Roofing in Downtown Newark, OH

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.

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.

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.

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.