Is this reasonable?

[elmer f.]

I'm getting quotes for a new roof. One contractor has proposed a system which I never heard of. The proposal consists of tearing off roof covering down to sheathing. Then, they propose to put ice guard on all seams of the plywood 6" wide, and seal the deck with deck sealant. They won't be using any felt and just install the shingles over this. They suggest there is no way ice or water will penetrate the decking if I get ice dams. To do this, the cost is $1 per sq. ft. of decking, I have 24 sq. or 2,400 sq. ft. to cover. So the price is $2,400 to use this method. My question is: Is this a reasonable cost?

[David Martel]

Elmer,

You haven't provided enough info for any one to comment on your price. Your best bet is to get estimates from several roofing contractors and be sure to get references. For this new system find out what kind of warranty the roofer will put on the roof and whether his insurance will pay off in 10 years if the roof leaks. From your description this system sounds quite labor intensive. Wouldn't using felt be easier, faster, and cheaper? He's going to be covering a lot of seams.

Good luck, Dave M.

[Joseph Meehan]

For my home, I would want it to be in use over 30 years to see how it holds up. After all we have existing technology that works fine. Remember Aluminum wiring and many other new great products?

[jpo]

Here's my theory on something like that: Why be the guinea pig?. I would try to get references from other customers first. I would also try to find out what the advantages of this as opposed to traditional roofing. The other question I would ask myself is: "Does the company doing this JUST do this type of roof, or do they do traditional roofing also". If they only do the type they are proposing, then that's an indication to me that it's a gimmick, and not reliable.