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jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 12, 2008
7:46 PM Post #4656075
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Our house is a twin 30 years old and we have strong winds often here. 10 years ago we lost many shingles so submitted a homeowners claim for a new roof but they would only pay for a 15 year over top of old shingle roof so money being tight we went that route. Now we had a very bad wind storm over the weekend and the singles are flying off front and back of house again. We are looking to use homeowners again but they said send in 2 estimates. We had one guy out so far to look at it and he went on the roof and said the front of the house is soggy and showed us that the front roof is wavey or beveled along with losing shingles. He asked if our attic was finished and I said yes as the owners before us finished it. He looked into our attic eves and pulled down a sheet of insulation showing me white mold and rotten plywood. Apparently they over insulated the attic ceiling and eves with too much insulation and wrong size there is poor air cirulation. the plywood is wet and the rafters are stained from wetness in sections of the eves. He told us to rip out that insulation or when we get the roof replace they will do it for us. He said we could use a less thick insulation or something else that i can not remember now.. the back of the house looks ok but the front is very bad. Have no idea how long this has been going on but nothing came through to the walls inside the attic. Does this sound like bad air circulation or maybe leaking roof and bad air cirulation from insulation?? Like I said the roof is on its second layer which we know is max. Is the second layer contributing to the leaking possible also.. We are looking at 25 year shingle this time. Is there a big price difference between 25 and 30? what is the best way to fix the insulation issue. we were told rip out along the inside roof of the eves and leave insulation on the eve walls and floor. Should the insulation be in the ceiling of the attic or some ceiling attic fan?? We live in a twin so he said a side fan would not be the best choice a in the roof fan is better if we want one put in. Is this also correct?? What are the odds homeowners insurance pay new roof costs as now the second layer has to be taken down but the back of the house is not bad its the front of the house.. might they only pay for half a roof?? |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
March 12, 2008
11:01 PM Post #4656918
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I'd have a reputable contractor come out and assess the situation for you. This is one of those cases when I think there are a number of things that could be causing your problem, and it's going to be next to impossible to give you the correct recommendation without seeing the situation in person and having the knowledge necessary to know how things should have been done.
As far as your homeowners' insurance, I doubt they'll cover much if the shingles were already 2/3 of the way through their expected 15 yr life. |
claypa
West Pottsgrove, PA
(Zone 6b)
March 13, 2008
8:56 PM Post #4660477
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That was a lot of wind and rain we had! That sounds like my house... except for the roof. My problem is the basement! :(
I build and remodel houses, and my girlfriend is a claims adjuster. She said to call your insurance company again and tell them about the extensive water damage, and hopefully they will send someone out to look at it. Obviously your coverage depends on your policy, but she guessed the reason they told you to get estimates (instead of sending someone to look at it) is that they're busy with claims.
There are styrofoam channels that fit between the rafters to provide air space between the insulation and the roof, that may be what the roofer was talking about. They work, not very expensive. I don't see any big difference between a vent fan on the roof or the side of the attic, but maybe he's right.
His advice about the insulation sound right - most houses will have little vents outside in the flat part (soffit) under the eaves, and the air should be able to move up the roof behind the insulation up to the peak of the roof, where there should be a ridge vent. I think all new houses have them now. But it's hard to say what's going on exactly without seeing your house. There's lots of good stuff on the web about how to properly insulate a roof, look for a site that shows a situation similar to yours with a finished attic space.
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jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 14, 2008
9:11 AM Post #4662313
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Thanks for the advice. We have State Farm $500 deductible. We submitted one estimate already and are getting 2 more. The first quote was $5200 that includes replacing all plywood on both sides and taking out that bad insulation with a 25 year roof put on. Also taking off two layers of old shingle. The front roof with plywood needs to be replace for sure but the back does not look too bad missing a few shingles back there but no water issue that we can see. Problem is not sure as the insulation needs to be removed to see the whole roof. The one roofer was not sure how much the homeowners will cover of this but recommend two ways to go either just replace the front roof on the house and plywood and leave the back alone for now or get new plywood on front and hopefully can use the old plywood on the back of the house if no water damage and put a new 25 year shingle on the whole house..That would be his choice but again we have to see how much homeowners pays towards the damage and go with what is the best route. My husband thinks they probably will send someone out after the estimates to take pictures? I would think??? I am just concerned as to how much longer we can wait on the front of the house as we are getting more rain this weekend and its already wet in the eves of the attic. the one roofer can do it in April but we have 2 more quotes yet. State Farm did not ask for 3 but we told them we were getting 3. |
Bubba_MoCity
Missouri City, TX
March 17, 2008
10:03 AM Post #4674118
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Had ours done a few years ago.
I agree with ecrane3 and claypa, and the roofer that wants to replace the whole roof with the 25 yr shingles. But even he said it will depend on what is found after the existing shingles are removed.
Our roofer knew there was some rot, so brought some decking and extra facia boards - by second day had to bring more, but replaced ALL suspect boards. AND no additional charges. Company stood by their estimate.
Ins covered about 80%.
