The biggest project we did this year was to have a new roof installed. First we chose a roofing company then we picked the colours for the roof and aluminum work (soffit, fascia, eavestrough and downspouts). Then the new roof and aluminum was installed. Now we have a brand new roof!
Choosing a roofing company
To select a roofing company we asked three companies for quotes. One of the companies dropped off their quote in the mailbox without talking to us about the information. The other two companies actually sent representatives who called beforehand to make sure we would be around to discuss their quote after going up on the roof for a full examination. Despite not being the cheapest option we went with the company ProfessionalRoofers.com.
Selecting the new roof and aluminum colours
The existing roof was a dark green and the aluminum was dark brown. We knew we wanted to stick to a dark colour for the roof, but didn’t want black. We ended up selecting IKO Cambridge Architectural shingles in charcoal grey. For all of the new aluminum work (soffit, fascia, eavestrough and downspouts) we selected black. Our house is orange brick so the black aluminum work provides great contrast. When the windows all eventually get replaced we are planning on black frames so all the outside “trim” will match.
The new roof installation
The roofing crew was on time and worked hard, completing the installation of the new roof in 2 days of work. What took them so long was they had to remove 4 layers of shingles on one side and 5 layers of shingles on the other! On the bottom layer the shingles were fastened with handmade nails… clearly this roof should have been properly replaced many years ago. Once the old shingles were removed there were a few boards that were in bad condition and needed to be replaced. The new shingles were installed, the attic was properly vented with 5 vents plus the additional solar vent, finally, the flashing was replaced on the chimney and plumbing stack. We also took the opportunity to add an exhaust vent for the upstairs bathroom.
We decided to only replace the roof on the second story and not the roof over the extension. Our long term plan involves a rebuilding of the entire addition so to put a new roof on it would have been a waste of money. The roof on the addition is actually in pretty decent shape anyways (single layer of shingles). It just won’t match for a while. The crew cleaned up very thoroughly and the foreman took the time to bring Chris up on the roof to show him the completed work.
The aluminum installation
It was a separate crew from the roofers that installed the aluminum. They arrived on time and got started right away, but after removing the old aluminum, realized the material they brought for the new work was not what we had ordered. This was really an error on the part of the head office which supplied them with the wrong material. We had to wait a week until they could get the proper material but once they had it the work was done quickly and the finished work looks great. We chose a soffit with a perforated centre vent for increased ventilation. We also chose to install leaf guards on the eavestrough since getting up there to clean them is a real pain. Other then a few small pieces of aluminum scraps left on the ground they did a good job of cleaning up.
Our experience with the roofing company
Overall we are happy with the experience we had using ProfessionalRoofers.com, the cost was reasonable, we were able to get the solar fan from Canada Go Green as an extra and they completed the work fairly quickly and cleaned up when they were done. They also came in at the original estimate which only included 3 layers of shingle removal (if you are interested in the pricing or how much we paid leave us a comment). The only issues we had were the mix up of materials and the delay it caused in completing the work.
Final thoughts on our new roof
Although it was an expensive project to do, having a new roof is definitely giving us peace of mind. We know we need to complete some of these not so glamorous or visible large projects in order to get to the more visible and fun improvements like paint colours and new furniture. While we can’t see the top of the roof on a daily basis we know it looks good, and more importantly won’t leak. We do get to look at the new aluminum downspouts everyday which look great in contrast with the red bricks.
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