A brick two-story on a wooded lot in West Milton, Ohio, with a roof that had gone dark. Part of that was age, part was the algae that grows on shaded north Ohio roofs, and part was storm damage. The homeowners filed a claim, the first number came back low, and we worked with the insurer to get it to where it covered the roof that was actually needed. Then our roofing crew stripped it, re-decked the whole thing, and put GAF Timberline HDZ on it in Golden Harvest.
The roof before
Look at the second photograph. The whole slope is dark except for a few pale patches, and the pale patches are the roof's real color. Everything else is algae. Trees on three sides keep a roof damp and shaded, and algae takes hold on the granules and holds moisture against the shingle. It is not the algae that kills the roof, but a roof dark with it is a roof that has been wet for a long time. Add storm damage on top of shingles already worn thin and you have a roof that is done.
A claim that came in low
The homeowners filed a claim. The first estimate from their insurer did not cover what the roof needed. That is not unusual, and it is not the end of the conversation. We documented the roof in detail, the shingle condition, the decking, the flashing around the flue, and what a proper replacement involved, and we submitted it to the insurer as a supplement. The revised approval covered the roof as it had to be built, not as it had first been estimated.
We tell people this on every claim job. The adjuster's first number is a starting point based on a look from the ground and a form. What the roof actually needs is decided on the roof, with the shingles off, and a contractor who documents it properly can usually get the scope to match.
Tear-off and a full re-deck
The old roof came off onto tarps that covered the deck, the landscaping and the lawn. Then the decking came off too. Rather than patch the bad sections in among the good, the crew re-decked the whole roof in new OSB. On a roof that had been wet this long, that is the honest call: one continuous, dry, flat surface to build on, instead of a patchwork of old and new sheets at slightly different heights with unknown history under the good-looking ones.
FeltBuster, ice and water, and the flue
FeltBuster is a synthetic underlayment, and the name is the point: it replaces the asphalt felt paper roofers used for a century. Felt tears when you walk on it, wrinkles when it gets wet, and dries out in the sun if the shingles are slow to go on. Synthetic lies flat, grips underfoot, and shrugs off a rain shower between tear-off and shingling. On a roof this size with woods dropping debris on it, that matters.
Over the new deck went the layers that a roof lives or dies by. Ice and water shield at the eaves and in the valleys, where snow melt backs up and refreezes. GAF FeltBuster synthetic underlayment across everything else, the gray printed layer in the photograph. New drip edge at the eaves and rakes. New pipe boots. The flashing around the metal flue, which is the one penetration on this roof that runs hot, was redone so it seals to the new roof rather than the old one. And a ridge vent along the peak, so the attic breathes along its whole length.
GAF Timberline HDZ in Golden Harvest
The shingle is GAF Timberline HDZ in Golden Harvest, a tan blend with lighter and darker tabs mixed through it. It is an architectural shingle, built in layers, with a wide nailing zone that makes it hard to misnail on a steep pitch. Golden Harvest is a good pick for this house: it lifts the brick and the wooded lot where the dark roof had been sinking into the trees.
The result
New decking under all of it, a full underlayment system, a shingle chosen by the homeowners, flashing that seals to the new roof, and a ridge that vents. From straight above it is one clean plane of tan where there was a dark, streaked one. The claim paid for the roof it should have paid for the first time, and the house got a better roof than the one it lost.
Questions we get about roofs like this
Is algae on my roof a reason to replace it?
Not by itself. Algae is a stain, and a clean roof with algae on it can be treated. But a roof that is dark with algae has been holding moisture for years, and on an older roof that usually goes with shingles that are worn through. We look at the shingle, not the stain, and tell you which one you have.
The insurance estimate seems low. Now what?
Get a contractor on the roof to document what it actually needs, in photographs and in a line-item scope. That goes to the insurer as a supplement. Adjusters work from what they can see and what they are handed. Hand them more.
Why re-deck the whole roof instead of patching?
Because when a roof has been wet this long, the sheets that look fine may not be, and a patched deck has seams and height changes where old meets new. One continuous new deck is a better base for the next thirty years than a guess about the old one.
Does the flue flashing have to be redone?
Yes. Flashing seals to the roof around it. When the roof changes, the seal does. Reusing old flue flashing on a new roof is how you get a leak at the one spot on the roof that also gets hot.
Roof gone dark, or a claim that came in short?
We will get on your roof, photograph what is there, and tell you whether it is a cleaning, a repair or a replacement, and if a claim is involved, what the adjuster's estimate missed. Our roofing and exteriors page covers replacement, repair and storm damage, and this Trotwood roof replacement is another full re-deck, on a house with two layers of shingle over plank decking.
Book a free estimate or call (937) 888-WORK. Let's Build Something Limitless.
