Replacing a roof in Boone County
A Boone County reroof is a two to three day job on an ordinary house, and most of what decides whether it lasts happens in the parts nobody sees afterwards.
Tear off, and why it is worth insisting on
Everything comes off down to the deck. In mid Missouri that matters more than in a dry state, because the failure mode here is moisture and the evidence for it is on the decking. Dark staining around a chimney, soft plywood in a valley, delaminated sheathing under a poorly vented ridge: none of that is visible with an old roof sitting on top of it, and none of it gets better under a second layer.
The deck
Plywood or oriented strand board on most houses built since the 1960s, plank decking on the older stock in the central city and in the small towns north of Columbia. Anything soft or delaminated is cut out and replaced. This is the line that moves a quote, and the defence is a written per sheet price agreed before the tear off, not a conversation on day two.
Underlayment and ice barrier
Synthetic underlayment across the field, and a self adhering ice barrier along the eaves. The ice barrier is the mid Missouri specific item. Freezing rain here is occasional rather than constant, which is exactly why it catches people out: a roof that has been fine for eleven winters meets the twelfth, water backs up behind ice in the gutter, and without a sealed membrane at the eave it finds the seam between two sheets of decking.
Flashing
New metal at every chimney, sidewall, valley and pipe. Reusing old flashing is the most common false economy in roofing, and it produces a leak on a roof that is two years old, which is maddening for everyone. On Columbia’s older brick housing the step flashing where brick meets roof is the specific joint to ask about.
Ventilation, which in this climate is half the job
Intake at the soffits and exhaust at the ridge, sized to the attic. If humid air cannot move through the attic it condenses on the underside of the decking in winter, and the roof rots from the inside while looking perfect from the street. Blocked soffits, bathroom fans venting into the attic instead of outside, and ridge vent installed over an unslotted deck are the three faults found most often. All three are cheap to correct while the roof is off and expensive afterwards.
Shingles
Architectural asphalt is the default and does well here. Impact rated shingles are worth pricing given the hail exposure, though Missouri insurers are less uniform than Colorado carriers about discounting them, so ask your own insurer what it allows before paying for the upgrade.
Permit and paperwork
The city issues a RE-ROOF permit and the roofing company pulls it. There is no Missouri roofing licence to check, so ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you by the insurer directly, and get the scope in writing. Storm and hail damage covers the insurance version of this job, and the cost page has local ranges.
Questions people ask
- How many layers can stay on?
Leaving an old layer in place is occasionally permitted and rarely wise in this climate. A second layer traps heat and moisture against the deck, and moisture is already the thing working hardest against a mid Missouri roof. It also means nobody looks at the decking, which is the part most likely to have been quietly soaking around a chimney for years.
- What is ice barrier and do I need it?
It is a self adhering membrane laid along the eaves under the shingles, so that if water backs up behind an ice dam it meets a sealed surface instead of bare deck. Missouri gets enough freezing rain that it earns its place here. Ask whether it is in the quote and how far up the roof it runs.
- Why does the quote say it may change?
Because nobody can see the decking until the old roof is off. That is the honest reason. The fix is not to avoid the clause but to pin the number inside it, by agreeing a per sheet price for replacement decking in writing before work starts.