In this episode, Jerry makes the argument that prep work is truly what separates a great roofer from an average roofer, and convinces us that you need to factor skill and workmanship into your total roof replacement cost.
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Shayla: Thank you for joining us for the Roof Life of Oregon podcast. I’m talking today with Jerry who is a roof specialist at Roof Life. And, Jerry, tell me what Roof Life does in the prep that really makes a difference when it comes to roof installation.
Jerry: There’s a lot of things that go into a prep of a roof. Let’s be honest – anybody put a shingle on. Anybody. You read the instructions, your shingle gets put on, and it looks great. But it’s not until later down the road that you find issues, that that perfect shingle that you put on the roof that looks perfect, but it’s actually failed because there are so many steps that have to happen before a shingle even gets put on a roof. And that’s really where the difference comes into play from company to company, from installer to installer, or even, we’re coming into the Olympics right now, even from runner to runner. There are so many things that you have to do in order to be perfect or great.
Most people just see the end product, like for the Olympics you see the guy running. He’s super fast. For roofing, you see the shingle. It looks beautiful. But it’s all the steps that you have to do before you get to that beautiful roof. There are all the steps you have to do before you break that record that really counts. For us, for instance, we do what’s called plywood prep. Plywood prep means that when that roof is off of there, our guys are going to prep the existing plywood that’s on there and make sure it’s nailed down properly, make sure it has proper gaps. These are the tiny things that really matter when you’re installing a roof that is supposed to be the last one you ever install.
Shayla: What could happen, if you don’t prep the plywood?
Jerry: Things that could happen if you don’t prep plywood, if you don’t clear all the nails off the deck, it will wiggle its way up through the new roof and create holes, or if you don’t have proper gapping between the plywood, you’ll get pops to where all your shingles look all rippled and any wind-driven rain that you have will just go right up into your house and damage your ceiling. Prepping is really important. When I sat down with our installers last week, they were going over details that most people never even think about, what that installer has to do to give you that perfect roof. So make sure that the company that you hire is not just putting on a shingle per manufacturer requirements. They’re putting on a shingle, but they’re taking care of everything else in your home also to ensure that that shingle lasts you for the life of your roof.
Shayla: If you guys have any questions about this, be sure to reach out to Jerry and the team at Roof Life of Oregon. Thanks, Jerry