Unless it's the first one, removing the old roof is generally what would happen when a homeowner is having the asphalt roof replaced on their home. (In most areas, there are building codes that regulate how many layers of roofing you can have, and that is due to the weight.) However, when they're making the switch to metal roofing, many people want to know if they have to go through the headache of removing the old roof in order to put a new one on.
When clients ask if removing the old roofing is necessary if they are going to choose a metal roof, quite often our answer is "no." And for many of the homeowners we talk to, this is a great reason for making the switch from asphalt shingles to steel or other metal roofing. (There are other benefits to a metal roof as well - this is just one of them, but it can have a major impact on cost.)
One of the Benefits of Choosing a Metal Roof: Re-Roofing Over Existing
When clients ask if removing the old roofing is necessary if they are going to choose a metal roof, quite often our answer is "no." And for many of the homeowners we talk to, this is a great reason for making the switch from asphalt shingles to steel or other metal roofing. (There are other benefits to a metal roof as well - this is just one of them, but it can have a major impact on cost.) Metal roofing is very lightweight, compared to asphalt, and often that lack of weight is what is the main factor in being able to re-roof without a tear-off. Being able to go over the old roof means less work, less waste, and less hassle than having to strip down the old roofing and then replace it with the same exact roofing. And there is one more benefit for leaving the old asphalt roof in place - it provides another layer of insulation.
However, there are times when the old roof does need to be removed in order to make way for the metal roof.- If the roof itself is already at the maximum weight load for its structure, then yes, at least some of the old roofing has to come off.
- Also, if there are areas of the roof that have buckled or don't lie flat, at least that section will have to be removed for the new metal roof to be properly installed.
- Sometimes when the roof is damaged, we have to remove the old roof to repair the underlayment before we can put the new metal roof on. This is especially true if there has been a water leak and there were no repairs made to the damaged areas under the shingles.
- Any sort of materials that might restrict the metal roofing or the air flow that needs to go below it would need to be removed before the new roof is put onto the home. Our installation process creates an insulating blanket of air underneath the metal roofing, so if there is anything that would restrict or compromise that much-needed ventilation, we would remove that as well. That air space underneath the metal is crucial to the metal roof functioning the way it was intended.
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