Roof Replacement in Dearborn, MI built as a system

On older Dearborn homes, the tear-off tells the story

Many Dearborn houses have been reroofed several times since they were built, and not every roofer took the old shingles off. It is common to find two layers, sometimes more, on top of board decking from the 1930s or 1940s. Laying another roof over that hides any rot and traps whatever moisture is already there.

So we strip it all off. Once the deck is bare, we walk it, photograph it and replace boards that are soft, split or too far apart to hold nails well. On some older roofs that means adding new sheathing over the boards so the shingles have a solid, even base.

Then we build the roof as a system for a Michigan winter: drip edge, ice and water shield at the eaves and in the valleys, synthetic underlayment, new step and counterflashing at every chimney and dormer wall, and ventilation that suits the house. Story-and-a-half homes with finished upstairs rooms need extra thought here, because poor airflow under those sloped ceilings is what feeds ice dams. You see photos of each stage, and at the end of every day the yard and driveway are cleaned and you get a short briefing.