Roofing Tales Of Madness

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Wally J. Corpse
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Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Wally J. Corpse »

Greetings, Legion Of Fan-

Please find, to follow, another excerpt from mine hysterical archives- this episode is entitled- "If Ya Wanna Be A Bird"...
There I was, one rainy, blustery wintry day in SF, circa 1982. Now then, if'n there was a roof leak or storm damage call, the foreman of whatever installation crew was given a 'pink card' to follow up on said issue. I got one stating that the homeowner was frantic regarding new shingle roof blowing off in the wind, so off eye went with mine trusty sidekick. I recognized the name and address, and was not looking forward to the visit, AS the owner was lonely and virulent sot, an old school Arabic bigot, that spectated our install process while casting disparaging remarks about the ethnicity of mine crew. I repeatedly tried to discourage said behavior, and was met with a wall of indifference. Noteable charm from this douchebag was that he had some type of disturbing mouth condition wherein his gums bled actively, and he could only speak in fragments during his effluviant swallowing struggle, thereby becoming "Old Bloody Gums".
Said miscreant was too cheap to fund original roof tear off, and opted for shingle overlay. We stapled on the new 3 tab shingles, butting the top edge to the existing shingle lower exposure line, these were Bird and Co. Shaketone shingles, a light tan color, with a dark brown shadow line, which we called 'bee's ass striped shingles'. All was apparently well, up until the pink card was issued. Somewhat reticent for a bloody gum's bitching out, I piloted the shingle truck up the side street behind the property to observe. Imagine my surprise to witness the shingles blowing offa the roof, some in sections of 2-3 still stapled together, hitting the street, and spinning away like tumbleweeds. I wanted to slink up for a photo opportunity, and stepped out of the truck cab. Mrs. Corpse had just bequeathed unto me a brand new full length with hood rubber raincoat, which eye attempted to don. My ASsistant remarked that he saw me try to put the raincoat on, but the gale-force winds cast it horizontal to the ground, AS I went spinning fromst his view. Upon re-entry to truck, we ditched the effort until such time AS was later, when we came back and hand nailed replacements, no leakage occurred, likely to it being an overlay.
Fast forward- at the office/shop wherein the roofing company was located, when one entered the facility from the sidewalk, directly in front of you was the plywood wall surface of the tool room. Upon this artistic plane, I secured a Bird shingle cut to resemble a bird in flight, and below, in large block letters, the caption- "Bird Shingles-We Fly 'Em On, They Fly Away!' Imagine the chagrin of the local Bird and Co. rep. when he first saw that, at which time we, the shingle crew were luckily there to witness, and AS he ascended upstairs to the office, he was accompanied with a hearty round of mocking laughter.

AS ever,
Your ol' pal,
Wally J. Corpse
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jim d,
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by jim d, »

Sir Wallace,

AS always, I enjoyed this episode of roofing madness. Serious roofing question: some time ago at a social event I heard contractor state that the practice you described of placing a new asphalt roof on top of the old one is a bad one. The reasons being that in addition to adding significant weight to the roof, the old shingles can curl as they further age and push the new shingles out of their proper place. Is this a true statement? I ask because the folks had been imbibing, thus elevating the probability of exaggerated statements.

In thinking of your previous tales of roofing madness I had a hearty chuckle whilst remembering the one involving a manly woman.

Jim
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Wally J. Corpse
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Wally J. Corpse »

Greetings, Mr. Jim D-

Shingle roofing overlays are a common practice nation wide, and product manufacturers have traditionally warranteed the 1st layer of overlay. Most structures can bear the weight of additional roofing, AS the load is distributed by the framing to eaves and walls, not a dead weight directly forcing downwards from field of roof plane. I have personally removed roofs that had AS many AS 3 composition roofs over the original wood shingles. AS far As the underlying shingles curling below the new, that's a stretch of the imagination, AS the weight and new fasteners would thwart said activity.
Most composition shingles range from 240 to 320+- lbs. per square, (100 sq. ft.), so 3lbs. per square foot is marginal.

