# Help...knott holed pine board need to be covered?



## mjpac (Dec 19, 2011)

I live in the NE Penn.
I signed a "contract" mid sept this year w a local roofer who had done a roof down the street. Seemed like a respectable roofer. Promised "10yr guarantee" on his work.
He quoted about the same as other quotes and stated that if the sheating was ROTTEN it would need to be replaced for extra cost...I said "OK"

He said "Oh, I will be back 2-3 WEEKS". 

3MONTHS LATER!...Yeah, he still isnt done ... or HARDLY STARTED

I understand that u might tell a customer 3 weeks when in the best senario it will be more than a month (reasoning is that when the jobs are in u dont want to refuse any jobs) but 3 months is a little crazy.

I have been calling him once every couple weeks, each time w him promising that he would be coming the next week...THEN never shows, never calls.

I own a old 4500 sq foot victorian, 3 story, with six gables (probably 8-10 inside corners, with maybe a 33 degree angle w ~45sq...so not the easiest roof.

He finally shows 2 weeks ago, takes off shingles...calls me to tell me that it is rotted out and that I need to pay him $150/sq for new 7/16 OSB sheathing and maybe the whole roof needs to be done...sends me pics that show 
100 y/o 1x8" pine board with some knott holes and tar dust...ive been up in the attic (i know its not the same) and it is not rotten, just once in a while holes from knotts, NOT rotten, I even got up on the bare roof and it was not dry rot.

I am getting architext shingles, deck armour, and he has rolls of nail which means he probably using a pneumatic gun.

I am sure he and every one here wants a nice OSB to nail into rather than 100 pine board w infrequent knott holes. (nails might shoot thru the small knotts once in a while).

?
If he really is an experienced roofer, he should expect that he might run into pine board sheathing w some knots in a old house like this right? Wouldnt he just include that into the quote? Look at the attic or shingles before he accepts? After all, resheating my house is about 1/3 the cost of my quote.

What does everyone think?


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## chb70 (Jan 19, 2009)

I have never nedded to replace roof deck because of knotholes. Send some pics so we can take a look.


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## mjpac (Dec 19, 2011)

*pics or "rotted" pine board*

well
he came today and ripped off the shingles
Im gonna get up on the roof and hammer some nails into it and screw some screws to c if they hold
im assuming a pneumatic nailer would shoot a hole through the shingles and the knott holes...
I dont mind it once in a while as the nailed portion should be covered by the next row....
he wants to me to sign a "release" so he is not responsible
not sure I should sign it lest i "release" him to do a rushed and potentially shotty job as he wants to get it over with quickly given the potential for snow on the roof for a while
let me know what u guys think
"rotted out" pine board sheathing or just old pine sheathing w some knot holes?


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## mjpac (Dec 19, 2011)

the one on the right is a large hole and i can c how that is difficult to work with
?is it code that you cant just patch parts...you must resheath the hole contiguous area?


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## rooferguy (Mar 4, 2011)

first of all yes that deck needs to have new sheeting on it you cant put down new shingles on that deck.Also the roofer should have lifted the old roofing to see what was under there when he gave his est.

that way you would have been told at that time he gave you a price that you needed a new roof deck before he started his job shame on the roofer .


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## mjpac (Dec 19, 2011)

*thanks*

roofer came out this am, explained to me the nature of shooting architextural shingles into a roof like mine
very narrow space or youll get "delamination"
i guess ill have to cough up another $7K for new sheating 
he is not a great communicator
if he would have pulled up a couple prior to starting and told me it may have gone a bit smoother and he could have been almost done
i had another contractor come out and confirm this a couple hours later

thanks for your quick opinion

? i'm getting timberline hd (30 prestique) architext shingles
what is a reasonable lifetime of these shingles, 20yrs?


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## BrandRoof (Dec 13, 2011)

That deck doesnt look very good and I'm it sounds like your roofer doesnt need the business. I would try someone who is eager to earn your business.


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## smalpierre (Jan 2, 2012)

Well, you can't know what's under the shingles until you tear it all off. That's why we NEVER quote decking - we quote a per foot or per sheet price.

Oh, and we replace 1x with 1x, we don't patch OSB into 1x decking. That's just dumb ... you set your guns for one thing, then you hit a patch of OSB and blow through shingles.

I wouldn't even ask you - I'd have just replaced what was necessary, and charged accordingly unless it was a lot of decking that had to be replaced.

And fyi - what you are showing, I'd replace.


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## MGP Roofing (Mar 23, 2010)

i'd replace the bad bits with similar sized new timber. Its not rotten, just has bits missing.


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## vtroofing (Sep 27, 2009)

Obviously he is a "Good Roofer" as he is backed up. 

It is difficult to turn work away but that my friend may not be the case at all. Roofers are optimists. They think they will make a ton of money, have boats and big trucks and wife can drive a Escalade or Tahoe. Truth be told this business is rough. Busting ass and doing things right often puts smaller roofers in binds. Such as this one. 

This as per Manufacturer's Specs needs to be decked. Follow this link:

http://www.gaf.com/Documents/Deck_R...g_Deck_Boards_-_Steep_Slope_Tec-43-793-v2.pdf 


Now with all that being said this roof needs decking. 

From a Roofer's perspective...

1. Timberlines along with other laminated shingles have defined sealing strips as well as defined nail lines, and nailing properly with those spacing is NOT going to work out. 

2. Overall flat plywood/ OSB roofs decks work better, look better and last longer. There is this action called "Thermal Expansion" in which the roof deck moves at different temperatures/ moisture contents than the more stable asphalt shingles. This causes vertical stress cracks up the roof, as well as across the roof. This is rare over a re-deck. 

3. That should be enough. 


Finally in your Contract what is the wording per decking repairs? Per sq. ft.? Per sheet? per square? What about the other guys? Nobody pointed out you might need decking? Shame on all of them. Another problem I see homeowners in a tough economy cannot always justify a couple grand on a roof replacement as doing it right and some cannot be "learned" and that is just the way it is.


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## vtroofing (Sep 27, 2009)

I'd like to add... 2o years should be expected and surpassed- but in the numbers game that is about 7,000 days in that 20 year period works out to $1.oo per day for doing it right. 

Your neighbor... If his house is of similar age, did he get the surprise of a re-deck cost?


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## 4 seasons (Dec 31, 2009)

Sorry about your situation, although it is a common one to be in.
You can replace certain boards to save on money for sure. Even though we have only seen a few pictures....
If you decide to re-sheet your roof, it WILL look 1000 times better than if you just replace some bad boards.
Also with gaps that large he will not always be able to nail in the correct location on the shingle. so the installation will be more difficult and not necessarily done to the manufacturers specs.
Good luck,
Zach


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