is there ever a situation where you would layer asphalt shingles?

[jb3]

Painting in a multi family building, new tenants moving in, they end up hitting a roof overhang with the moving truck. Reason this is relevant is it ends up peeling back the roof covering like an open book and was able to take a good look at it

Turns out there are no less than 6 layers of asphalt shingle on the roof of this building, almost 3 inches thick. More asphalt on the roof than in the driveway.

Not a roofer, is there any conceivable reason this would be done besides laziness?
On the damaged sample corner, looks like one layer of tarpaper under all

 

[Just Primer]

It's laziness. It used to be allowed to put up to three I believe over here in the Southwest. It is faster. My Roofer tried to allow me to let him put a second layer over my roof, and he was going to take off $1000.00. I think it was worth more than a 1000 off his price so I said no. I have stripped a roof like yours only it had wood shakes on top of two layers of asphalt, it was a lot of weight to remove and hall off.

 

[jgschroeder99]

I second the laziness motion. People that do this don't think about the extra weight, either.

 

[PanelDeland]

It used to be acceptable in some areas to put the second layer over one but the last I asked, the shingle companies wont warranty if you do that now.This means most roofers wont do it. It's basically just putting off the labor of removing an old roof. In my younger years I tore a few off, double layers are a lot heavier to work with and harder to get all the way under.There's also the whole more nails thing.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Pure laziness. I can imagine the rafter/trusses will breath a sigh of relief when you tear them all off.

So what did they use last time ?? 3 1/2" roofing nails ?

 

[Zeke]

Used to be that code would allow a 3rd layer, now only a 2nd. 6??!! That's insane.

 

[willymakeit]

That's a minimum of 15 lbs. per sq. ft. load. Based on 240 lb. per square. They need to come off.
I would be curious as to how much sag is in the roof at mid span.

 

[volleyball]

Cost money and time to tear them off. Simple as that.
6 layers. I guess there hasn't been a tear off in a century.

 

[jb3]

Just looked up local code and limit is 2 layers and has been forever. Amazing that not once ,but 4 times local code was ignored to roof this building. Ill post a pic later of the exposed bit ,took a few pics of moving truck damage for insurance.

Definitely has to come off, building is incredibly solid 1928 construction, 3 stories tall and no roof sag ,but i for sure dont want that much weight up there. Fortunately next year im planning a big 3rd story remodel with a bunch of skylights, can do it then. At least now im sure ill be paying some poor roofers a lot more money for the job and can budget

 

[AP514]

6 layers Plus 3 stories--WOW....
It is going to Cost you alot extra to have that removed. Also your going to find that alot of the sheathing wood will be Bad.due to the hard removal. Add that into the cost

 

[volleyball]

3 stories could be why there are so many layers. Plan on building a shute and paying for many many dumpsters. Find a place that recycles them. Could save you a lot.

 

[Snap_cap]

Just looked up local code and limit is 2 layers and has been forever. Amazing that not once ,but 4 times local code was ignored to roof this building. Ill post a pic later of the exposed bit ,took a few pics of moving truck damage for insurance.

Definitely has to come off, building is incredibly solid 1928 construction, 3 stories tall and no roof sag ,but i for sure dont want that much weight up there. Fortunately next year im planning a big 3rd story remodel with a bunch of skylights, can do it then. At least now im sure ill be paying some poor roofers a lot more money for the job and can budget

Was it six layers at the edge of the roof, or in the field?

Edges are ordinarily doubled in thickness when the roof is applied, so if the field is three layers and the edges are six, you aren't taxing the frame with as much dead-load as six full roofs would generate.

(Six layers of roofing shingles plus a heavy, wet Rhode Island snowfall...

Either way, yours needs to be stripped down to the deck when you have it roofed again.

 

[Alan Douglas]

That's some moving truck, three stories high.

 

[97fordsuper]

That's some moving truck, three stories high.

 

[jb3]

That's some moving truck, three stories high.

Lol

They hit a decorative section of roof over an entrance a lot lower and pretty much ripped it off the face of the building

Edge or depth of shingle looks the same on both the lower section and up higher hanging a bit out the 3rd floor window

 

[jb3]

Was it six layers at the edge of the roof, or in the field?

Edges are ordinarily doubled in thickness when the roof is applied, so if the field is three layers and the edges are six, you aren't taxing the frame with as much dead-load as six full roofs would generate.

(Six layers of roofing shingles plus a heavy, wet Rhode Island snowfall...

Either way, yours needs to be stripped down to the deck when you have it roofed again.

Not sure on the main roof, all ive done is measure the depth on the very edge where i can sort of lean out and touch the main roof from the 3rd story window. It looks to have the same pile of shingles on the edge to match the small roof bit that was damaged. Maybe its as you say and thinner in the middle

 

[bczygan]

With last winter's snow loads, it probably deflected a bit.

Shows how much extra strength is built into our structures.

Any cracks in the ceilings?

 

[yeldogt]

Years ago with three tabs most people covered the old roof if they got it soon enough --- a tad longer nail was required.

When I was doing rehabs in the 80's -- I ripped off roofs from a lot of house to find three asphalt roofs .. all built just after WWI

 

[BJ42LX]

6 layers is impressive!

The nails from the top couple layers weren't even touching wood!

 

[jb3]

Eventually will post a picture. That day laptop cord crapped out (battery already bad), and i couldnt bring myself to pay 80 dollars for something i could get for 25 on the web shipped. Waiting for my new cord to post pics from digital camera.

 

[Casey69]

there is no benefit to putting shingles on top of shingles, except that it saves time & money. the downside is that you're adding a whole lotta weight to the roof & decreasing the new shingle's life. 6 layers has to be a record though! i can't imagine the weight that's on the roof...at least you know the house is structurally sound!

in these parts, code states that every roof must be completely torn off before new shingles can be installed.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

You are probably going to find the lower layers have asbestos which may cause significant disposal costs if the landfill requires paperwork or certifications.

 

[dmeadow]

I had a house in Dallas with cedar shakes and a layer of shingles on top of it. The asphalt layer got hail damaged. To remove both layers and redeck the roof would have been more expensive than I could handle, even though the insurance company was paying part of it. I had the roofer put on the third layer, which was within code at the time.

When I sold the house the new owners had a devil of a time finding someone that would insure the house with a third layer. Almost killed the sale. Lesson learned.

 

[toolmiser]

I bet the people who applied the last few layers had a fun time nailing them down with real long shingle nails.

 

[Casey69]

You are probably going to find the lower layers have asbestos which may cause significant disposal costs if the landfill requires paperwork or certifications.

good point. use a mask during the tear-off & put the oldest shingles in the bottom of the dumpster.

 

[jb3]

finally pics-
looking at it again, im thinking more like 5 layers, hard to tell closest to the roof though, some have been painted. Ill just have count as I pull them off





this is the damage I have to repair done by the uhaul-