call (555) 555-0142Mon–Fri 8:30–7, Sat 9–4 ET · WORCESTER COUNTY

It starts with the layer count

Before anything else is priced, somebody needs to establish how many coverings are already on the deck. Massachusetts allows a new covering to be laid over one existing layer where the deck is sound. Where two or more applications are present, the code requires removal down to the deck. On housing that predates 1940 — and that is 40.8% of Worcester's stock — the answer is very often two, which settles the scope before anyone opens a materials catalogue.

The count also decides the volume of material leaving the property, and disposal is a real line on a tear-off rather than a rounding error. Three layers of asphalt off a three-decker is a very different container from one layer off a ranch, which is one reason two bids for houses of the same footprint can be thousands apart.

The order of work

1 Inspection and scope Slope measured, layers counted, deckcondition and flashing written down first 2 Tear-off to the deck Every existing course comes off.The state treats replacement as removal 3 Deck opened up Soft boards and rot at the eave show onlyonce the covering is gone. Repaired first 4 Ice barrier first Self-adhering membrane from the eave edgepast the wall line, then the field is dried in 5 Covering goes on Courses run from the eave up. Shallow pitchtakes doubled underlayment, closer nailing 6 Ventilation and closeout Ridge and soffit balanced, flashing reset,grounds swept with a magnet, permit closed
Stages two and four are not preference. Massachusetts defines a roof replacement as removal of the existing layers down to the deck, and sets where the ice barrier has to reach before anything else goes on.

Two of those stages are not the contractor's choice. Removal down to the deck is what the state means by a replacement, and the ice barrier requirement is fixed by code rather than by preference. The rest is where crews genuinely differ: whether valleys are rebuilt or reused, whether flashing at walls and chimneys is replaced or resealed, whether the soffit intake is opened up while the eave is accessible, and how the ventilation is balanced once the ridge is open.

What the deck usually shows

On older housing in this county the sheathing is boards rather than sheet material, laid with gaps and worked by a century of seasonal movement. Boards hold fasteners well while they are sound. What undoes them is standing water, and standing water on a New England roof collects in one predictable place: the eave, behind the ice. A tear-off on a pre-war house routinely exposes soft or spongy boards in the first few feet above the fascia, sometimes with the fascia and the ends of the rafter tails gone with them.

None of that stops a normal replacement. It is ordinary carpentry, done before the roof is dried in. But it is material and labour that nobody can see from the ground, which is why a written scope should state a rate for sheathing replacement rather than leaving it to be discussed once the crew is on the roof and the covering is in the container.

Why the eave gets the membrane

attic, warm from below 24 in exterior wall line snow over the heated part roof covering underlayment, thickened at the eave roof deck 1 2 3 4 1 Snow melts over the warm attic 2 It refreezes where the deck runs cold 3 Water backs up under the courses 4 Only the ice barrier stops it there
A shallow hip carries snow instead of shedding it, so the eave detail decides the job. Snow melts over the warm part of the roof, the meltwater refreezes where the deck runs cold past the wall line, and water backing up behind that ice sits under the courses rather than running off.

The reason the code singles out the eave is the same reason roofs here fail there. Heat from the living space warms the deck above it, snow melts, and the water runs down until it reaches the overhang, which projects beyond the heated envelope and stays cold. It refreezes, and the meltwater behind it stops moving. Shingles are lapped to shed water travelling downhill; they do very little against water that is standing still and being pushed sideways under them by the weight of more water behind.

A self-adhering membrane seals around the fasteners driven through it, which ordinary felt does not, so it stays watertight even where nails penetrate. That is the whole point of it at the eave. The state requires it to run from the eave edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and on a house with a generous overhang that is a long way up the deck. It is buried permanently the moment the covering goes on, so it is worth having named in the scope in advance.

Ventilation, while the roof is open

A roof assembly works as a system with the attic underneath it. Air should enter low at the soffit and leave high at the ridge, roughly in balance. When intake is blocked — usually by insulation blown over the soffit after the house was built — a ridge vent has nowhere to draw from except the house itself, and it pulls warm moist indoor air up into the roof, which condenses on the underside of the sheathing.

Correcting it means baffles at the eave and a clear path up each rafter bay, and the moment to do it is while the covering is off. Afterwards it means going back through either the roof or the ceiling.

Roof replacement by town

Frequently Asked Questions

Why must the covering come off rather than go over what is there?
Massachusetts defines a roof replacement as removal of the existing layers down to the deck. A recover over an existing covering is a separate permitted operation, and it is allowed only where a single layer is present, where the manufacturer's instructions cover it, and where the deck underneath is sound. Once two applications are on the roof, everything comes off. There is also a practical reason: a recover buries the deck, and the deck is where a New England roof usually shows its real condition.
How do I find out how many layers are on my roof?
A contractor can normally count them from a rake edge, at a vent penetration or by lifting a corner shingle at an inconspicuous spot. From the ground, a doubled thickness at the eave and a drip edge that sits proud of the fascia both suggest a previous recover. Guessing is not sensible: the answer changes the disposal volume, the labour and whether the job is legal as scoped.
What happens if the deck turns out to be bad?
It gets replaced before anything else goes on, which is why a written scope should carry a rate for it. Soft or rotted sheathing at the eave is the most common find on older housing here, because that is where meltwater held behind ice has been standing. Individual boards or sheets are swapped out; where a board deck has opened up too far for fastener holding, it is usually overlaid with new sheathing instead of replaced piece by piece.
How far does the ice barrier have to go?
From the eave edge to a point not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, which on a house with a deep overhang means considerably more than the first course. Where the pitch is 8 in 12 or steeper the membrane also has to run at least 36 inches measured up the slope. It is a self-adhering membrane rather than ordinary felt, and once the covering is on there is no way to verify it, so it belongs in the written scope.
Can the work be done in winter?
It can, within limits. Shingle sealant strips need warmth to bond, so cold-weather work relies on hand-sealing and correct fastening rather than on the strip setting on its own, and no roof is opened up when snow or rain is due. Contractors here work through much of the winter, but the weather sets the schedule, and lead times through late autumn are usually the longest of the year.
Call (555) 555-0142Mon–Fri 8:30–7, Sat 9–4 ET