Roofing and Roofing Materials – Tearing off a Shingle Roof

Slate roofs will last for hundreds of years and a steel roof may be good for up to fifty years, however most generalized roofing materials have a life span of about 20 years. If you find that your roof is over twenty years and you live in a harsh climate, or you see your shingles cupping or cracking you should consider replacing your roof.

Most professional roofers will encourage you to tear off the existing roofing materials to check the condition of the deck before re-roofing your home. That’s very good advice but in most localities you don’t have to remove the old roof before installing a new one. Building codes in most areas will permit asphalt roofers to install over the original shingled roof and two reroofs. Wooden shingles can include one re-roof. Do make sure and check your local building codes to find out if you need to remove your old roof or if you can install over your old roofing materials.

Tearing off a shingle roof

If you are going to install a new roof over the old roof, you need to inspect the situation of your roof deck from inside the attic. Look for signs of rot or water leakage. If you find that there are problems you need to replace those problem areas before installing your new roof. If the existing roof is in poor condition or it has too many layers you will have to remove it.   

Image provided by Best Road Island Roofers
   

1. To tear off an old shingled roof you need to have several contracting and roofing materials on hand. These include an extension ladder, screw driver, pry bar and roofing shovel. You will also need a safety harness and ropes as well as a rented dumpster. It would be very advantageous if you had large tarps, work gloves and a bar magnet.A dumpster is needed to haul away the old roofing materials. Protect your lower windows and flower beds from falling shingles by positioning sheets of plywood against the side of the house. Spread tarps on the ground to catch falling shingles.
2. Begin at the roof line, remove the ridge shingles and remove all the nails.  Once the shingles on the ridge are gone it is time to remove the other shingles.
3. Shove the roofing shovel under a shingle, catch on a nail and push the handle down. When you lever the handle down this raises the point of the shovel and lifts out the nail. Now the old shingle is free and falling.
4. As you remove the nails shingles will slide off the roof. Hopefully they will land onto the tarps where they can be picked up and placed into the dumpster. 
5. The original metal flashing in valleys or around chimneys does not have to be removed unless the flashing is in poor condition. Use a pry bar to very carefully remove the nails in the flashing and save the old flashing for use as a model to cut and reform new flashing.  
6. When all the shingles have been removed double check the roof to ensure all the nails are removed. Check the roof deck for any damaged areas that need repairing. It might be fun at this point to install skylights or additional venting.