The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

"woods" wrote

The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

Depends on how bad it is. Is the 'contractor' related to the seller in any
way? If not, he means it's just the normal roofing nails and a few need to
be tapped down probably.

On Apr 4, 9:25*am, woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. *How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? * Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

You might find exposed nails on a flashing or vent adapter, but a
competent inspector wouldn't blink at that. It does have some earmarks
of a less than expert roofing job. Get a second opinion from a non
related roofer with a good reputation if you can. Good luck.

Joe

woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.
Give some details, photo if possible. Are the exposed nails only in
certain locations or throughout the roof? What part of the shingle?
What kind of shingle?

I've heard of putting a dab of roofing tar on the exposed
nailheads. To keep the nail from rusting. But, that's a heck
of a lot of work.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"woods" wrote in message
...
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails
on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far
should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it
is not a
problem.

woods wrote in news:287337c1-d111-4964-b347-
:

The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

This is a brand new roof?
Exposed nails where?
Are they coming through the shingles from below?
Are they flush with the roof?

In certain areas of where flashing is, nailheads are not covered by
shingles...like bottoms of flashing boots and the cap shingle at one end
of a peak. These heads should be covered with sealant. Typical covering-
roof cement, quality covering-polyurethane. Roofing cement seals
extremely well in areas where it will be covered. Sunlight deteriorates
and breaks it down rapidly.

If a new house, most issues caused by exposed nailheads will occur beyond
a year...aka, beyond the builders warranty. In other words maybe not
cause an immediate failure but premature failure at years 2+.

As said, photos tell a lot. If you've had a good
inspector, issues would have been photographed and in his report. Some
provide softcopy where you can extract the photo and post.

Just some thoughts.

On Sat, 4 Apr 2009 07:25:27 -0700 (PDT), woods
wrote:

The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

Of course he's obliged to mention it, but without more details I can't
tell how much of a problem it is. Sometimes, just some roofing cement
covering each one and a little beyond is all you need.

On Apr 4, 10:11*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I've heard of putting a dab of roofing tar on the exposed
nailheads. To keep the nail from rusting. But, that's a heck
of a lot of work.

No, this isn't to keep them from rusting. Exposed nails can be a
source of roof leaks, so you put a dab of roofing cement / tar / caulk
on them to keep them from leaking. I would call these "shiners" and
would try to scout them out and seal them at the end of a roofing
job. It's not unusual to have a few errant nails and, as long as they
are taken care of at the end of the job, it isn't a big deal.
Tarring a half dozen nails ISN'T a heck of a lot of work.

JK

On Apr 4, 1:25*pm, "
wrote:
woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. *How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? * Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

Give some details, photo if possible. *Are the exposed nails only in
certain locations or throughout the roof? *What part of the shingle?
What kind of shingle?

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

On Apr 5, 10:42*am, woods wrote:
On Apr 4, 1:25*pm, "
wrote:

woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. *How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? * Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.

Give some details, photo if possible. *Are the exposed nails only in
certain locations or throughout the roof? *What part of the shingle?
What kind of shingle?

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

Someone did a hack repair on the roof. It might have been hacked to
replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a
poorly patched roof penetration. Check it out from the attic side to
see what they were patching. It might have been an old vent location
or some such.

R

On Apr 4, 11:11*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I've heard of putting a dab of roofing tar on the exposed
nailheads. To keep the nail from rusting. But, that's a heck
of a lot of work.

There shouldn't be that many exposed nails in the first place, and
applying the roofing cement with a caulking gun makes short work of
detail applications.

R

RicodJour wrote:
....
Someone did a hack repair on the roof. It might have been hacked to
replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a
poorly patched roof penetration. Check it out from the attic side to
see what they were patching. It might have been an old vent location
or some such.

It's a _NEW_ house acceptance inspection apparently...

Sounds like the installer got in too big a hurry and got a few nailed
too low.

Only 17 nails in a whole roof isn't much although strictly speaking of
course there shouldn't be any.

They'll probably do worse trying to repair it than it will be to simply
use a little roof cement over them and go on for that few if they're
scattered around hither and yon.

If they're all in one area so could remove/replace a small contiguous
area and get 'em all, then you might consider having them do so.
Otherwise, the damage done trying to replace a single shingle here and
there probably outweighs the likelihood of these ever being a real problem.

--

woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.
Hmmm,
Rusting roofing nail? On my last house they used aluminum nails.
Now at this house I am done with asphalt shingles. It has tiles
which I hope will last longer than I.

dpb wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
...
Someone did a hack repair on the roof. It might have been hacked to
replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a
poorly patched roof penetration. Check it out from the attic side to
see what they were patching. It might have been an old vent location
or some such.

