What is involved in replacing a roof?
Short answer. Replacing a roof involves tearing off the old shingles down to the wood deck, repairing any rotten decking, installing drip edge, leak barrier and underlayment, new flashing and pipe boots, then the shingles, ridge vent and ridge cap. On a typical house the installation takes one or two days, with the inspection, contract, permit and delivery handled beforehand.
Before the crew arrives
- Inspection and measurements: the roofer records squares, pitch, layers, vents and problem areas.
- Contract and choices: shingle line and color, ventilation plan, and how rotten decking will be priced.
- Permit and HOA: many Georgia cities and counties require a reroof permit, and HOAs may need to approve the color.
- Delivery: materials usually arrive a day or two ahead.
On installation day
- Tarps go over landscaping and a dumpster or trailer is placed.
- Old shingles, underlayment and nails are torn off to bare decking.
- The deck is checked, and soft or delaminated sheets are cut out and replaced.
- Drip edge, leak barrier in valleys and around penetrations, and underlayment go down.
- Starter strip, then field shingles, working up from the eaves.
- Flashing at walls and chimneys, new pipe boots, vents and ridge vent.
- Ridge cap, then cleanup with magnetic sweepers for nails.
After the roof is on
Expect a final walkthrough, a permit inspection if your jurisdiction requires one, warranty registration, and the final invoice. If insurance is paying, the roofer usually sends the completion paperwork your carrier needs before it releases any withheld depreciation.
The details that separate a good job from a bad one are mostly hidden once the shingles are down: decking repair, flashing and ventilation. Ask how each will be handled before you sign. Our replacement day guide covers what you will see and hear, and roofing permits in Georgia explains the paperwork side.