Is this roof right?

[Kathy Lee Gifford]

So we're in the process of doing a big renovation on our house and one of the things that we did was the roof. When we bid the roof I wanted shingles, but was told that I would have to add pitch if I wanted to go with shingles. There was loose rock on this small section of roof and the garage. After I was given a price to add pitch to the roof I told them to go with the loose rock. Then my contractor said that the roofer could do shingles and we'd be okay without adding pitch, so I gave them a green light. Cut to the other day when I notice that part of the roof is shingled and part is not. When I asked the contractor about it he told me that in fact the pitch was not there for shingles so they did part with shingles and part without. He knows he screwed up and he left a voicemail saying if I wanted the roofer would come and mastic (sp?) some shingles on top of the material.

Personally the whole thing sounds pretty hinky to me, but I was hoping for some words of advice so when I have my meeting with my contractor he won't be able to BS me.

I set up a page so you can take a look at the work that's been done.

myroof password: myroof

Thanks for all the help.

Lloyd

[HeyBub]

Well, pitch does matter somewhat. Do you know the pitch of the roof at issue?

"Pitch" is the vertical distance over the horizontal distance. For example, "5/12" means for every twelve foot horizontal distance, the roof's elevation drops five feet. A "12/12" (or 5/5) means the roof has a 45-degree slope.

That said, shingles are possible in the range of 4/12 to 12/12 (sometimes, depending on the manufacturer).

Shingles are usually not used for smaller slopes (0/12 - 3/12) because rain won't drain fast enough and will find its way UNDER the shingles.

So, then, you need to discover the actual pitch of your roof and have a conversation with the customer service rep at the shingle's manufacturer.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Where is your house? The job your contractor did sounds unusual.

[Pat]

It appears that the roofer used a membrane on the portion that had a low pitch which is the correct way to roof a low pitch. Your contractor is offering to glue some shingles to this membrane so that it would match the rest. This could cause some problems down the road when you sell. A home inspection may catch shingles used on a low pitch roof. The best choice would be to modify the pitch of the roof as your contractor recommended.

[krw]

I had the shed dormer (2/12 pitch) of my previous house (in Northern Vermont) shingled. The roofing contractor said it was fine, as long as he put ice and water shield under the entire roof. I lived there eight years after with no problems. The previous roofing lasted about that long before it sprung multiple leaks. The rolled roofing kinda unzipped at the overlap.

Yup, my current house has a 15/12 on the garage (hipped), but I don't think he really meant that higher pitches weren't possible.

[Chet]

From the pics, I can't tell if the pitch is any different on the part done with shingles and the part done without. First thing I'd do is measure the actual pitch.

I'd also be pissed that the contractor did not let you know and seek your approval when he decided to switch from doing it all in shingles. Do you have a written contract? What does it say?

From the pics it does look very strange.