r/Roofers

I usually don’t post things like this, but people need to know who they’re hiring. Please share this.

I pulled up to one of my properties in Woodbury today and found a roofer with his truck parked in my yard and trash scattered across the property.
Just to be clear he was not working for me he was working on the neighbors roof.

I asked him a simple question: “Did you ask the tenants for permission to park in the yard?”

His response was, “No. I didn’t need anyone’s permission.”

At that point, I told him he needed to move his truck off my property. That’s when everything went downhill.

He started ranting about how he didn’t care about the tenants, repeatedly referring to them as the [N-word], saying it was a “shitty town” and that he was “just a white man trying to make a living.”

He eventually moved his truck but kept working while continuing to mumble racist comments.

As I was leaving, he yelled from the roof, “You better leave, you bitch-ass pussy.”

So I stopped, backed up, and asked him to repeat himself.

Instead of backing down, he doubled down. He called me a “white [N-word]” and continued using that racial slur over and over again. I honestly lost count after a while.

He had plenty to say from the safety of the roof, but that’s not even the point.

The point is this: If you’re interviewing roofers or hiring contractors, pay attention to who you’re giving your money to. In my experience today, this individual openly expressed racist beliefs and repeatedly used hateful language toward the very community he was working in.

There is absolutely no place for that in 2026. We shouldn’t be supporting people who openly spread that kind of hatred.

Please share this post so others can make informed decisions about who they hire.

Are the roof tiles inside the red circle laid the right way / in the correct orientation? Seems to me they are installed ”backwards”

The roof isn’t quite done on the right side. I think today is the last day of work I’m guessing. We just got to the house last night after they were finished for the night. We’re in the Catskill mountains and had ice dams leak through our old asphalt roof. We get a good amount of snow. This was a $40k roof with 2 layers of polyiso because we have cathedral ceilings in the small house.

We’re concerned about a couple things and not sure how to bring it up:

1. from the chimney side on the left of the roof towards the center between the skylights there is a noticeable dip - I assume this is an issue because wouldn’t water get directed that way in a heavy snowfall

2. the flashing around the chimney looks sloppy, but I’m not a roofer so maybe this is okay? Because of the notch angle in the brick which goes down and in wouldn’t drip water be directed at the chimney instead of away?

3. the boards on the side where the gutter will go — we definitely thought they would take the old boards down and put the new ones in place. Am
   I missing something here? Why wouldn’t that be done?

I’m not a roof expert so definitely want to know if we’re being crazy here.

Thanks for your help!! 🙏

I was charged $2,800 to fix roof leaks that had already caused interior damage. The roofer said the leaks were due to missing/incorrect flashing.

The area outlined in blue is what they repaired/replaced. From what I can tell, instead of installing proper flashing, they mostly just caulked everything. They also left a vent stack leaning against the shutter, cut the siding in half instead of removing and replacing it where they worked, and the vent/pipe penetrations don't look waterproof to me.

Am I missing something, or is this a hack job?

- Is the wall flashing installed correctly?
- Are the pipe flashings installed correctly?
- Does this look like a repair that will last, or is it likely to leak again?
- If you paid $2,800 for this, would you expect it to be redone?

I'm genuinely looking for opinions from experienced roofers. If I'm wrong, I'd appreciate being told why. If not, I'd like to understand exactly what was done incorrectly.

I've been working on this idea for about a year to solve leaky pipe boots. There is no business or product name, so hopefully this isn't against the rules. Just curious what others think of the idea.

Works simply - you reseal the boot with mastic, silicone, or a new gasket and then slap one of these covers on to protect that seal from UV radiation. Without direct sunlight to dry them out, those seals will last much, much longer. Been making these prototypes out of class-A fire retardant polypropylene.

Whudya think? Am I onto something?

TWO IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS:

1. This cover can be trimmed to about 1/3 the size shown in the image. The image depicts an untrimmed version. The extra material allows it to accommodate a wider range of pipe diameters and roof pitches.
2. This cover is not intended to be waterproof itself. It's sole purpose is to protect the UV-sensitive seal underneath from sunlight, thereby prolonging its life.

