On Aug 18, 3:46*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 18, 12:25*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I just got a call from a roofer who looked at my roof and prepared an
estimate. *Some of you may recall that I had what I called “nail pops”
pushing through the tabs of my 20 YO *asphalt shingles.

All of the following statements are "according to him"

- There is no such thing as a "nail pop".

Bzzzt. *I'm sorry, that's a wrong answer.

- Ring shank roofing nails cannot back themselves out due to
contraction-expansion cycles or any other reason.

Bzzzt. *Did you offer up the term ring shank roofing nail or did he?
The common roofing nail term was a barbed roofing nail - there were
little raised ridges just under the head that were on opposite sides
of the shank. *Ring shank nails have rings running pretty much the
entire length of the shaft. Nowadays the barbed nails are referred to
as smooth because there are ring shank roofing nails. *Considering
that your roof is 20 years old it was probably pneumatically fastened
with smooth/barbed nails and not ring shanks. *You can determine this
for yourself by checking out the protruding part of the nail from your
attic. *If you do have ring shanks I'd be surprised. *Roofers don't
usually use them unless they're asked to do so.

- In my entire career, I have never seen a roofing nail back itself
out and I have done hundreds of roofs for all of the high-end builders
in the area. They wouldn't use me if I didn’t know my stuff.

His warranty lasts a year. *Your roof will be expected to last until
the guy is well retired, right?

- The reason your house has nail heads popping through the shingles is
because these were "high nails" - nails that were never properly set
by the contractor who installed the roof. The compressor didn't seat
the nails completely and the roofer was too lazy to grab a hammer and
pound them down.

That is possible. *If you do indeed have ring shank nails it is more
likely that they weren't set correctly in the first place. *It does
not mean that you can't ever never ever have nail pops.

- I will hammer all of your high nails down and add a second layer
over the original
- I will guarantee, in writing, that the original nails will not back
themselves out and damage the new roof.

He's talking the talk. *Like I said before, I don't think you have too
much of a worry with reroofing with the heavier dimensional shingles.
They are far less likely to suffer from nail pops.

You should have asked him how the ring shanks hold when the nail hits
a gap between sheathing boards.

So what's the deal? Can roofing nails back themselves out as I have
heard from many sources or does this guy know the "real story"?

Check his hands and feet for stigmata. *If he has some, then he's
probably right. *Otherwise he has an opinion that is contradicted by
virtually everyone else.

R

I'm pretty sure he offered up the "ring shaft" terminology, but I
won't swear to it. He did say something like "xxx-yyy roofing nails
can't back out", so maybe I just imagine he said ring-shaft when in
fact it was something else.

Keep in mind that I was still trying to figure out why he was the only
person that said nail-pops don't happen, so it's possible I spaced out
on the actual terminology.

In any case, he won't be doing my roof, that's for sure. I spoke with
3 other contractors today and they all basically gave the same reason
for nail pops, including one who went into detail about moisture
getting under 3-tab shingles and loosening the nails.

BTW...I just checked the attic and the shafts are smooth.

Thanks for the detailed response.