Look at the Deck Before You Put a Metal Roof on It

This one was filmed at an older home in Kendallville after a hail storm. The reason I wanted to show it is what we found before a single panel went on.

A metal roof is only as good as what it is fastened to. On older homes the decking can be soft from years of small leaks, the framing may have been modified by additions, and the materials are not always what you would find on a newer house. If you put new metal over a compromised deck, the roof looks finished and the problem is still underneath it. Fasteners lose their bite in soft wood, and the leak that was there before is now harder to find.

So we walk the roof and the attic first and look for decking damage, active leaks, and anything structural. Sometimes that turns into a line item for deck repair. I would rather tell you that up front than discover it mid-tear-off.

If a contractor prices your roof without looking at what is under the old one, that is worth a question. Now you have the context to ask it.