Serving Salt Lake City, UT & Nearby Areas
(385) 438-3591
Serving Salt Lake City, UT & Nearby Areas
(385) 438-3591
Two layers of shingles is the ceiling in Utah, and one is the better answer. The residential code lets a new roof go over one existing layer. But once a roof carries two applications everything comes off down to the deck. In Utah's heat a layover bakes from underneath.
Choose a full tear-off rather than a layover, even on a roof where the code would permit one.
A layover traps heat, hides deck damage. Gives the new shingles a soft uneven base to sit on.
Ask any bid whether it includes a full tear-off or a recover.
A second layer of shingles in Utah does not buy you a new roof, it buys you a newer-looking cover over whatever was already wrong.
Mattie Tueller, Master Roofing
One recover, and no more. The residential code treats roof replacement as removal of the existing covering down to the deck, with a recover permitted as the exception. Where a roof already carries two or more applications of any type of roof covering, removal of everything is required rather than optional.
There are also narrow exceptions running the other way. A complete standing-seam metal system that carries its loads to the structure independently does not require the old covering to come off. Those are specific engineered cases rather than a general permission. They do not turn a layover into a good default.
Because permitted and advisable are different questions, and in Utah's climate they part company. A layover puts new asphalt on top of old asphalt, and the old layer holds heat. Utah already bakes roofs through long cloudless summers. So the second layer cooks from underneath and ages faster than it would on a clean deck.
None of that shows up in year one. It shows up as a roof that reaches the end of its life several years early, on a house where nobody remembers the decision that caused it.
The deck, which is the part you most need to see. A tear-off exposes the sheathing. That is when rot, delamination, previous leak damage, and old repairs become visible and fixable. A recover leaves all of it underneath, unexamined, with a brand new roof nailed over the top of it.
Master Roofing has been out to inspect roofs where the deck was rotted badly enough that walking on it was not safe, on houses that looked completely ordinary from the ground. A homeowner has no way to know what condition their sheathing is in without someone looking at it.
Ventilation is the same story. A recover almost never triggers anyone to check whether the attic meets the code ratio. So an under-ventilated roof gets a fresh layer and keeps the problem that will shorten it, covered in what attic ventilation has to do with your roof.
Look at the edge of the roof, or ask someone to. From a ladder at the eave you can usually count the courses at the rake. A second layer shows as a distinct band. Do not climb up yourself if you are not comfortable on a ladder.
The answer is not worth an injury. Any roofing company will count it for you during an assessment.
If it turns out you already have two, the decision is made for you: everything comes off. If you have one, you get to choose. Choosing the tear-off is the option that lets someone actually look at what your roof is sitting on before it disappears under another twenty years of shingles.
Layovers exist because they are cheaper on the day. Master Roofing gets asked about them constantly by homeowners trying to make a hard number work. That is a completely reasonable thing to ask. I do not think less of anyone for asking it.
Here is what makes me argue against it in Utah specifically. Our roofs already cook, and the second layer makes that worse rather than better. Then there is the part nobody mentions: insurance companies often age a roof from the oldest layer on it. So a homeowner who paid for a layover to keep a policy happy can find the policy still counting the roof underneath.
A second layer of shingles in Utah does not buy you a new roof, it buys you a newer-looking cover over whatever was already wrong. If money is the constraint. It often really is, it is worth asking what a tear-off actually costs before ruling it out. The gap is usually smaller than people assume. It is the difference between fixing a roof and postponing it.
Building codes, permit rules, and licensing requirements change over time, and they differ by city and county across Utah. Verify current requirements with your local building department before relying on anything here, and work with a licensed contractor who knows the rules in your jurisdiction.
This article is general information about Utah roofs, not an assessment of yours. Every roof is different, and no article can tell you what is actually happening on your specific house. Have a licensed roofing contractor look at it in person before you act on anything here.
On the invoice, yes, because it removes disposal costs and a day or more of labor. Over the life of the roof the saving narrows considerably, since the second layer usually does not last as long and the deck underneath never got inspected. Ask for both numbers on the same estimate so you are comparing an actual gap rather than an assumed one.
It depends on the manufacturer and the specific product. Some warranties treat a recover differently from a new-deck installation. Because the terms vary, ask for the warranty document for the exact shingle being installed and read what it says about application over an existing roof. Do that before the work rather than after, since it can change which option makes sense.
It can, and not in the direction homeowners expect. Insurers often count a roof's age from its oldest layer rather than its newest one. So paying for a recover may not reset anything at all from the insurer's point of view. Ask your agent how your specific carrier treats layered roofs before you spend money purely to satisfy a policy requirement you think you have.
Sometimes, and the code carves out an exception for complete standing-seam metal systems that transmit their loads directly to the structure without relying on the existing roof for support. That is a specific engineered condition rather than a blanket permission to go over shingles. Whether it applies to your house depends on the system, the framing underneath. What is currently up there.
Everything comes off down to the deck. That's because the code requires full removal once two or more applications exist. That is not a contractor upselling you, it is the rule. Any company telling you a third layer is fine is either mistaken or willing to work outside code. The upside is that a full tear-off finally exposes the deck for inspection.
We're here to see what's going on with your roof. A real assessment starts with your history and your attic, not a number from the driveway. You'll get a straight answer about what's up there, what it needs, and what it costs. Sometimes the honest answer is: your roof looks great.