Does anyone else tear off old felt?

My first roof job back in 1974 was a tear off. The guy I worked for was a hack but one thing he insisted on was to pull the nails and tear off the old felt. I have always done this on every tear off.

In North Texas, it seems I am the only one who pulls nails and tears off the old felt and starts over with a clean deck. The most I have torn off is 5 layers and there was moisture trapped between each layer. Most if not all of the roofers around here just pound nails and slap on another layer.

Common sense reveals the unquestionable opinion that Webster never met Eric Gordon.

Dont cut corners and leave old felt behind. Don't be one of those guys who give a bad name for everyone else by making short cuts. when you reuse old material like for example not taking off the old felt you potentially increase the chances of moisture build up and rotting. just rip the old one out.

Sources- http://www.homeevolution.net/blog/was-my-shingle-roof-installed-correctly

Roofing in itself is a very tricky and challenging job. All the jobs of rooing are little diificult to complete without skill and complete knowledge.

2" or 4"?

Well, then, natty, you will be most likely gratified and relieved when I say that ninety percent of the time, something does turn out to be cheesey leading to the removal of all the felt. But that brings up a different point. When a subject turns to percentages, unreflective ordinary men usually give up the chase. I know from experience that when any roof issue ends up in court, common sense is generally inadmissible.

Proper ventilation is an art unto itself. How underlayment relates to that can be very simple in many cases, kind of complicated in others, and even occasionally very complicated. I've put on #30 organic felt quite often, especially on steep pitches because it facilitates ease getting around up there. Whether or not that creates more moisture entrapment than two layers of #15, one older and one newer, is probably something common sense could handle. lol

I like your style, natty, and I believe you put on a hell of a quality roof. Don't get me wrong. But even us conscientious installers get a bit tangled up sometimes in our own pronouncements. Anybody want to talk about cant strips?

egg Said: I call that limiting factor common sense.

Webster's defines "common sense"- 1. sound and prudent but often unsophisticated judgment 2. the unreflective opinions of ordinary men.

40 years of experience tells me that leaving old felt which results in multiple layers of underlayment is not best practice. It is hard enough getting the proper ventilation in most houses and multiple layers of underlayment just holds in the moisture. Most roofers, like water, will follow the path of least resistance. They get away with what they can. I applaud Florida for upgrading its code.

I tell people that roofing is like painting. 90% of the job is prep work. Crap roofing does little more than slap on another layer. I am seeing 30 year roofs fail after 15 years and decking in shambles because of the all too common practices. It is depressing as hell out there.

I pull nails also because I'm also anal about it. I want a clean deck. Pulling the felt? Depends on what I find when I get there. If there's anything cheesy I want to see it. I always take a good look. But if it's all rock-solid, the felt stays and I go over it. There's a limiting counter to anal. I call that limiting factor common sense. Not meaning that to be snide, just telling it how I see it.

Have always been anal about pulling all the old nails out of the roof deck. The last house I roofed was built in 1952. I knew it had two layers to tear off but to my surprise, under the second layer was a whole slew of nails, some bent over and others with chunks of red shingle still attached. I guess there were hacks around in the early 70's also, taking short cuts and leaving a mess like that. There was one company around here that did strictly roof overs. The owner would drop the shingles and a ladder and the workers would show up in their cars and go to work. They would spread the cardboard wrappers and wire bundle ties plus all their cuttings on the roof and roof over it all so they would have no garbage to take home.

Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day it is code requirement for tear offs. Ring shank 8d renailing deck to conform to current code is added along with a noteried adfadavit in conjunction with visual inspection from official inspectors. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sin Shines Damn Near Every Day