Exposed nails on shingles

"woods" wrote

Depends on how bad it is. Is the 'contractor' related to the seller in any way? If not, he means it's just the normal roofing nails and a few need to be tapped down probably.

You might find exposed nails on a flashing or vent adapter, but a competent inspector wouldn't blink at that. It does have some earmarks of a less than expert roofing job. Get a second opinion from a non related roofer with a good reputation if you can. Good luck.

Joe

Give some details, photo if possible. Are the exposed nails only in certain locations or throughout the roof? What part of the shingle? What kind of shingle?

I've heard of putting a dab of roofing tar on the exposed nailheads. To keep the nail from rusting. But, that's a heck of a lot of work.

woods wrote in news:287337c1-d111-4964-b347- snipped-for-privacy@a7g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:

This is a brand new roof? Exposed nails where? Are they coming through the shingles from below? Are they flush with the roof?

In certain areas of where flashing is, nailheads are not covered by shingles...like bottoms of flashing boots and the cap shingle at one end of a peak. These heads should be covered with sealant. Typical covering- roof cement, quality covering-polyurethane. Roofing cement seals extremely well in areas where it will be covered. Sunlight deteriorates and breaks it down rapidly.

If a new house, most issues caused by exposed nailheads will occur beyond a year...aka, beyond the builders warranty. In other words maybe not cause an immediate failure but premature failure at years 2+.

As snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net said, photos tell a lot. If you've had a good inspector, issues would have been photographed and in his report. Some provide softcopy where you can extract the photo and post.

Just some thoughts.

Of course he's obliged to mention it, but without more details I can't tell how much of a problem it is. Sometimes, just some roofing cement covering each one and a little beyond is all you need.

No, this isn't to keep them from rusting. Exposed nails can be a source of roof leaks, so you put a dab of roofing cement / tar / caulk on them to keep them from leaking. I would call these "shiners" and would try to scout them out and seal them at the end of a roofing job. It's not unusual to have a few errant nails and, as long as they are taken care of at the end of the job, it isn't a big deal. Tarring a half dozen nails ISN'T a heck of a lot of work.

JK

If it's one or two nails, I'd insist on a new roof. If it's more than two, I'd insist they destroy the house and rebullt it from scratch!

Peter C.

They are 30 yr. Cetainteed asphalt shingles. There are 17 exposed nails in the middle of the roof right below where the shingle above it ends.

Someone did a hack repair on the roof. It might have been hacked to replace shingle(s) lost to wind or a falling limb, or it might be a poorly patched roof penetration. Check it out from the attic side to see what they were patching. It might have been an old vent location or some such.

There shouldn't be that many exposed nails in the first place, and applying the roofing cement with a caulking gun makes short work of detail applications.

RicodJour wrote: ...

It's a _NEW_ house acceptance inspection apparently...

Sounds like the installer got in too big a hurry and got a few nailed too low.

Only 17 nails in a whole roof isn't much although strictly speaking of course there shouldn't be any.

They'll probably do worse trying to repair it than it will be to simply use a little roof cement over them and go on for that few if they're scattered around hither and yon.

If they're all in one area so could remove/replace a small contiguous area and get 'em all, then you might consider having them do so. Otherwise, the damage done trying to replace a single shingle here and there probably outweighs the likelihood of these ever being a real problem.

--

Hmmm, Rusting roofing nail? On my last house they used aluminum nails. Now at this house I am done with asphalt shingles. It has tiles which I hope will last longer than I.

Hi, You mean brand new house?

I read it the other way, but it is unclear whether it is a new new house or a new to the OP house.

I think the roofer was probably hammered.

It only takes one nail to cause a leak. The OP has a potential collander.

Well, that depends on the shingles. Three tabs are easy to pull and repair. Laminated are a bit tougher, but a competent roofer who had a slate ripper would have no problem either way.

I would tend to agree with the assessment. Pull the nails, neatly fill the nail holes with roofing cement (caulking gun), and press some shingle granules (enough will usually be found in the gutter) into the roofing cement to protect the roof caulk and make the holes disappear.

Tony Hwang wrote in news:TI4Cl.15672$u05.10249 @newsfe19.iad:

On the WHOLE roof?! Never heard that one. Why? Alum nails for alum flashing, yes. I would think the soft alum would jamb up a nailgun.

Coiled aluminum roofing nails? I'm no roofer. They make them? I've seen the std galv everywhere and the cheap-ass zinc ones at Harbor Freight.

JK

Yes, it is a brand new house! This was the first thing my house inspector noted when he did his work.

No, I mean there are 17 shingles with one exposed nail in each.