Don’t cut corners on your new roof. It will cost you down the road. The best Salem roofing companies will not do “shingle overs” — avoid the ones that will!
At Slate & Slate Roofing, we pride ourselves in providing quality roofs that we can proudly stand behind. In order to do this, we’re not always capable of providing the cheapest estimate. Another way that our competitors can sometimes beat us on price is by offering roof recovery or “shingle overs”, as some call it. This is when your roofing contractor installs another layer of shingles over your existing roofing material rather than tearing off the old roof prior to installing the new one. Since companies providing roof recovery don’t have to pay dump costs or the additional labor for the tear off, they’re able to charge a bit less for your roofing job than higher quality contractors can. The only advantage to roof recovery is the cost, and it is not worth it.
Here are some things to consider. If your roofers tear off your old roof completely, they are able to inspect the plywood decking for rot, warping, and other signs of structural weakening. If there are any bad sheets of plywood, they’ll be replaced on the spot, which can prevent very expensive work from needing to be done in the future. This is especially important, as adding another layer of shingles on top of your old roof adds even more weight. If there is weak plywood underneath your initial roofing layer, it will be under even more strain with that extra weight. Additionally, down the road, when you need another re-roofing job, the tear off expense will be higher due to the extra layer. Having the extra layer also tends to trap heat, which can cause damage to the new roofing material at a much faster rate than normal. As such, full tear off re-roofing jobs typically outlast roof recoveries by a number of years. A final thing to keep in mind is that having an extra layer of roofing material can actually reduce the resale value of your home.
We have stressed this time and time again, but to reiterate, saving a little bit of money now is not worth the much higher repair expenses you will end up paying in the future. There’s almost always a reason why cheap bids are so cheap. Slate & Slate Roofing doesn’t even offer roof recovery, because it’s not a service we could be proud of or stand behind. If you would like a free roofing estimate from one of the best roofing companies in Salem, Oregon, give us a call today at (503) 585-2338 or use our quote form at the side of the page.
