AskARoofer.com > Q&A – Why wasn't the roof deck removed and replaced?

Q&A – Why wasn't the roof deck removed and replaced?

October 23, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.

When this homeowner's project was not completed according to the scope outlined in the contract, they had questions about what happened.

Joseph, a homeowner in New Hampshire, had a roofer out to work on their roof and their contract specified the removal of the decking boards. When this didn't happen, they understandably had questions, including why their roofer didn't tell them until the end of the project. To make the entire situation clearer, Joseph asked the AskARoofer experts for some insight. This is what they asked:

The contract for my home roofing project states: "Roofer to remove and replace all decking." But instead the roofer applied thin plywood over existing decking. When questioned about this breach of contract, roofer then said, "We can't replace decking because of the ledger board, so we left it." This decision was not communicated to me until job completion.

My question is what percentage of the total cost would have been the removal and replacement of the decking? 25%, 50%? Thank you in advance for offering to help with this question.

Henry Staggs from The Arizona Roofer responded to their question, saying this:

As I understand it a ledger board is attached to the wall for a walk deck assembly. This indicated to me that this roof may be a patio roof? I am not sure why it would stop the roofer from removing sheathing?

If the contract says remove ALL decking then I would think overlaying it is not removing it. And why do they call for it to be removed in the first place? If the decking is damaged (which is usually why we want to remove it) then it will cover damaged decking... Not good.

I think this sounds like a problem and I would suggest you find a local roof consultant to come out and take a look. A great place to find one is through the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC).

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Comments

Americanroofingandexteriors
November 4, 2024

When a contract states “Roofer to remove and replace all decking,” it’s clear that the expectation is full removal and replacement, not an overlay with thin plywood. The overlay doesn’t provide the same structural integrity as a full replacement, and it sounds like this was something you should have been informed about before they made the decision. Now, to answer your question on the cost allocation: In most cases, removing and replacing decking typically accounts for about 20-30% of the total project cost, but it really depends on the size of your roof and how many sheets would need replacing. As a rough guide, here’s how you can calculate what the decking cost should have been: Measure your roof’s square footage (or the number of squares). Each square is 100 square feet. A 4x8 sheet of decking covers 32 square feet. Divide your total roof square footage by 32 to estimate how many sheets would be required. I typically charge around $60 per sheet for removal, replacement, and installation. Multiply the number of sheets by this rate to get an estimated cost for the decking work. Example For a 2,000 sq ft roof, you’d likely need about 63 sheets (2,000 ÷ 32), which comes out to around $3,780 (63 sheets x $60 per sheet) dedicated to decking. This gives you a clear idea of what part of the total cost was intended for this part of the job. If your roofer wasn’t able to replace the decking due to the ledger board, that’s something they should’ve addressed with you up front.

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