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claypa
West Pottsgrove, PA
(Zone 6b)
March 17, 2008
10:22 AM Post #4674207
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I got nailed really badly that way once - my brother neglected to put the words "all wood additional" in the bid. They got a whole new roof for $3500... at least it was a small house. |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 25, 2008
9:29 AM Post #4707087
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Well insurance for homeowners said they would pay $1500 for just the front of the house shingles only.No plywood.. They say they pay wind damage but not water damage??? hmm!!! We are questioning this with them and hope they might reconsider but not sure they will pay anymore towards the roof. Really do not want to replace half a roof.. Seems crazy to us but also hate to have to deal with other issues later down the road with back roof being a 15year and front being a 25 year. Might have to do the home equity loan thing and do it right regardless of what they pay... |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
March 25, 2008
10:06 AM Post #4707283
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I'd talk to someone else at your insurance company--unless the water damage was caused by a flood then they ought to cover it. Flood insurance is always a separate thing, but since this is your roof I'm assuming it's not flood damage! Unless they're trying to say that it was wind that ripped the shingles off and you didn't take care of it soon enough so it's your fault that water got in? |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
March 25, 2008
10:14 AM Post #4707318
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I should add...if you're not able to get them to give you more than $1500 I honestly would pay out of pocket rather than using insurance--if you make an insurance claim (especially one for water damage) it can hurt you down the road, they can raise your rates and if you sell your house during the ~5 yrs that the claim is on your "record" it can make it hard (and more expensive) both for you to get insurance on a new house and for the buyers of your house to get insurance on it. I ran into this when I bought my last house--the previous owners had made a $1000 water damage claim for a plumbing leak and I had to go with some no-name insurance company because none of the major insurance companies would write a policy on a house that had a water damage claim on its record. Of course maybe things have changed since then (that was 5 yrs ago). And of course if the damage is in the $10,000 or so range then it's worth the risk of having your rates go up and have trouble getting insurance down the road, but for $1500 when probably $500 or so of that is your deductable it's hardly worth the risk. |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 26, 2008
5:37 PM Post #4713299
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Well considering we had the bad wind storm 2 weeks ago and the shingles came off during that weekend storm. We did not look at the roof till that Monday and reported it the next day so we did not wait too long but the roof had to have been leaking slowly for a while as there are water marks and mold inside the eves of our attic roof. The roofer that came out pointed this out to us as we did not know there was a leak issue till he removed some insulation in the unfinished part of our attic so not sure what is really causing the leak as the insurance company told us 10 years ago that we needed to put shingle over the old shingle in order for them to cover the last roof job which was the same issue where we lost several shingles to bad winds, not sure if we had a leak then but don't think so. Our area is known for bad windy conditions what can I say. The problem now is the roof has a roof over top and we have to have both layers taken off. One roofer said the two layers of shingle can be causing the problem as the first layer of shingle is probably decaying and then we had another roof put on top and even more nail holes in the roof from 2 layers of shingle and water is getting though that way or underneath the shingles as they are not laying as flat as they should be. We have had the same insurance company for years and they told us last time this is the only way they would pay for the shingle was to put shingle over shingle if we had only one layer.So thats why we did 2 layers as it was cheaper and that is the way they said it would be covered back then. Anyway why they will only cover the front of the house shingle we are not sure as we are missing about 10 off the back roof also but the front of the house is very noticable by eye sight where as the back does not look as bad but still is missing a few shingles also.. We are questioning the amount not sure where this will get us but why not try.
As for selling the home and water damage that is a very interesting point and something to think about..Even thought we probably won't be selling in 5 years but ya never know.. |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 28, 2008
7:21 PM Post #4723273
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Spoke with homeowners today and they are sending another guy out to see the inside of the house attic. I am glad. They are pulling the old claim from 10 years ago to see what work was done. Also the three roofers that looked at it said the front needs to be replaced not patched per the insurance companys request and that they would also speak to them for us if there is any problems. The one roofer told us that putting 2 layers is more then likely causing the problem as the first set of singles might not have been laying flat to begin with and water is getting under them now. Never should we have put two layers on the house but this could be the reason for leaks and we should push for more then $1500. He said at least half of the $5000 they should cover as the front of the house is very bad... time will tell...
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claypa
West Pottsgrove, PA
(Zone 6b)
March 28, 2008
8:04 PM Post #4723433
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Well that sounds better. There is a short window of time when it's okay to shingle over old shingles, and like your roofer said, if any were curling up in the first place, it may have been too late. As for the roof being repaired on one side only, it is mostly an appearance issue, except that as you said, down the road you have to deal with them separately.
A lot of the cost of a new roof is paying to get rid of the old one. With some luck, your insurance company may wind up paying for their economizing the first time you had it fixed. |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
March 29, 2008
7:45 AM Post #4725082
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The roofer also told us that shingle over shingle kills the warrenty on the new shingle. Not sure how much that is true but interesting point.. how long is a 15 year shingle covered anyway?? We are looking now to go 30 year and hope that they pay alittle more then $1500 and we flip the rest as we want to do the whole roof at this point just to be done with it... |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
April 2, 2008
8:03 PM Post #4747994
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Lastest update the insurance is sending out a roofing company called Rainmaster to take a look at the inside of our house now. The last roofer told us he notice our fireplace metal chimney is also leaning. He thinks it has to do with the roof being so mushy on the front of the house and water damaged but who knows.. I guess when the roofing company from the homeowners we will get them to check this out also..Hopefully we will get more then the $1500 after they see the roof from inside the home.. |
jess2132000
Harleysville, PA
(Zone 6a)
April 16, 2008
7:41 PM Post #4818856
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They came back with $3000. That sounds fair to me.. We will dish out the other $2000 and have it done right this time around.. |
Bubba_MoCity
Missouri City, TX
April 17, 2008
12:31 PM Post #4822532
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Good for you. Should last a lot longer when it is done right. |