It's a _NEW_ house acceptance inspection apparently...

Sounds like the installer got in too big a hurry and got a few nailed
too low.

Only 17 nails in a whole roof isn't much although strictly speaking of
course there shouldn't be any.

They'll probably do worse trying to repair it than it will be to simply
use a little roof cement over them and go on for that few if they're
scattered around hither and yon.

If they're all in one area so could remove/replace a small contiguous
area and get 'em all, then you might consider having them do so.
Otherwise, the damage done trying to replace a single shingle here and
there probably outweighs the likelihood of these ever being a real problem.

--
Hi,
You mean brand new house?

On Apr 5, 12:03*pm, dpb wrote:
RicodJour wrote:

...

Someone did a hack repair on the roof. *It might have been hacked to
replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a
poorly patched roof penetration. *Check it out from the attic side to
see what they were patching. *It might have been an old vent location
or some such.

It's a _NEW_ house acceptance inspection apparently...

I read it the other way, but it is unclear whether it is a new new
house or a new to the OP house.

Sounds like the installer got in too big a hurry and got a few nailed
too low.

I think the roofer was probably hammered.

Only 17 nails in a whole roof isn't much although strictly speaking of
course there shouldn't be any.

It only takes one nail to cause a leak. The OP has a potential
collander.

They'll probably do worse trying to repair it than it will be to simply
use a little roof cement over them and go on for that few if they're
scattered around hither and yon.

Well, that depends on the shingles. Three tabs are easy to pull and
repair. Laminated are a bit tougher, but a competent roofer who had a
slate ripper would have no problem either way.

If they're all in one area so could remove/replace a small contiguous
area and get 'em all, then you might consider having them do so.
Otherwise, the damage done trying to replace a single shingle here and
there probably outweighs the likelihood of these ever being a real problem.

I would tend to agree with the assessment. Pull the nails, neatly
fill the nail holes with roofing cement (caulking gun), and press some
shingle granules (enough will usually be found in the gutter) into the
roofing cement to protect the roof caulk and make the holes disappear.

R

Tony Hwang wrote in news:TI4Cl.15672$u05.10249
@newsfe19.iad:

woods wrote:
The inspection of my new house reveiled some exposed nails on the
shingles. How serious of a problem is this, and how far should I go
with the contractor to fix it? Right now he is saying it is not a
problem.
Hmmm,
Rusting roofing nail? On my last house they used aluminum nails.
Now at this house I am done with asphalt shingles. It has tiles
which I hope will last longer than I.


they used aluminum nails.

On the WHOLE roof?! Never heard that one. Why? Alum nails for alum
flashing, yes. I would think the soft alum would jamb up a nailgun.

Coiled aluminum roofing nails? I'm no roofer. They make them? I've seen the
std galv everywhere and the cheap-ass zinc ones at Harbor Freight.

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? Holy crap!

JK

On Apr 5, 11:11*am, Tony Hwang wrote:
dpb wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
...
Someone did a hack repair on the roof. *It might have been hacked to
replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a
poorly patched roof penetration. *Check it out from the attic side to
see what they were patching. *It might have been an old vent location
or some such.

It's a _NEW_ house acceptance inspection apparently...

Sounds like the installer got in too big a hurry and got a few nailed
too low.

Only 17 nails in a whole roof isn't much although strictly speaking of
course there shouldn't be any.

They'll probably do worse trying to repair it than it will be to simply
use a little roof cement over them and go on for that few if they're
scattered around hither and yon.

If they're all in one area so could remove/replace a small contiguous
area and get 'em all, then you might consider having them do so.
Otherwise, the damage done trying to replace a single shingle here and
there probably outweighs the likelihood of these ever being a real problem.

--

Hi,
You mean brand new house?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, it is a brand new house! This was the first thing my house
inspector noted when he did his work.

On Apr 5, 11:17*pm, Big_Jake wrote:
They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? *Holy crap!

JK

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

On Apr 6, 11:03*am, woods wrote:
On Apr 5, 11:17*pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? *Holy crap!


No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

That's a really curious arrangement. Are all of the nails on the same
row and in a continuous run of shingles? I've seen nails run off
course due to operator error, but usually they realize it as soon as
they put a shingle in on the row above.

I'm now starting to wonder if there's a problem with the sheathing and
they were trying to keep the problem from telegraphing through the
shingles.

Have you investigated up in the attic? What did you see?

