Removing an Old or Damaged Roof

If you have the time and money, it's best to remove an existing roof for any roofing job. If the existing roof is badly worn or uneven, you must remove it.  Most roofing contractors will be happy to supply you with a free roofing cost estimate for this project if you are not comfortable doing it yourself. Removing damaged roofing is important for the following reasons:

• The cushioning effect of the olf roof under the new alloes impacts from branches, hail and even hard rain to dent the new shingles
• Any curled shingles or other flawswill show through to the new shingles. 
• When completed, there are usually telltale signs of the previous roof, such as cureled shingles at the edge. 
• There is a limit to the number of layers- the wtight of the roof- a house can bear. 
• The maximum number of layers may be mandated by local building codes. 

Assessing the Roof's Condition
Inspect you roof thoroughly. If you find signs of leaking such as moisture, stains, delaminating or separating plywood and rot, it is imperative that you remove the existing rood and repair the framing. Ice dams or splashing from gutters often causes rot at the eaves. You can carefully strip off the first two or three courses of shingles, cut out the damage, and replace the removed shingles with similar new ones. This will give you an even surface for reroofing, but may take as much time and effort as stripping the whole roof which would provide a better surface.



Stripping

There is no special trick to taking down an existing roof. It's just a lot of work. The best way to get the job done is to get a large dumpster and place it as close to the house as possible. Then you as you can throw the old roof directly into it. Lay scrap plywood under the bin. Id a debris bin is not available in your area you can toss the old roofing into a pickup truck (as long as you don't mind dents and scratches).

Tools for roof removal include a flat bottomed spade. Home centers sometimes sell a shovel-like tool with a serrated edge for roof removal. Another version of this tool has notches on the edge to help pull nails. You'll also need a large broom to sweep off debris.

Start at the ridge and break through a built up roof at the ridge with a hammer claws or a pick to create a starting point. A crowbar or pry bar also woks to help remove shakes and shingles. Pick up tiles by hand and pry up slate with a crowbar. To remove metal or vinyl roofing material pry the panels kup and pull the nails or remove the screws attaching it to the underlayment.

As you remove the roof, save the old pieces of flashing, particularly  chimney flashings. They'll come in handy as patterns when you make new flashings.