Roofing is disruptive. It is loud, it takes over your driveway, and for a day or two your house is a worksite. Knowing the sequence makes it considerably less stressful.
Before the day
What we do
- Confirm the date and the material, and warn you if weather looks like moving it
- Pull the permit — the City of Miami requires one for new roofs and re-shingles
- Tell you where the dumpster and the material drop are going
- Order the material and book the crew
What helps if you do it
- Take fragile things off interior walls — a tear-off shakes the structure more than people expect
- Move vehicles out of the driveway the night before
- Cover anything precious in the attic; decades of dust comes down
- Plan for pets — the noise is genuinely distressing for dogs
- Tell us about anything buried in the yard: sprinkler heads, invisible fence, septic lids
Day one — tear-off
The old roof comes off. This is the loudest part and there is no version of it that is not. Oklahoma's residential code requires tear-off rather than shingling over an existing roof in defined conditions, so on most homes here the old roof comes off entirely — which is also the only way anyone can see the decking underneath.
Day one to two — dry-in and install
What goes back on, in order
- Any decking that needs replacing
- Drip edge at the eaves and rakes
- Underlayment across the deck — this is the dry-in, and once it is on your house is weather-tight again
- Valley metal and step flashing at every wall and chimney
- Starter course at the eaves
- The field of the roof, working up
- Ridge vent and ridge caps last
The end — cleanup and walkthrough
What finishing properly looks like
- All debris hauled, not stacked for later
- Landscaping uncovered and checked
- A magnet run over the driveway, the yard and the street
- A walkthrough with you, on the ground, before we call it done
- Your workmanship warranty in writing, including what voids it
If something is not right, say so at the walkthrough. That is exactly what it is for, and it is far easier to fix on the day than in six months.
This guide is general information, not a substitute for a professional roof inspection, and it is not insurance or legal advice.