Two Layers Came Off
This West Covina Roof

Two Roofs, One House

Somewhere along the line, somebody put a new roof on this house without taking the old one off. That is called an overlay, and code allows one layer over another in some situations. We do not do them, and this job is a good picture of why. Two layers means twice the weight on the framing, twice the heat held against the deck, and a deck nobody has actually seen in years. You cannot inspect wood through two roofs.

So both layers came off. Down to the bare deck, in daylight, where we could see what we were working with.

What the Deck Looked Like

Good news, mostly. The original plank decking was in decent shape and there was not a lot that had to be replaced. The boards that did need it were swapped for new wood before anything went over them, and you can see the new pieces in the photo above, lighter than the old planks around them. That is the whole reason we tear off instead of laying over: you find those boards, you fix them, and the new roof goes on something solid.

Our contract names the rate for deck repair before we start, so when a few boards need replacing it is a known number, not a surprise on day two. On this house it was a small one.

A Cool Roof, and the Part the Homeowner Noticed First

The new roof is an Owens Corning cool roof system. Cool roof shingles reflect more of the sun than a standard shingle, which matters when you live where this house does. West Covina and the Pomona area get hot, and a roof that soaks up less heat is a roof that sends less of it into the attic.

The part the homeowner was happiest about was the ventilation. The house has more of it now than it did before, including a ridge vent along the main ridge, and on a hot afternoon that is the difference you feel from inside. Hot air in the attic has a way out. If you want the longer version of why that matters, I wrote about attic ventilation here.

The Small Things

Every pipe and vent on the roof got painted to match the shingle. It takes a few minutes and it is the kind of detail that still looks right years from now. Nobody asks for it. Everybody notices when it is missing.

Done

That roof is finished. The homeowner is happy, the attic breathes, and the house is carrying one roof instead of two. That is the whole job. If your house has layers on it, or you are not sure, have us look before anyone quotes you a third one. Here is where I stand on overlays, and why.