Frequently Asked Questions
How much will my new roof cost?
Usually this is the first question. Buying a new roof isn’t all that much fun. They do cost a lot and the expense is not for something more fun or enjoyable.
Not everyone wants a “Cadillac” roof or needs one. The best roof you can afford will save you money in years to come. I always try to match whatever roof I recommend to the desires and needs of the owner and will provide several options of roofing and cost when needed.
A “cheap” roof is almost always a bad deal. The only way the roofer can offer a cheap roof is by cutting corners on labor or materials. Cheaper materials will fail earlier, even blow off in a storm. If the materials are up to standard, the roofer offering a cheap roof might cut corners by using inexperienced or uninsured labor. And how is the job site going to look when the work is done? How much did you really save when the roof starts to leak in a storm, you have water damage to the interior of the house and the “cheap roofer” is out of business?
Can I make payments on the cost of the roofing?
Sure you can. To your credit card, your bank or someone else in the lending industry. Occasionally credit programs come along for roofing contractors but none ever seem to be better than simply arranging your own financing. I wish Dunlap Roofing was large enough to absorb in house financing but I leave that to the banks for now. I do take Mastercard and VISA though.
I'm 67 years old. Why would I want a 30 year, 40 year or 50 year roof when I'm not going to be around that long?
The 2 primary advantages of getting the longer life roofing is that the better the quality of roofing you select the thicker and better looking it is. And the second advantage is that with each step up in quality comes a higher wind rating starting with virtually nothing for the old style 20 year 3-tab shingle and ending usually with a 110 mph for the 50 year shingle. Depending on the location and value of your home these 2 issues are very important.
Why can't I replace my existing wood shake roof with wood again?
The California Department of Forestry is ultimately responsible for fire protection in any area they have domain over, which is much if not most of California. The CDF has mandated that any roofing installed must have a Class A fire rating. By using Class B treated wood shakes and a special underlayment I can bring a wood shake roof up to the CDF fire rating but the cost for such a roof is very high. Not to mention the quality of most wood shakes just isn’t what is was 30-40 years ago when that type of roofing was used more often. So paying a whole lot more for a lower quality roof usually doesn’t make sense. Which is why most shake roof re-roofs are finished a 40 or 50 year composition shingle. For years various manufacturers have been working on wood shake “look-a-like” products but few have stood the test of time and are always very costly experiments for the producer and homeowner alike.
Why do I need copper flashings and stainless steel nails instead of galvanized metal?
If your home is within a few miles of the ocean the salt air will rot out galvanized metals long before typical roofing products see the end of their useful lives. Near the coast the more expensive copper and stainless products will be often re-usable at the end of a shingle roofs life. If you home is 5 miles or more away from the ocean usually galvanized metals are just fine.
How long does it take to install a new roof?
Of course there are many variables but for my crew most residential homes are re-roofed in somewhere between 1-5 days.
My personal policy is to do one roof at a time with no coming and going from your jobsite to other jobsites making your project drag on for no reason.
I have plants and flowers all around my house, you're not going to wreck them are you?
Historically no, but we are not always perfect in plant protection. We do make every effort to protect plants and flowers during roof removal but some times a little damage does occur. If there are any plants in particular you are concerned about we always put special effort into protecting those. And again, we do make every effort reasonable to protect all items on your property.
How about job site clean up? Am I going to going to find a bunch of nails in my driveway?
Nails, sheet metal scraps, shingles and debris in general left on the ground after we are done would be one the worst last impressions we could make on a roofing job. No way to finish a job after working so hard on it all week. We are very thorough in our daily clean up and especially concerned with the final clean up. I am very fussy about keepings things clean around my shop, keeping the trucks clean and of course leaving your home free of debris when we are done.
What about insulation? Since you'll be removing my old roof and it is wide open why don't we add insulation now?
If you have an open beam ceiling (usually 2” x 6” T & G ) without any insulation during re-roofing would be the perfect time to add some rigid foam insulation, usually 1 ½” topped off with a layer of ½” cdx plywood. You can of course even go with thicker foam as your budget allows.
For typically constructed homes adding fiberglass batts to the area above your ceilings is less costly than the rigid foam application and can be done before or after re-roofing.
Do you have steady employees or do you use "day labor" to do your job?
I do not use day labor. Most of my employees have been with me for years. In general they are married family guys involved in school sports programs year round. I pay them very well and treat them with respect and courtesy. In return they treat me the same and are very conscience about how they conduct themselves on the jobsite. They all share the same desire to be the best roofers they can be while being very polite and courteous to our clients. Hardly a project goes by that doesn’t produce heart felt praise about their presence on the jobsite. Of the many assets Dunlap Roofing has to offer it’s clients my employees are easily one of the most valuable.