The property
A large two story colonial in Hampton with cream vinyl siding, burgundy shutters and a brick chimney running up the side elevation. Roughly 32 squares of roof, but the square footage only tells half the story. Multiple gables, a pair of front dormers, and several valleys where those planes meet.
A straightforward 32 square gable roof is a two or three day job. This one ran eight to ten, and the reason is what we found once the old roof came off.
Why this job took longer
The surface looked worse than average but not alarming. The deck underneath told a different story. Once we stripped it back we were looking at sheathing that had taken on water over years, and replacing it properly meant working section by section rather than tearing the whole roof open at once.
That is the right way to do it and the slower way to do it. Cutting out bad decking, letting the crew get new sheathing down and dried in, then moving to the next section is how you keep a house watertight through a multi day job. Ripping the whole thing off to save a day and hoping the weather holds is how ceilings get ruined.
We also picked up siding repairs while we were on site. Sections of the wall had been taking water where the roof planes meet the elevation, which is a common failure point and one nobody notices until the roof is off and you can see the wall behind it.
What the homeowner wanted
A roof that would not need thinking about again, and a colour that worked with the existing siding and trim rather than fighting it. The cream and burgundy exterior was staying, so the roof needed to sit quietly against it.
We specified Owens Corning Duration in Onyx Black. Dark enough to frame the white trim and give the gables definition, neutral enough that it will still look right if the shutters ever change colour. Duration is a laminated architectural shingle with a reinforced nailing strip, which matters on a coastal town roof where wind gets at anything fastened a fraction out of place.
What we did
Complete tear off to the bare deck, worked in sections. We do not lay new shingles over old ones. Overlaying hides exactly the kind of decking problem we found here, traps heat that shortens shingle life, and voids most manufacturer warranties.
Damaged sheathing came out and new decking went down before anything else. Ice and water shield along the eaves and through every valley, which on a roof with this many intersecting planes is a significant run. Synthetic underlayment across the rest.
New drip edge, step flashing at the wall junctions, and the chimney flashing rebuilt rather than reused. Siding repairs completed where water had been getting behind the wall at the roof junctions.
A continuous ridge vent finishes the peak. On a house this size, getting the attic exhaust right is what decides whether the shingles reach their rated service life or fall several years short of it.
Scope of work
- Complete tear off of 32 squares, worked in sections
- Extensive decking replacement where sheathing had failed
- Ice and water shield at eaves and all valleys
- Synthetic underlayment across the full roof
- Owens Corning Duration architectural shingles in Onyx Black
- New drip edge throughout
- New step flashing at wall junctions
- Chimney flashing rebuilt
- Siding repairs at roof to wall junctions
- Continuous ridge ventilation
- Daily magnetic nail sweep and debris removal
- Town permit pulled and final inspection handled
- 25 year written workmanship warranty registered
