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How Many Days Does it Take to Replace a Roof?
Every homeowner knows that their old roof eventually has to be replaced, but we don’t all necessarily plan a time in advance for new roof installation. As a result, plenty of people are caught off guard by their roof repairs and need to know how quickly a new roof can be installed. We’ve got the answers you need, so whether you’re replacing your old roof in a pinch or in advance you’ll know what to expect.
90% of roofs can be replaced in a single day when you’re working with a fully optimized five to six-person roofing crew. When it comes to the remaining 10% of roofs, which are roofs that are too large in size for one day, we perform our replacements strategically by dividing up the project. We complete one section one day and another the next day.
You don’t want to end up in a situation where parts of your roof are exposed to the elements. That’s one of the risks of hiring a contractor with a crew that’s too small or trying to replace a roof yourself instead of hiring roofing professionals. The longer it takes to replace your roof the greater the risk of roof damage from rain, wind, etc.
Does it take longer to install 30-year or 50-year shingles?
When people talk about 30-year and 50-year shingles, what they’re really talking about is limited lifetime warranties. 30-year shingles aren’t actually the subject of much discussion among roofing professionals because they’re no longer the standard in the roofing industry. There have been enough advances in asphalt shingle roof technology that now it’s possible to install a roof with a 50-year-limited lifetime warranty!
GAF, which is one of the largest manufacturers of roofing materials in the world, offers a 50-year limited lifetime warranty so long as it’s the type of roof that meets GAF’s 50-year limited lifetime warranty criteria. Additionally, such a roof can only be installed by contractors that have earned the Master Elite® certification from GAF, which is bestowed to only the top 2% of North America’s roofing contractors.
Proven Contracting has Master Elite® certification, so we can install roofs that qualify for GAF’s three different types of 50-year limited lifetime warranties: System Plus, Silver Pledge, or Gold Pledge. Even though a roof that qualifies for such warranties requires more materials to install, it would still take us a single day to install such a roof. That is, so long as it’s the sort of roof that would otherwise take us a single day to install with fewer materials. A larger than average roof will still take us more than a day to install.
It’s worth noting that even if you don’t want a 50-year limited lifetime warranty room, having Master Elite® certification or certification from any other roofing material manufacturer is one of the items to mark off your checklist in order to identify a good roofing contractor.
What can customers do to make roof replacement go faster?
To make the roof replacement go faster, we ask customers not to keep their cars in the driveway and to leave the area in front of their homes free as well. We don’t want anything that would slow down the journey that discarded materials, like nails and old shingles, make from the roof to the dumpster. We also need a place to park any trucks and trailers.
Ideally, you’ll do some landscaping in advance of our visit, like making sure your lawn will be cut to moderate length at the least to make a thorough cleanup easier. If you have a dog, we would request that you clean up after your pet before our arrival so that we don’t step in anything. And, as cute as your dog might be, it shouldn’t be running around your property while our crew is working. We also need the ground clear of any debris or tripping hazards, like hoses or detachable sprinklers.
If clients plan to be away while we perform the job, then we’ll need the backyard unlocked. We wouldn’t want any delays as you rush back home to unlock the backyard gate for us! We also have a lot of clients that take measures to protect possessions around the perimeter of their homes.
This might mean, for example, moving things like grills and patio furniture out of the way. Some of these things may be valuable and delicate. It’s best if you move something delicate so that there’s no risk of us damaging it, especially if it’s a piece that, if moved incorrectly, may break. Moving items for us also saves us between 30 to 45 minutes. We’ll protect your landscaping and windows ourselves.
How long does it take to replace new gutters?
If you’re replacing both your roof and your gutters and you’re wondering if you should replace your roof or your gutter first, the answer is always replacing the roof first. That way you don’t risk damaging your new gutters while installing your new roof. Usually, we’ll replace the existing roof one day, and then replace the gutters in a single day within a week.
Like the requests we make of customers when we replace their roofs, it helps to keep the driveway and front of the house clear of cars and other obstructions. To create the gutters, we use an extruding machine (AKA a seamless gutter machine). It can pump out fifty feet of continuous gutter very quickly, but it requires space to operate. We also need space to keep the dumpster into which the old gutter parts will go.
How long does it take to replace a roof in an emergency?
We have a service technician with his own utility van that’s designed to respond to issues faster. We call it the mobile toolbox. It’s 100% outfitted for our service technician to go out, diagnose a problem, and execute a repair right on the spot. All of the equipment, all the tools, and all the supplies and materials are right on this van, so the technician can act quickly.
If just a few shingles are missing, for example, we can weave them in easily. There’s also an underlayment known as a leak barrier or ice and water shield that we can install. Usually, that underlayment goes under shingles in more vulnerable areas, but it can also be installed temporarily in an emergency before more significant work is done.
