Your 1990s Subdivision Roof Is Due: What to Fix the First Time It Comes Off

Livingston County grew fast between about 1988 and 2007. Hartland, Genoa Township, Brighton Township, Oceola, Marion and the north side of Howell filled up with colonials and two-story brick-front homes built by production builders. Thousands of those homes are now on their first or second roof, and the roof that came with the house was rarely the best one the builder could have put on. Here is what we find when we tear one off and what we fix while we are up there.

Why builder-grade roofs come off early

A production builder in 1998 was putting up a whole street. The roof was one line item. Three-tab shingles, one layer of felt, plastic box vents, and whatever the framing crew left for a nailing surface. Many of those roofs did fine for twenty years. But we regularly see them fail early for reasons that had nothing to do with weather.

• Nails driven too high, above the nail line, so the shingle below was only held by the seal strip.
• No starter strip along the rakes, only the eaves, which is where wind gets under the edge.
• Step flashing skipped at sidewalls in favor of a bead of caulk.
• Box vents sized for the square footage of the house on paper, not for the actual attic, and no real intake at the soffit.
• Ice and water barrier only at the eave, or none at all in older builds, so the first bad ice dam season put water on the drywall.

What we fix while the roof is open

Ventilation

This is the big one. A 1990s colonial in Hartland with three box vents and painted-shut soffit vents has been cooking its own shingles every summer and dripping condensation onto the insulation every winter. On replacement we remove the box vents, cut in a continuous ridge vent, and confirm there is real intake at the soffit. If the soffit is solid or the baffles are missing, we tell you, because a ridge vent with no intake does not move air.

Flashing

Every chimney, sidewall and skylight gets new metal. Not caulk over the old metal. New step flashing woven into each course, new counterflashing cut into the mortar joint on brick chimneys, and a proper cricket behind any chimney wide enough to hold snow. Reused flashing is the most common reason a new roof leaks in its first year.

Decking

Homes from this era typically have OSB decking. It is fine when it stays dry. Around the eaves, near the plumbing stacks and under old ice dam spots it is often soft. We walk the deck after tear-off, mark what is soft, replace those sheets and show you the photos. We also check that the sheathing is nailed to the trusses at proper spacing. On a lot of these houses it is not.

Ice and water barrier

Michigan code requires it at the eaves. On a two-story colonial with a low-slope porch roof, a dead valley behind a garage gable, or a north-facing slope that holds snow, we run it well past the minimum. It goes in every valley, around every penetration, and along the rakes on the exposed sides of the house.

Shingles

The three-tab that came with the house is replaced with an architectural shingle. Architectural shingles are thicker, carry a higher wind rating, and hide the slight waves in an older deck. For homeowners who want the strongest warranty available, we install a complete Owens Corning system so the roof qualifies for the Platinum Protection warranty.

The HOA question

Many of these subdivisions have active associations. Hartland, Brighton Township and Genoa Township developments often have architectural review committees with an approved shingle color list. Before we order material we confirm the color with the HOA in writing. It takes a day and it prevents a very unpleasant letter later.

Do not wait for the leak

Drive down any street in these neighborhoods and you will see roofs with curled tabs, bare patches at the ridge, and moss on the north side. Once a three-tab roof starts curling, it is losing its seal, and the next 60 mile per hour gust will finish the job. Replacing on your schedule beats replacing after the storm.

If your home was built between 1988 and 2007

Have it inspected. We will tell you honestly whether it has years left or whether it is time, and if it is time we will show you every one of the items above on your own roof, in photos, before you decide anything. Request a free inspection from our Howell office.