Things You Might See A Contractor Doing During A Roof Replacement

One of the nice things about having your roof replaced is that you don't have to do very much. Yes, you have to choose the roof material, get a few quotes, and pay the bill but the roofers do the vast majority of the actual work. You may, however, stick around and watch from the sidelines as your roof is being replaced. Throughout this process, you may notice your roofers doing a few things that you may not expect. Here's a look at a few of those unexpected things roofers do and why they do them.  

Putting black paper down

After all the shingles are stripped off, you might see the roofers unrolling what looks like black paper onto your rooftop. You might wonder what good black paper would do up there. But the thing is, it's not actually just paper. It's a felted material called underlayment. A roofing underlayment exists to protect the roof deck, which is the wood part of your roof, from moisture if the shingles start to leak. You may not care much about the roof underlayment right now, but you'll be glad it's there a few years down the road when your roof starts to show minor signs of damage.

Layering the shingles

If you watch the roofers putting shingles on the roof, you might notice that they are layering them. Each new layer of shingles goes partially on top of the layer of shingles beneath it. This is intentional. It ensures there are multiple layers of shingles on all parts of the roof, which means the roof offers more protection. If the shingles were not layered, there would be gaps between them, and those gaps would be likely to leak.

Elevating the shingles at the peak

If you see roofers putting shingles on the peak of the roof and notice that they appear to be floating, that's because there is a vent up there. This type of vent is called a ridge vent. It is basically a gap that goes all the way down the roof ridge but is protected by a raised layer of shingles. A ridge vent allows hot air to escape from your attic so the attic does not get too warm or stuffy.

Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of how roof replacements work and the steps roofers sometimes take during this process.

Contact a roofing replacement service to learn more.