This is not a good idea. It’s not about whether you can do it or not, weight-wise that is. The first consideration for me is roof leaks. There’s no doubt you’re asking for trouble. Installing asphalt shingles over an uneven surface will pull on the nails, allowing water intrusion if moisture reaches the nail. You might give me several scenarios where that might not happen, but I could give you a lot more saying that it would.
Here’s what some other people say about this. I thought it was interesting to hear some others thoughts on the subject. (These are all quotes.)
“It’s a VERY bad idea. Looks bad, doesn’t function properly and the extra weight of a second roof is bad for the structure. Pay the money for the tear off.”
“Anyone who says this is ok is a bullshit roofer and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
“No, huge waste of money, time and material.”
“No. Absolutely NO.”
“It’s an incredibly bad idea, and your insurance company might even choose not to cover future wind damage claims to your roof as a result (as this is an application failure and banned by most jurisdictions and manufacturers)”
“Don’t do it. Always go down to bare decking. You’re just asking for nail pops and leaks later on if you go over any roof.”
“probably not a good idea. I understand the desire for savings. Your roof is really the only reason everything else in your house exists. so it’s not really the place that you want to cut corners. spend between 4% and 5% of your home’s total value for a good roof by a reputable company. full tear off.”
“Should you change your dirty underwear or just put a clean pair on top of the dirty ones? This is what I ask them whenever somebody suggests adding another layer without doing a tear-off.”
“If you want to cut your new shingles lifetime in 1/2 plus add to the cost of your next reroof substantially go for it. If you want to cut your new shingles lifetime in 1/2 plus add to the cost of your next reroof substantially go for it.”
“I never do layovers unless the customer insists usually on a house about to be sold.”
“If you want to cut your new shingles lifetime in 1/2 plus add to the cost of your next reroof substantially go for it.”
“If you want to cut your new shingles lifetime in 1/2 plus add to the cost of your next reroof substantially go for it. I never do layovers unless the customer insists usually on a house about to be sold.”
“You can but you probably won’t get any new flashing, with a tear-off you also get a chance to inspect your roof deck make sure there is no unknown rot or problem areas. I’m not a big fan of roofing over existing, but that’s just me.”
“Don’t do it only do full tear off to the decking and install new. They’re just trying to take your money and run”
“Nobody is skilled enough to make that look good. Weight/technical limitations aside, that’s going to look like refried ass. You do not want this.”
“Don’t. This is not the way.”
“Always tear off. Always”
It’s hard to believe that anyone would do reroof over architectural shingles, but they do. I saw a whole tract in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Ca. where the homeowner said that every house there leaked after they were reroofed.
So, “Can You Reroof Over Architectural Shingles” What do you think?
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