but not likely a handy home owner has access to such a product. Hopefully he wasn't simply spraying on drive way sealant. Just because he did it, doesn't mean it was right or that it accomplished anything either. As a professional roofing contractor in the Chicago market, I have never coated an asphalt shingle roof, and never would consider it with the products on today's market.

Onto your problem. You have a sips roof going on. What is the substrate of the sips? Is it a plywood or osb substrate? If so these absolutely must be protected from moisture, ESPECIALLY osb. Why not install ice shield and felt? It's not 100% but I think would be far superior to any coating you could apply to the wood.

Furthermore you would have to tape off all the seams in the SIPS panels or water will penetrate between the cracks if you were strictly looking for a temporary solution before the shingles could be installed.

http://reliableamerican.us/services/shingles...

local roofing companies, you never need more than 2 maybe 3 estimates.

Learn about some of your flat roofing options here: http://www.reliableamerican.us/services/low-...

EPDM is "rubber" modified bitumen is NOT rubber. It irks me when people call mod bit rubber, gah like nails on a chalk board. I'd throw that proposal away just for the fact that the guy called it rubber LOL. Modified bitumen is asphalt. Torching is one method of application. Modified bitumen may also be applied with cold process adhesives or self adhering. Be sure to check out the link I posted above as it explains the modified bitumen system ratings. The more layers, the longer lasting and the more expensive. Mod bit is rated 10-20 years.

EPDM seams are not torched. I have never in my life seen torchable EPDM. EPDM seams are sealed either with adhesive or self adhesive tape. Again, EPDM is rubber, much like the inner tube on a bicycle only much thicker. Put a torch to rubber and see what happens. EPDM is rated 10-30 years depending on thickness of membrane and method of attachment.

A restoration like KMS was referring to is sometimes an option. There must be no water saturation within the existing roof, and the roof must first be brought up to a maintainable condition. These liquid applied systems get a bad name because alot of roofers skip the necessary prep work, but in the right circumstances they are a good alternative. Learn more here: http://www.reliableamerican.us/services/roof...

Some things which affect price...

Tear off, are they all tearing off, or are some laying over. If some are laying over, is that allowed by code? If not allowed by code throw out the proposals for anyone who suggests a recovery / lay over, unless it is a liquid applied system which by my local code is acceptable as another layer.

Insulation, what insulation is being installed if any. If there is not at least the installation of a cover board over the substrate/decking I suggest throwing out the proposal. Insulation board may or may not be a good thing depending on how the roof is currently insulated. If you have a warm deck design, meaning the substrate/decking is insulated then opt for as much insulation now as you can afford. Typically polyisocyanurate insulation is used, at an R value of 6 per inch. However if your roof is a cold deck design, meaning you have insulated ceilings; I can install blown in fiberglass with an R value of 30, for the same price as installing polyiso insulation board with an R value of 9. Read this to learn more about cold decks and warm decks: http://www.reliableamerican.us/articles/warm...

System rating. I hit on that above and previously provided a link which goes into great detail about system ratings. But in my area many roofers are selling cheap 10 year modified bitumen roofs, and then customers wonder why they have to replace their roof every 10 years... Hmmmm? I only propose 15 year rated systems or better. Why? Because the investment is not that much greater and the roof will last longer, and I am usually urging my customers to opt for the 20 year rated roof.

details and flashings. What is being done around the edges, the drainage, the curbs... All this should be spelled out in the proposal, and it is not uncommon for guys in my area to completely neglect ALL the details. I was on a roof last week where there was no means of mechanically fastening the membrane to the wall. After a few years the membrane becomes unadhered and falls from the wall. This is just one example. Without knowing the size shape and details of your roof I couldn't possibly point out all the potential differences.

Flat roofs are their own monster. Being a great shingle roofer doesn't qualify one to propery install a flat roof. Make sure you deal with a roofing contractor who has extensive flat work experience. One thing is for sure about flat roofs, they are much less forgiving than sloped roofs. You can get away with lots of sloppy mistakes on sloped roofs, but a flat roof must be installed perfect. A good skilled flat roofing contractor will do that for you.

