So we're in the process of doing a big renovation on our house and one
of the things that we did was the roof. When we bid the roof I wanted
shingles, but was told that I would have to add pitch if I wanted to
go with shingles. There was loose rock on this small section of roof
and the garage. After I was given a price to add pitch to the roof I
told them to go with the loose rock. Then my contractor said that the
roofer could do shingles and we'd be okay without adding pitch, so I
gave them a green light.
Cut to the other day when I notice that part of the roof is shingled
and part is not. When I asked the contractor about it he told me that
in fact the pitch was not there for shingles so they did part with
shingles and part without. He knows he screwed up and he left a
voicemail saying if I wanted the roofer would come and mastic (sp?)
some shingles on top of the material.

Personally the whole thing sounds pretty hinky to me, but I was hoping
for some words of advice so when I have my meeting with my contractor
he won't be able to BS me.

I set up a page so you can take a look at the work that's been done.
http://web.me.com/kathyleegifford/roof/Photos.html#grid
username: myroof
password: myroof

Thanks for all the help.

Lloyd

Kathy Lee Gifford wrote:
So we're in the process of doing a big renovation on our house and one
of the things that we did was the roof. When we bid the roof I wanted
shingles, but was told that I would have to add pitch if I wanted to
go with shingles. There was loose rock on this small section of roof
and the garage. After I was given a price to add pitch to the roof I
told them to go with the loose rock. Then my contractor said that the
roofer could do shingles and we'd be okay without adding pitch, so I
gave them a green light.
Cut to the other day when I notice that part of the roof is shingled
and part is not. When I asked the contractor about it he told me that
in fact the pitch was not there for shingles so they did part with
shingles and part without. He knows he screwed up and he left a
voicemail saying if I wanted the roofer would come and mastic (sp?)
some shingles on top of the material.

Personally the whole thing sounds pretty hinky to me, but I was hoping
for some words of advice so when I have my meeting with my contractor
he won't be able to BS me.

I set up a page so you can take a look at the work that's been done.
http://web.me.com/kathyleegifford/roof/Photos.html#grid
username: myroof
password: myroof


Well, pitch does matter somewhat. Do you know the pitch of the roof at
issue?

"Pitch" is the vertical distance over the horizontal distance. For example,
"5/12" means for every twelve foot horizontal distance, the roof's elevation
drops five feet. A "12/12" (or 5/5) means the roof has a 45-degree slope.

That said, shingles are possible in the range of 4/12 to 12/12 (sometimes,
depending on the manufacturer).

Shingles are usually not used for smaller slopes (0/12 - 3/12) because rain
won't drain fast enough and will find its way UNDER the shingles.

So, then, you need to discover the actual pitch of your roof and have a
conversation with the customer service rep at the shingle's manufacturer.

Kathy Lee Gifford wrote:
So we're in the process of doing a big renovation on our house and one
of the things that we did was the roof. When we bid the roof I wanted
shingles, but was told that I would have to add pitch if I wanted to
go with shingles. There was loose rock on this small section of roof
and the garage. After I was given a price to add pitch to the roof I
told them to go with the loose rock. Then my contractor said that the
roofer could do shingles and we'd be okay without adding pitch, so I
gave them a green light.
Cut to the other day when I notice that part of the roof is shingled
and part is not. When I asked the contractor about it he told me that
in fact the pitch was not there for shingles so they did part with
shingles and part without. He knows he screwed up and he left a
voicemail saying if I wanted the roofer would come and mastic (sp?)
some shingles on top of the material.

Personally the whole thing sounds pretty hinky to me, but I was hoping
for some words of advice so when I have my meeting with my contractor
he won't be able to BS me.

I set up a page so you can take a look at the work that's been done.
http://web.me.com/kathyleegifford/roof/Photos.html#grid
username: myroof
password: myroof

Thanks for all the help.

Lloyd
Hi,
Where is your house?
The job your contractor did sounds unusual.

It appears that the roofer used a membrane on the portion that had a low
pitch which is the correct way to roof a low pitch. Your contractor is
offering to glue some shingles to this membrane so that it would match the
rest. This could cause some problems down the road when you sell. A home
inspection may catch shingles used on a low pitch roof. The best choice
would be to modify the pitch of the roof as your contractor recommended.

HeyBub wrote:
"Pitch" is the vertical distance over the horizontal distance. For
example, "5/12" means for every twelve foot horizontal distance, the
roof's elevation drops five feet. A "12/12" (or 5/5) means the roof
has a 45-degree slope.
That said, shingles are possible in the range of 4/12 to 12/12
(sometimes, depending on the manufacturer).

Shingles are used on way over 12/12 slopes, at least on my house.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:23:21 -0700, "Bob F" wrote:

HeyBub wrote:
"Pitch" is the vertical distance over the horizontal distance. For
example, "5/12" means for every twelve foot horizontal distance, the
roof's elevation drops five feet. A "12/12" (or 5/5) means the roof
has a 45-degree slope.
That said, shingles are possible in the range of 4/12 to 12/12
(sometimes, depending on the manufacturer).

I had the shed dormer (2/12 pitch) of my previous house (in Northern Vermont)
shingled. The roofing contractor said it was fine, as long as he put ice and
water shield under the entire roof. I lived there eight years after with no
problems. The previous roofing lasted about that long before it sprung
multiple leaks. The rolled roofing kinda unzipped at the overlap.

Shingles are used on way over 12/12 slopes, at least on my house.

Yup, my current house has a 15/12 on the garage (hipped), but I don't think he
really meant that higher pitches weren't possible.