Reroof a Liverpool, NY house: what the tear-off finds under old shingles

Half of Liverpool's housing dates to 1939 or earlier, so housing this old commonly has decks that have carried several coverings. Older decking can have gaps, soft boards near the edge and old nail holes. That is a proxy for the village, not a finding about your house, but it explains why a price given from the street is only a range until the deck is seen.

Ask the roofer to write down what happens if boards are bad: how they will be replaced and how that is priced. A price for each sheet or board lets you compare two estimates when the deck turns out worse than it looked from the ladder. Without that line, the surprise is yours to pay for in the middle of the job.

Count the layers you know of before the roofer comes. At the rake edge of a porch or garage roof the stack sometimes shows.

Just bought the house, with an inspector's note about two layers or a soft spot near the chimney? Two layers mean the next roof is a full tear-off, because the code does not let a new covering go over two.

A soft spot is a reason to ask what the boards need before the next winter, not a reason to accept the first big number. Put the note into the form in your own words, and ask for the repair price and the replacement price together.

A replacement that follows state code removes the old covering down to the deck. The same code requires an ice barrier where ice has formed along the eaves and backed water up under the shingles, and a drip edge at the eaves and rakes. Those lines are what separate a low quote from a complete one, so lay both estimates side by side and tick each line on each one.

• Is tear-off to the deck included, or does the price assume a new layer over the old?
• Is there a stated price for replacing deck boards, and who decides when it applies?
• Is an ice barrier listed at the eave, and how far up the roof does it run?
• Is the drip edge replaced, and is the permit named along with the person who applies?

The village's own permit list names a new roof covering, so a Liverpool replacement quoted with no permit line deserves a second question. The permit comes from the village office, not the county.

Before you sign, ask for the workers' compensation coverage the roofer holds and check it in the state's coverage search. Check the contract is written and carries the notice about your three business days to cancel.

You may not need the whole roof. If the leak shows only in a thaw, the trouble may sit at the eave, and the slopes above it may be sound. Ask the roofer to price the eave work as its own line next to the full replacement, then choose with both numbers in front of you. A roofer who gives you only one number has not shown you the choice.

If the deck proves sound and the shingles above the eave are in decent shape, the smaller job can be the right one. If the deck is soft along several sides of the house, the smaller job just delays the bigger one.

Neither answer can be reached from the ground, which is the point of having someone look first. Send the form with the room and the month the stain shows, and ask for both prices.