AS ever,
Your ol' pal,
Wally J. Corpse
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Bonzo
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Bonzo »

jim d, wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 1:06 am Serious roofing question: some time ago at a social event I heard contractor state that the practice you described of placing a new asphalt roof on top of the old one is a bad one. The reasons being that in addition to adding significant weight to the roof, the old shingles can curl as they further age and push the new shingles out of their proper place. Is this a true statement?
Mr. Jim D,

I would say it's closer to the truth than BS. When I was an active Roofing Contractor, I always advised removing the existing roof, no matter what the condition. The main reason is to inspect the substrate for anything that could lead to failure of a new roof. It does of course, add a considerable amount of money. There has been times, too many to count, where I refused to bid on a recover fully knowing it would come back and bite my arse, and instead letting it bite someone else's. I always enjoyed that "I told you so!" moment. As far as the curling, Wally's butt-up method is a classic trick that will keep this from happening. When we transitioned from standard size shingles to metric, I found the process a bit more expensive because you lost 5/8" of an inch of coverage on every course. Theres a little roofing 101 for ya!

Best regards,

Bonz
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Bonzo
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Bonzo »

Wally J. Corpse wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:17 pm Shingle roofing overlays are a common practice nation wide, and product manufacturers have traditionally warranteed the 1st layer of overlay. Most structures can bear the weight of additional roofing, AS the load is distributed by the framing to eaves and walls, not a dead weight directly forcing downwards from field of roof plane. I have personally removed roofs that had AS many AS 3 composition roofs over the original wood shingles. AS far As the underlying shingles curling below the new, that's a stretch of the imagination, AS the weight and new fasteners would thwart said activity.
Most composition shingles range from 240 to 320+- lbs. per square, (100 sq. ft.), so 3lbs. per square foot is marginal.
Mr. Corpse,

So your the guy who ran around stapling on those cheap 3-tabs over composition roofs where you could see the corners of every sheet of plywood sticking up! Ha Ha!

Best regards,

Bonz
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natcherly
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by natcherly »

Several years ago we bought a Victorian house behind us to refurbish it. It was built in 1883 and had 4 layers of roofing on it, the original wood shingles and three overlays. We had the entire roof removed and covered with plywood prior to installing a new composition roof. A lot of weight got removed up there. When the '89 earthquake hit, that house sustained some damage, but the plywood helped hold the house together. Cutting corners on roofing is not a great plan.
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Wally J. Corpse
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Wally J. Corpse »

Greetings, Mr. Doofus Emeritus-

Back in the days of my yute, AS an employee, I would go and do what the owner of the company directed, I am sure you've lived the same. Out of all the acres of squares I've stapled on, very, very few blew off, and this one was the epitome. Whence the coil nail gun was invented, we still did overlays. Of course, there is no better method for shingling than hand nailing, but alas, very few roofers still have, or want to learn that skill, eye myself, humbly was a speed nailing record setter, witnessed and stopwatch timed at 12 min. 24 sec. for 1 completed square, later that year at the national NRCA nailing contest, the winner was at 12 min. 56 sec., and won a bunch of prizes, what's up with that? The only prize I won was the accolade of "Ace Shingler", routinely installing 20+ squares a day for $6.00 a sq. (carry yer own up the rickety wooden ladder) at the vast squares of red three tabs on the Presidio.
I concur with your statement RE: no butt and go overlays with metric shingles, AS that extra 5/8" shingle lap caused the exposure line bottom edge to sit up in the air, somewhat noticeable.
Mayhaps eye shalt spin the tale of the 4 ply flat roofing system blow off eye saw...

AS ever,
Your ol' pal,
Wally J. Corpse
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Bonzo »

Wally J. Corpse wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 4:05 pm Back in the days of my yute, AS an employee, I would go and do what the owner of the company directed, I am sure you've lived the same. Out of all the acres of squares I've stapled on, very, very few blew off, and this one was the epitome. Whence the coil nail gun was invented, we still did overlays. Of course, there is no better method for shingling than hand nailing, but alas, very few roofers still have, or want to learn that skill, eye myself, humbly was a speed nailing record setter, witnessed and stopwatch timed at 12 min. 24 sec. for 1 completed square, later that year at the national NRCA nailing contest, the winner was at 12 min. 56 sec., and won a bunch of prizes, what's up with that? The only prize I won was the accolade of "Ace Shingler", routinely installing 20+ squares a day for $6.00 a sq. (carry yer own up the rickety wooden ladder) at the vast squares of red three tabs on the Presidio.
I concur with your statement RE: no butt and go overlays with metric shingles, AS that extra 5/8" shingle lap caused the exposure line bottom edge to sit up in the air, somewhat noticeable.
Mayhaps eye shalt spin the tale of the 4 ply flat roofing system blow off eye saw...
Mr. Corpse,

