Roofs leak at the holes, not the field
The open middle of a roof is the easy part. Water gets in where something interrupts it: a wall, a chimney, a valley, a vent, a skylight. Those details are flashing work, and flashing is where a cheap roof gets cheap, because reusing old bent flashing saves a few dollars and costs you a ceiling. If a quote does not say the flashing is new, assume it is not.
What we find when the old roof comes off
Tear-off is the only way to see the decking, and on older houses we usually find at least some soft sheathing, an old repair, or nails that never hit a rafter. Finding it is normal. We photograph it, price the replacement, and you approve it in writing before we go further — it does not turn up as a line on the final invoice.
Gutters are a sizing problem
Most gutter complaints are not the gutter, they are the downspouts. A roof plane dumps a predictable amount of water, and the gutter has to carry it and then get rid of it somewhere that is not your foundation. That means enough downspouts for the roof area, the right pitch, and an outlet that moves water away from the house. We size from the roof and tell you where the water is going.
How We Run A Job
- 01
Walk The Whole Property
Not just the room you called about. Problems travel — a roof leak is a drywall job and sometimes a framing job, and it is cheaper to find that now.
- 02
Scope, Price And Schedule
One written scope covering every trade, one fixed price, and real dates. If a permit or an engineer is needed, that is in the schedule rather than a surprise later.
- 03
Permits And Approvals
We pull them, we schedule the inspections, and we keep the paperwork clean so it holds up when you sell the house.
- 04
One Crew Lead, Start To Finish
The same person runs your job every day and coordinates every sub. You get one number, and you are never the one chasing a trade.
- 05
Walk It Before We Call It Done
Punch list closed with you standing there, final inspections signed off, and the site left clean.
Roofing & Gutters: common questions
Is a layover ever the right call instead of a tear-off?
Sometimes a roof will physically take a second layer, but it hides whatever the decking is doing and it shortens what goes over it. We look at what is up there and tell you what we would do on our own house, with the reason in writing either way.
How do I compare roofing quotes?
Look for four things: tear-off or layover, what underlayment is used, whether the flashing is new, and what happens if the decking is bad. Those are the items that separate two numbers that otherwise look alike. A quote that is silent on the decking is the one that will surprise you.
My shingles look fine but the ceiling is stained. Why?
Most of the time it is not the shingles. Flashing, a valley, a vent boot or a gutter backing up under the edge will all stain a ceiling while the field of the roof looks new. We go up and find where the water actually enters rather than selling you a roof you may not need yet.
Building throughout east Multnomah County
Most of our work is in east Multnomah County and the communities around it. If you have a project that crosses trades — or a problem you have already been told is somebody else's department — call and we will tell you straight whether it is ours.