What to Expect on Roof Replacement Day (and Should You Stay Home?)

Should I stay home during my roof replacement?

You can. Many homeowners do, and the crew never needs to come inside. Plan for noise most of the day from the tear-off and the nail guns, and for hammering that can shake the walls and ceilings. If you work from home, need quiet, or have a pet that is scared of loud noise, you may want to be somewhere else for the day. Either way, keep your phone nearby in case we find something under the old shingles that you need to know about.

What happens on roof replacement day, start to finish?

• Early morning: the dumpster can arrive as early as 6:30 a.m. The crew and your materials arrive between about 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.
• Before tear-off: the crew moves your patio furniture and grills away from the house and covers the landscaping around the house with tarps.
• Tear-off: the old roof comes off down to the wood deck. We never lay a new roof over an old one.
• Deck check: with the deck bare, we look at every board. Rotted wood is cut out and replaced. Old plank decking with gaps wider than a quarter inch gets covered with new 7/16 inch OSB.
• The new roof goes on, built to the Helping Hands Roofing Standard: two rows of ice and water shield on the eaves, one row in the valleys, ice and water shield up every wall the roof meets and around everything that comes through the roof, and two layers of synthetic underlayment with a 24-inch overlap. It's the part of the roof you'll never see. Then gutter apron, drip edge and the shingles.
• Cleanup: all roofing debris goes in the dumpster and is hauled away, and the crew runs a magnet over the driveway, yard and landscaping for nails.
• The next morning: I come by, run the magnet over the driveway again and make sure everything has been blown off.

How do I get my house ready for a new roof?

• Clear the driveway the night before. If you will need a car that day, park it on the street, not in the garage, so it does not get blocked in.
• Take down anything fragile hanging on the top-floor walls. Hammering can shake it loose.
• Cover anything stored in the attic with a sheet to keep the dust off.
• Keep pets inside and kids away from the work area while the crew is working.
• Let the neighbors on each side know. It helps if they need to move a car or want to plan around the noise.
• If your house has a satellite dish, the crew takes it down to roof under it and puts it back up. Call your provider afterward to re-aim it.

You don't need to move the patio furniture or grills. Our crew does that.

How loud is a roof replacement?

Loud for most of the day. The tear-off and the nail guns are the loudest parts. Inside, you will hear and feel the hammering, and walls and ceilings can shake, which is why we ask you to take down fragile things on the top floor.

What if it rains on my roof replacement day?

We only move the date for rain. If rain moves your install, I call you that day. A cold morning alone doesn't move a build.

Will my yard and landscaping be okay?

The crew covers the landscaping around the house with tarps and works to protect it, but plants can't be moved, so a branch or a flower may get bent. Every piece of roofing debris goes in the dumpster. After the magnet sweep that day and my second pass the next morning, if you ever find a nail or debris we missed, call us and we will come back out.

What can change once the old roof is off?

The wood deck. Nobody can see it until the old shingles are off. If we find rotted wood, we cut it out and replace it, and gapped plank decking gets covered with new OSB. We photograph what we find and show you, and it is priced per sheet on your estimate, so there are no surprises in how it is charged.

How long does a roof replacement take?

Most of our roofs are finished in one day, and jobs usually start about two weeks after you sign. A larger or steeper roof can take longer; we tell you the number of days before your build.

What happens after the roof is done?

Leftover materials are picked up after the job. Every roof we install carries our Lifetime Workmanship Warranty.

Jobs behind this article

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Next step

Next step: the questions to ask each roofer when you compare estimates.

See our Dayton roof replacement prices and the online roof calculator, or book a free roof inspection.