Yes, back in the day we always inquired how much we were getting per square before we started the roof, to make sure the big boss wasn't absent minded come pay day. I worked many a year for the recover king who could have cared less what we were going over, and that included gravel built-up. Things changed when I became the responsible one. I still did a lot of recover, but the existing roof was heavily scrutinized prior. That little bit of 5/8" didn't bother me nearly as much as the alternating washboard effect. Re-roofing in housing tracts always showed which contractor give a shit compared to those who didn't.

Mr. Whippersnapper,

My advice, if your roof is newer, save your money. Metal has distinct advantages and disadvantages. In snow zones, if you have a nice straight roof with very little on it, things usually work out good. If you have dormers and valleys, I'd avoid it. Besides, it's horribly expensive. Buy guns and knives instead.

Best regards,

Bonz
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jim d,
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by jim d, »

Hey Bonz,

I think Terry has proven himself to be quite adept at buying knives and guns :lol:

Jim
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Bonzo
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by Bonzo »

jim d, wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:53 pm Hey Bonz,

I think Terry has proven himself to be quite adept at buying knives and guns :lol:

Jim
Mr. Jim D,

And that, is a good thing.

Best regards,

Bonz
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whippersnapper
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by whippersnapper »

Mr. Whippersnapper,

My advice, if your roof is newer, save your money. Metal has distinct advantages and disadvantages. In snow zones, if you have a nice straight roof with very little on it, things usually work out good. If you have dormers and valleys, I'd avoid it. Besides, it's horribly expensive. Buy guns and knives instead.
Yeah, barring some natural disaster, my shingles should last us a lot more years. No way my cheap ass would spend money before needed (wife might). Roof itself is good and straight. As far as snow goes we sometimes get a bunch and the wife and I have shoveled it off a few times over the years.

Our house is your basic ranch style so about as easy to roof as you can get. I could probably do it but my body is transforming more into a beer bellied plumber than a lean lanky roofer type....I try to limit my climbing these days unless it is a deer stand and even that has slowed.
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by TRYKER »

Mr. Whippersnapper,



Our house is your basic ranch style so about as easy to roof as you can get. I could probably do it but my body is transforming more into a beer bellied plumber than a lean lanky roofer type....I try to limit my climbing these days unless it is a deer stand and even that has slowed.
yeah this getting old sh t is gettin old.
TRYKER



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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by sammy the blade »

TRYKER wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pm
Mr. Whippersnapper,


Beats the alternative
Our house is your basic ranch style so about as easy to roof as you can get. I could probably do it but my body is transforming more into a beer bellied plumber than a lean lanky roofer type....I try to limit my climbing these days unless it is a deer stand and even that has slowed.
yeah this getting old sh t is gettin old.
Beats the alternative or so I've been told.
2024 candidate for president
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whippersnapper
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by whippersnapper »

sammy the blade wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:11 pm
TRYKER wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pm
Mr. Whippersnapper,


Beats the alternative
Our house is your basic ranch style so about as easy to roof as you can get. I could probably do it but my body is transforming more into a beer bellied plumber than a lean lanky roofer type....I try to limit my climbing these days unless it is a deer stand and even that has slowed.
yeah this getting old sh t is gettin old.
Beats the alternative or so I've been told.
Beginning to wonder lately.
sammy the blade
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Re: Roofing Tales Of Madness

Post by sammy the blade »

whippersnapper wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:18 pm
sammy the blade wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:11 pm
TRYKER wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pm

yeah this getting old sh t is gettin old.
Beats the alternative or so I've been told.
Beginning to wonder lately.
Me tooness.
2024 candidate for president
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