FAQ

The warranty document lists its own conditions, and the common ones are about installation: shingles applied to the maker's instructions with the underlayment and ventilation the maker specifies, and for the longer system warranties, an installer the maker has certified. One published Licking County roofing page notes that laying new shingles over an old layer can void a manufacturer's wind warranty. Keep the document, the installer's name and the install date together; without them a warranty is hard to use.

The figures published for this part of Ohio are about $6,370 to $14,105 for an asphalt-shingle tear-off on a 2,000-square-foot house in Newark, Ohio, and about $8,500 to $18,500 for standard architectural shingle across Licking County. National guides run from about $5,800 to over $47,000. Your figure depends on roof area, pitch, layers and decking, so it becomes a written quote once the roof has been seen.

In Newark, Ohio, ask before the work starts, because building here goes through two offices: the City of Newark's Engineering and Zoning office at City Hall, 40 W. Main St, and the Licking County Building Code Department at 675 Price Rd, which publishes its own Roof Shingle Replacement Requirements. Whoever does the work should settle what the job needs with both and pull any permit, and the record belongs in your paperwork.

For shingle on a typical house in Newark, Ohio it is well above the published local ranges, about $6,370 to $14,105 for asphalt on 2,000 square feet and $8,500 to $18,500 for architectural across Licking County, so ask what is driving it. It can be reasonable for a large, steep house with many valleys and chimneys, or for metal on a big roof. The total settles nothing; the itemized roof area, tear-off, decking rate and permit do.

Two warranties from two different parties. The shingle maker's warranty covers the materials; the contractor's workmanship warranty covers the installation. Published guides describe the strongest packages as a maker's system warranty plus a contractor workmanship warranty of 10 to 25 years, and terms vary widely below that. Ask for both in writing, with the installer's name and the install date, because a warranty you cannot document is hard to use.

Someone who looks before pricing, names the materials in writing, and tells you up front what you will hold when the job is done: a written contract, the permit record where one is needed, the maker's warranty papers and the workmanship terms. Ask for any registration number the City or Licking County requires and check it. A contractor who cannot say what paperwork you will get has already answered the question.

Leaks in more than one place, shingles curling, cupping or losing granules across whole slopes, a sag you can see from the street, daylight through the deck in the attic, and repairs needed every season. Asphalt shingles are generally rated at 15 to 30 years, and roofers working this city suggest a professional look once a roof passes 15 to 20 years or leaks often. One sign alone is usually a repair.

It is worth reading before it is worth paying for. A 50-year or lifetime shingle warranty is the maker's warranty on materials; the installation is covered separately, by the contractor's workmanship terms. Published guides say the non-prorated 50-year system warranties are offered only through installers the maker has certified, and one major maker's lifetime limited warranty applies only to single-family detached homes owned by individuals. Ask which warranty you are actually getting, in writing.