flintsilver7
07-26-05, 08:38 AM
My house had its shingles replaced in 1994, but apparently not the failed sheathing. Either that, or the FRT sheathing hadn't failed at that point. Regardless, during my home inspection in April I discovered that about 70% of the roof is failed FRT sheathing. Scattered throughout the failed panels - which cover the entire roof - are perfectly good FRT panels.
Code specifies that there should be 4 feet of FRT from the party wall; the rest can be CDX plywood. I have 2 feet of good FRT at minimum, and the rest is random. By my best guesses that I can remember now, I have (aside from the approximately 50 square feet of good FRT from the party wall) between 6 and 8 sheets of good plywood. The house itself measures 18.5' x 33.8' with a slightly less than 45 degree grade. As far as I know, that means the roof is walkable.
Simple math tells you that the roof needs about 28 sheets of plywood TOTAL to cover it. Since 2 feet of it doesn't need to be touched, and I have an additional between 192 and 256 (give or take) square feet of good plywood, that leaves between 532 and 596 square feet of plywood required. (About 16-18 sheets). I'll assume it's easier to leave the good sheathing in place rather than pry it up and move it.
After all that, I have two questions:
1) Does this failed FRT absolutely need to be replaced? It's been in place for 11 years and as far as I can tell by the previous owner's knowledge and my forensic ability, it's never leaked or caused any problems. I doubt you could walk on it, but we don't get much snow in Virginia. If collapsing under heavy snow is an issue, then I will replace it ASAP. It feels somewhat spongy from the underside (I have access to it in the attic) but I've certainly felt wood in worse condition. The failed FRT is dark brown in color.
2) My first roofing estimate was $2160 plus sheathing, $60 and $70 for CDX and FRT plywood, respectively. I don't know if this cost (materials and labor) for the plywood was reasonable or not, but I didn't give it too much thought. The roofer said he knew my development, and didn't need to come up on the roof. When I called and talked to him about the sheathing, he said he thought all the houses in my development had vaulted ceilings (obviously they don't). That was my first cue that something was out of order. When he came back to look at the sheathing, he told me that I needed "about 40" sheets of plywood (more than twice what I actually need) and also mentioned something about code and the increased difficulty of disposing of trash. I fail to believe both of these, as I have the average townhouse in the average townhouse development. Nothing about it is any more or less difficult than any other townhouse roofing job. Also, I'm not a code inspector, but as far as I can tell the only code-related work I need is an additional 2 feet of FRT. He came back with a number of $3860, and I replied with the "I'll see, and maybe I'll get back to you." I certainly don't think that sounds right.
Was I right in reacting that way? Was he trying to pull one over on me? And just how much should I expect a roofing job like this to cost?
Code specifies that there should be 4 feet of FRT from the party wall; the rest can be CDX plywood. I have 2 feet of good FRT at minimum, and the rest is random. By my best guesses that I can remember now, I have (aside from the approximately 50 square feet of good FRT from the party wall) between 6 and 8 sheets of good plywood. The house itself measures 18.5' x 33.8' with a slightly less than 45 degree grade. As far as I know, that means the roof is walkable.
Simple math tells you that the roof needs about 28 sheets of plywood TOTAL to cover it. Since 2 feet of it doesn't need to be touched, and I have an additional between 192 and 256 (give or take) square feet of good plywood, that leaves between 532 and 596 square feet of plywood required. (About 16-18 sheets). I'll assume it's easier to leave the good sheathing in place rather than pry it up and move it.
After all that, I have two questions:
1) Does this failed FRT absolutely need to be replaced? It's been in place for 11 years and as far as I can tell by the previous owner's knowledge and my forensic ability, it's never leaked or caused any problems. I doubt you could walk on it, but we don't get much snow in Virginia. If collapsing under heavy snow is an issue, then I will replace it ASAP. It feels somewhat spongy from the underside (I have access to it in the attic) but I've certainly felt wood in worse condition. The failed FRT is dark brown in color.
2) My first roofing estimate was $2160 plus sheathing, $60 and $70 for CDX and FRT plywood, respectively. I don't know if this cost (materials and labor) for the plywood was reasonable or not, but I didn't give it too much thought. The roofer said he knew my development, and didn't need to come up on the roof. When I called and talked to him about the sheathing, he said he thought all the houses in my development had vaulted ceilings (obviously they don't). That was my first cue that something was out of order. When he came back to look at the sheathing, he told me that I needed "about 40" sheets of plywood (more than twice what I actually need) and also mentioned something about code and the increased difficulty of disposing of trash. I fail to believe both of these, as I have the average townhouse in the average townhouse development. Nothing about it is any more or less difficult than any other townhouse roofing job. Also, I'm not a code inspector, but as far as I can tell the only code-related work I need is an additional 2 feet of FRT. He came back with a number of $3860, and I replied with the "I'll see, and maybe I'll get back to you." I certainly don't think that sounds right.
Was I right in reacting that way? Was he trying to pull one over on me? And just how much should I expect a roofing job like this to cost?