Roofing contractors in Town 'n' Country

Roofs on their second or third covering

Town 'n' Country is one of the older large-scale suburban areas on the west side of the county, and a lot of its housing has now been through more than one re-roof. That changes what an inspection needs to look for, because the history of a roof is written into the deck rather than into the covering on top of it.

The specific thing worth establishing before any work starts: has this roof ever been layered? Installing a new covering over an old one was once a common way to save money, and where it happened, nobody inspected the decking at the time. It also adds weight to a structure designed for one covering. If a tear off reveals two layers, the job you agreed is not the job in front of you — which is a good reason to have the conversation about decking pricing before the first shingle comes off, not after.

Closer to the water

This side of the county sits nearer open water than most of the areas inland, and that has two practical consequences for a roof. Wind arrives with less built environment in front of it to slow it down, so uplift at edges, ridges and hips is a live concern rather than a theoretical one. And salt in the air is hard on exposed metal — flashings, valley metal, fasteners, vent components and gutters all corrode faster here than they do twenty miles inland.

Which means metal detailing deserves specific attention on a re-roof in this area. Reusing old flashing to save a few hundred dollars is a poor trade anywhere; on this side of the county it is a worse one.

What an older roof usually needs

• All flashing replaced, not reused. Ask the question directly, because reuse is where quotes quietly diverge.
• Deck re-nailing to current fastening requirements. On housing of this era, deck attachment is where a lot of the roof's real wind resistance is won or lost.
• Ventilation reassessed rather than replicated. What was installed decades ago may not be doing much now.
• Boots, vents and pipe collars replaced wholesale rather than selectively — they are cheap during a re-roof and expensive afterwards.

Permits

Town 'n' Country is unincorporated, so permits come from Hillsborough County rather than from the City of Tampa. The inspections that go with the permit — including the one that looks at the deck before the new covering goes down — are the part that protects you on an older house, so they are worth having rather than avoiding.