R

RicodJour wrote:
On Apr 6, 11:03 am, woods wrote:
On Apr 5, 11:17 pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.
17 nails in one shingle? Holy crap!

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

That's a really curious arrangement. Are all of the nails on the same
row and in a continuous run of shingles? I've seen nails run off
course due to operator error, but usually they realize it as soon as
they put a shingle in on the row above.

I'm now starting to wonder if there's a problem with the sheathing and
they were trying to keep the problem from telegraphing through the
shingles.

Have you investigated up in the attic? What did you see?

R

Most likely a sloppy hired hand with a power nailer who didn't care
about staying above the nailing line.

On Apr 6, 8:03 am, woods wrote:
On Apr 5, 11:17 pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? Holy crap!

JK

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

Brand new house? If the builder won't replace each compromised
shingle, I'd hire my own roofer to repair the damage, and deduct my
roofer's charges. The builder should be amenable to having his own
roofer make repairs however. I'd recommend removing each offending
nail, and slipping an aluminum flashing card under the tab with the
nail hole so water will run out onto the underlying shingle. Maybe
lift a tab above the repair to drive a nail into the shingle through
the flasher to keep it in place. Tom

On Apr 6, 10:41*am, "
wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On Apr 6, 11:03 am, woods wrote:
On Apr 5, 11:17 pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.
17 nails in one shingle? *Holy crap!

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

That's a really curious arrangement. *Are all of the nails on the same
row and in a continuous run of shingles? *I've seen nails run off
course due to operator error, but usually they realize it as soon as
they put a shingle in on the row above.

I'm now starting to wonder if there's a problem with the sheathing and
they were trying to keep the problem from telegraphing through the
shingles.

Have you investigated up in the attic? *What did you see?

R

Most likely a sloppy hired hand with a power nailer who didn't care
about staying above the nailing line.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, I talked to the young guy who was the roofing subcontractor, and
he said "You can't do this without having a few exporsed nails since
you only have a small line to put them in!" He was acting like he
knew it all!

On Apr 6, 11:15*am, tom wrote:
On Apr 6, 8:03 am, woods wrote:

On Apr 5, 11:17 pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. *There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? *Holy crap!

JK

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

Brand new house? If the builder won't replace each compromised
shingle, I'd hire my own roofer to repair the damage, and deduct my
roofer's charges. The builder should be amenable to having his own
roofer make repairs however. I'd recommend removing each offending
nail, and slipping an aluminum flashing card under the tab with the
nail hole so water will run out onto the underlying shingle. Maybe
lift a tab above the repair to drive a nail into the shingle through
the flasher to keep it in place. *Tom

The guy who roofed my old house has agreed to try and replace each of
the shingles with exposed nails, but he said he has to get it on the
right day, or the shingles will want to tear when he tries to release
them from their seal. They are really sealed down tight. He agreed
that they will develop leaks sometime in the future if we didn't go up
and tar them every other year or so.

On Apr 7, 10:26*am, woods wrote:

Yes, I talked to the young guy who was the roofing subcontractor, and
he said "You can't do this without having a few exporsed nails since
you only have a small line to put them in!" *He was acting like he
knew it all!

I bet I know what his truck license plate reads: STOOPID

Remember, referrals work both ways. Give the idjit the appropriate
referral when the subject of roofers comes up.

R

On Apr 7, 7:28 am, woods wrote:
On Apr 6, 11:15 am, tom wrote:



On Apr 6, 8:03 am, woods wrote:

On Apr 5, 11:17 pm, Big_Jake wrote:

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. There are 17 exposed
nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it
ends.

17 nails in one shingle? Holy crap!

JK

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.

Brand new house? If the builder won't replace each compromised
shingle, I'd hire my own roofer to repair the damage, and deduct my
roofer's charges. The builder should be amenable to having his own
roofer make repairs however. I'd recommend removing each offending
nail, and slipping an aluminum flashing card under the tab with the
nail hole so water will run out onto the underlying shingle. Maybe
lift a tab above the repair to drive a nail into the shingle through
the flasher to keep it in place. Tom

The guy who roofed my old house has agreed to try and replace each of
the shingles with exposed nails, but he said he has to get it on the
right day, or the shingles will want to tear when he tries to release
them from their seal. They are really sealed down tight. He agreed
that they will develop leaks sometime in the future if we didn't go up
and tar them every other year or so.

Not sure where you live, but if the roofer gets to the job on a cool
morning, and uses a reasonably sharp flatbar, the shingles will
separate pretty easily. Try not to rely on tar for the repair, because
the guy's right, tar requires more maintenance than a fix without the
goop would require. Tom