When emergencies happen, they need to be handled promptly, and many contractors don’t have a repair department or these expensive utility vans that accommodate service right on the spot, but we do. With this van, if there’s a big storm, like a nor’easter, that creates a lot of damage, we can estimate how much repair is necessary quickly, perform emergency repairs immediately if they can’t wait, and schedule jobs based on their urgency.
Before the service technician even arrives at the emergency, we can start thinking about the sort of repairs that may be needed. And if our service technician is busy during an emergency, we send out an estimator to inspect and evaluate. If the roof is under ten years old, it likely doesn’t need to be fully replaced. There may just be some roof shingles that blew off. But if the roof is over 15 years old, then it doesn’t make much sense to do spot repairs that cost $500 if you’re already due for a new roof.
You’re really just throwing money away doing spot repairs that only delay the inevitable if your roof already needs replacing. If the reason you only want spot repairs is that you can’t afford a new roof, then there are ways to pay for a roof with no money. And one of the easiest ways is financing through Proven Contracting. We’ll work with you to figure out a payment plan that works best, and we can see if you qualify in minutes!
How long can I wait for an emergency roof replacement?
You really shouldn’t put off roof repair or roof replacement because it only exposes you to more potential damage. A roof that’s already leaking can cause water damage to paint, drywall, electrical wiring, and your possessions, which can quickly add up to a lot of money!
In the event that a storm causes damage and you already have a contract with us to get a new roof in, say, three weeks, we’re not going to leave you hanging! We’ll try to bump you up earlier in the schedule or, at least, have our service technician do something in the interim–like some spot repair to prevent further damage until we can replace the entire roof.
Our service technician also checks out cases where a customer has an issue with work that we’ve done. We address those concerns ASAP. In most cases, the warranty on your roof that you’d use is your workmanship warranty rather than a manufacturer’s warranty. That’s because fault is more likely to be found in how the roof was installed rather than the materials the roof is made out of.
Nobody’s perfect and mistakes happen, so it’s important to have the humility to admit when something’s gone wrong and the tools to fix the problem quickly. That’s why when you read reviews of roofers online, it’s not necessarily a bad sign if a roofer has some negative complaints so long as those complaints are resolved. That’s actually a sign of professionalism.
Although, if you check out our reviews, we consistently have positive reviews across different platforms, which is one of the signs of a good roofing company. Proven Contracting currently has 4.9 stars on Google reviews based on 147 reviews, and we’re proud of that!
Is it difficult to schedule a roof replacement?
Outside of finding a schedule that works for our crew and for you, scheduling a roof replacement is easy. The only real impediments would be if there’s rain or snow, or if it’s greater than 85°F or below 40°F. That’s because those temperatures make it harder to physically work on the roof and can compromise the integrity of roofing materials.
Too cold and asphalt shingles can become too brittle to handle; too hot and asphalt shingles can lose their granules just from being handled. Plus, it’s hard to remove old shingles if your fingers are too numb from the cold or if it’s so hot on the roof that you’re at risk of heat exhaustion and dehydration. Luckily, New Jersey has plenty of weather that’s perfect for roof work. There aren’t even enough full days of sun to worry about the most energy-efficient roof color, so it should be no issue to schedule an appointment!
Do roofs that take more than one day to replace cost more to replace?
Roofs that take more than one day to replace cost more to replace because they require more labor and materials due to their size and complexity. Trust us, if we could replace a larger roof in one day we would, but the reason for splitting the job up into two days is that the roof is large and or complex enough that it merits more than one day to deliver you the best roof you deserve.
You can estimate the cost of replacing your roof using our roofing calculator. If you’re concerned about the estimate a roofer gives you, then make sure that you’re given a detailed line-by-line breakdown of all the costs and labor so that you can more effectively compare different estimates. Some roofers will just walk around your property and say, “We can do this for around $8,000,” but that’s not good enough! You need to know exactly what they’re going to do!
You can try to negotiate the cost of your roof, but if you’re able to significantly reduce the price of your roof then that might not be a contractor you’d want to work with in the first place because they may have been trying to rip you off. Being able to save $2,000 on a roof through negotiation is cause for pause.
Sure, you might save a couple hundred dollars by opting out of the type of roof necessary to qualify for GAF’s 50-year-limited lifetime warranty, but those savings are different from savings that you might get by working with a contractor who cuts corners (by not replacing flashing, for example) or lures you in with a lower price only to discover that “more work” is necessary later. That’s why due diligence is so important!
A company that’s been around for a long time has a history of getting people’s needs met, honoring their contracts and warranties, and weathered plenty of storms. Make sure to get references, consult your state’s Department of Consumer Affairs, and check out some of their work in your community. A roof is too important to leave up to chance!
Wrapping Up
It takes one to two days to install your new roof, but the positive impact will last for upwards of 15 years if not more. So, do your due diligence and make sure you get the roof you deserve! And, if there’s an emergency, we’ll do everything we can to help you through it.