I know there's an r/roofing but I'm mostly a reddit lurker, so I'm unable to post there without a more active profile.

Anyway, I could use some advice from anyone who knows better. Been dealing with squirrels getting into the attic. Not a huge surprise for the area I live in. However, when pest control company came by, they remarked that the drip edge of the roof was not properly installed to the fascia and quoted me something like $1k to fix it for the whole house. Regardless of the hole that the squirrels made to the siding, they said any animal could make it through this noted gap (please see video).

The roof was just put on last year. I discussed with my roofer, they took a look, but they didn't see issues with the install. So, now I'm back and forth between these two companies trying to figure out the right way forward so I can limit unwanted visitors in my attic.

I don't know any other particular details that may help. It's an old brick carriage house and I have a fear of heights that'll keep me from going up to the roof myself.

Does anyone see the same problem that the pest control company is identifying? They were the ones that sent me this video, so I'm trying to have my facts straight before discussing with my roofer again.

I appreciate any thoughts/advice.

Hello! New homeowner so please go easy on me. I recently had a shingle roof replaced with metal. I work in the built environment and this job doesn’t look right to me.
There look to be gaps and bends where water could infiltrate. I don’t know much about this work but I have uploaded numerous photos. I have no yet paid and am withholding final payment until punch list and job is satisfactory. The contractor is a licensed roofing contractor and has great reviews. My wife found him and she/we decided to move forward with them.

They did replace all the plywood underneath the shingles and installed a thick underlayment. Please review and if there’s anything glaring that I should address prior to final payment. I have a suspicion some steps were skipped.

PS - I know the contractor left the protective plastic still on.

Hello all,

We recently had the roof redone on our 1962 home. It's a low-pitched roof and was done with tar and gravel build up. On the back patio of the house, there had been a pergola where the rafters extended beyond the roof line, and there had been 2x2 slats. The slats were in rough shape, so we removed them before the roof was redone. We've now decided that instead of putting the slats back up, we'd rather make this a solid roof over the patio, as it is north-facing and the only time the sun is shining on it is in the middle of summer, and we don't gain anything from the pergola. We're also looking at possibly converting this patio into a sunroom at some point in the future, so a solid roof moves us in that direction.

So my question is, what is the best way to butt the new sheathing up to the existing roof? The roof has a galvanized rip edge, and I see three options. The first is to leave the drip edge as it is, and butt the new sheathing up to the drip edge. That seems like it would be difficult to get a good, watertight seal. The second would be to cut the drip edge off and butt the new sheathing up to the sheathing on the existing roof. The third option would be to try to bend the overhanging edge of the drip edge up, try to flatten it and use it as a sort of flashing and slide the new sheathing underneath. I'm not sure how realistic that is as I have not tried to bend the drip edge, and I don't know how flat I would be able to get it.

I don't want to damage the existing roof, but I'm looking for the best option to make a secure, watertight connection from the new sheathing to the existing roof. What are your thoughts?

I was hired to manage properties for a company. There is a building they own that has an old roof. Before i came on, they coated it with silicone to fix the many leaks. Though it is my opinion this roof should have been replaced, its not going to happen any time soon. My dilema is that I was told this was an EPDM roof. There is a leak near where this silicone is peeling. I am prepping and cleaning the silocne to do a repair. This section started peeling and it won't stop. This could happen it it wasnt prepped properly for the silicone. But honestly this does not look like EPDM to me. I believe it may be an asphalt roof? Any opinions would be appreciated. I have many skills, roofing is new to me. Thanks for any help. Feel free to ask any questions.

My name is Shawn and been serving Chicago with roofing for the last 15 years. Family owned and operated. License bonded insured. Residential commercial industrial. Modified TPO EPDM fiberglass shingles. Complete tear off roof restoration programs 24 seven emergency services. Contact me today for your free quote. Chicagoflatroofservices@gmail.com www.chicagoflatroofservice.com