And that brings me to profit margin. Yes you should expect to pay a legitimate roofing contractor a greater investment for their experience and professionalism. I know I charge more than the "going rate" for my roofs, but that is because we deserve more. We are often doing more, plus we don't cheat our insurance nor do we cheat our taxes. We will actually fix our mistakes if/when they happen. These "hidden" costs do add up, but are what set apart a legitimate company from the guy kitchens today and roofs tomorrow. Is our profit margin higher? I actually don't think so. I once did the match and saw that the guy undercutting my price by sometimes 20% is actually making more money than me by installing that minimum code roof, but cutting those corners, and cheating. So they charge less, they get more work, they make more money on their jobs since they cheat, and they laugh all the way to the bank! I'm just the schukc trying to do things right and having to fight for every job because of hacks who undercut the market and ruin the "going rate".

A note on insurance, make sure whom ever you choose to hire to do what ever kind of work you choose to have done on your house is always INSURED. General Liability protects you against damage to your property. Workmans comp protects you should a worker get injured. Workmens comp is more important because it is more expensive and alot of guys skip out on in. Workmans comp (at the roofing rate 42% of payroll) costs me an average of $10-17,000 PER ROOFER PER YEAR. A 5 man roofing crew, you do the math. And that's JUST workmans comp and not liability nor vehicle insurance. I pay more in workmans comp than I take home in a year. See how some guys can increase their bottom line by cheating?

Also avoid anyone offering to give you anything for free, ESPECIALLY a free roof. Avoid anyone offering to pay your insurance deductible, as this may be considered INSURANCE FRAUD.

When working with a contractor, ESPECIALLY in a situation of storm restoration, be sure the contractor is local and has been local for years. There are wandering bands of contractors following storms across the country and leave a disaster behind them. Then that FREE roof ends up costing you thousands in repairs.

Remember there is no such thing as a free roof. I wrote up a similar article to this one and placed it on my website for my potential customers to read: The truth about hail damage and your roof: http://www.reliableamerican.us/articles/roof...

desired warranty as well as your budget obviously also play a part in my recommendations.

Spray foam (SPF) is very much a specialty roofing system, which we do not install, but I have a friend who is now retired and made the application of spray foam his career. Alot of his knowledge has rubbed off on me, but he has forgotten more than I ever want to know. What I do know, what I have seen, I personally don't like it. He's gonna shoot me if he ever reads this :) It's not as "hard" as you may think and there is ALOT of room for error in the installation process when it comes to spray foam. BRC is right in regards to the bird pecking, and though this can and does happen to any roof, it is most common with SPF.

If you want the very best roofing system look into PVC, similar to the TPO previously mentioned but with a much better track record. If you want a roof with slightly less upfront investment look into the TPO. http://reliableamerican.us/services/low-slop...

However there is more to the roof than just the membrane. I can take the worlds best roofing membrane and if I install it wrong, or incomplete, this membrane is utterly useless. Addressing all the proper details is what matters most in low slope roofing. Faster and Easier is seldom ever Better.

A cover board or insulation board of some kind is an absolute must. Keep in mind my recommendation for insulation would be based upon what you have now (a cold deck or warm deck design http://reliableamerican.us/articles/warm-dec... ). Then all the necessary flashing details including possible termination bar or counter flashings, all edge metal, drainage, pitch pans, etc... would be really what determines how long the roof will last.

The silver coating looks like a fibered aluminum coating, which honestly won't do much to actually "Seal" the roof. it's intended purpose is to reflect, and though the fibered will seal a little bit, the applicator obviously neglected the important prep work.

Had I been contracted to seal that roof for you, I would have used a white elastomeric compound such as Lucas #6000 Universal. There are lesser expensive elastomerics on the market, like the junk for sale at home depot, but you generally get what you pay for. I would have sealed all the seams first either with butyl tape of fabric reinforced impregnated with elastomeric mastic. http://reliableamerican.us/services/roof-coa...

I hope I don't offend you, but the coating application is terrible to say the least from what I can see in the pics.

At this point here is what I would propose if you asked me to come look at your roof and make it stop leaking... Scape off the "bubbles" in the coating. Tear up approximately 2' of shingles where the flat roof meets the shingle roof, install cover board mechanically attached over the existing sun room roof. Install new roof membrane of your choice with proper edge metal details and proper tie-in with shingle roof. You can get TPO & PVC roof membrane with shingle patterns printed on them, though normally I'd just suggest white. PVC should last longer then TPO, but TPO will require less upfront investment. http://reliableamerican.us/services/low-slop...

The proper tie-in will be critical so as not to allow water infiltration and not to have contamination of the shingle asphalt to the roofing membrane which can cause degradation of the roofing membrane. Another choice is modified bitumen which we commonly use with shingle tie-ins because both products are asphalt based and generally look similar to one another.

repeat or multiple leaks, it's probably best to do something major like a replacement." I know everyone wants to save money but often it's cheaper to just start over than to keep nursing leaks and fixing ceilings.

From what you are describing the last later of roof, the cold rolled, should never have been installed. I believe code in most areas prohibits the installation of a 3rd layer of roofing material. This doesn't build confidence in the quality of workmanship you may have received with that last roof if they were willing to ignore one rule, why not ignore more?

Make sure you are dealing with a roofing contractor who understands flat roofing. There are numerous flat roofing options, and each one is a specialty unto its' self. A person may be the greatest with shingles and completely suck at single ply. A person may be God's gift to roofing with modified bitumen but suck with single ply. Get what I am getting at?

MY recommendation generally is to purchase the best roof you can afford, as if you are purchasing from a quality roofing contractor this will actually end up being cheaper in the end because it'll last longer and require less maintenance. I have been promoting PVC in my Chicago area for the last couple years for low slope roofing, http://reliableamerican.us/services/low-slop...

contractor. The guarantee period can vary by area, alot of contractors only offer 1 or 2 years (FWIW I offer 10 years on shingle roofs). That 25 year warranty may be useless, because all the BLISTERED shingle roofs I have seen have all be installation error caused by installing a shingle on a wet roof. The water super heats and that causes bubbles.

Look into TPO it has a mixed track record. Some people will argue that TPO is terrible. It does have some failures. I do offer TPO if my customer is looking for a 10 or 15 year roof. What is the slope of this roof? Why was there shingles before (steel slope material) and now the other contractor offering TPO (low slope material)? Note: TPO may be installed on steep slope applications too, it's just not at all common to do so.

If this is low slope and you want the very very best, I recommend a good quality PVC. If it's shingles, A good quality shingle is important, but more important than the material is the roofer. You can take the best product and install it wrong, and it will be worthless.

BTW I don't understand all your abbreviations :)

You may learn more about the various roof types at my website at www.reliableamerican.us

for a roof. How steep is the roof? How many layers need to be torn off? What is access like for loading materials? What is access like for removing debris? What are the details of the roof? What steps will the roofer take to replace the roof? Is the permit included? What quality of product do you want installed? Add to that geography, the type of company you may choose to hire (handy man with a truck and ladder or professional roofing company), there simply are too many variable to ever price a roofing job site unseen.

I disagree with the comment about the light color shingles helping with the electric bills. It won;t help much at all. Air Vent Inc, in conjunction with the University of Illinois did a study back in or about 2001 I believe. The goal was to determine this myth, if it was true or false. What they discovered is that on a PROPERLY VENTILATED ATTIC SPACE the heat transfer was minimal, something like a 2 degree difference attic temperature. While the shingle surface heat was well over a 20 degree difference white to black. See yes black does hold heat, but attic ventilation is more important than reflectivity when you have a "cold deck" design, as must shingle roofs are cold deck meaning the roof is ventilated and the ceiling insulated.

As for deals, be careful! The person installing your roof will figure out a way to make money, and if he is offering a deal it will be at your expense. What is he neglecting to install? Is he giving you a deal by installing another layer of shingles over the existing. This lay over method may be allowed by code, but is rubbish! Always tear off the roof. Is he offering you a deal by reusing your felt paper or maybe installing 15 Lb.? Again garbage, opt for a sturdier felt like 30 Lb or fiberglass reinforced or synthetic. Yes it costs more upfront but will last longer. Will he offer you a deal by reusing your flashings? What good is it to replace a shingle roof, but reuse components, we replace all flashings on all roofs period because the roof is a system neglect one component of the system and the whole system fails. Will he offer you a deal by neglecting to improve your attic ventilation? Most attics are under ventilated by today's standards, and are under ventilated by shingle warranty requirements. Don't improve the ventilation and you have no, or have reduced, shingle warranty.

Learn more about the shingle roofing system to make sure you don't out smart yourself by taking any deals: http://www.reliableamerican.us/services/shin... . Expect to invest more upfront for a longer lasting roof, period. Afterall it costs more to install two cheap roofs than one good roof.