Homeowner disagrees with roofing contractor
Q. I am about to have my roof replaced and am questioning the method suggested by my roofing contractor. The old wooden shingles are to be removed, and asphalt composition shingles installed in their place. As you know, wood shingles are nailed to 1-by-6-inch boards, spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Once the old shingles are removed, a solid decking will be needed to provide a solid nailing surface for the new shingles.
My contractor suggested that we fill the 6-inch gaps with additional 1x6 boards, but I think it would be better to nail plywood over the entire surface. It seems to me that his method could leave gaps between the old and new boards. When the new shingles are installed, some of the nails could miss the boards entirely, making the attachment less secure. Which method do you think is more practical?
A. Replacing wooden roofing with asphalt composition shingles has become common in recent decades because composition shingles are far less expensive than wooden ones and because wooden roofs have earned a bad reputation with regard to fire safety. In fact, old shakes and wood shingles make excellent kindling in a fireplace. But I digress.
When changing to an asphalt shingle roof, it is always necessary to provide a solid nailing surface. Plywood and chip board panels (known as OSB) are the most commonly used materials for this purpose. Adding 1-by-6 boards between the existing boards, as suggested by your roofing contractor, does not provide the best nailing surface and is certainly not the method of choice. As you suggest, some of the roofing nails are likely to slip between the boards and not provide adequate attachment for the shingles. In windy weather, this could cause some shingles to detach from the roof.
In addition to providing a better nailing surface, plywood or OSB panels provide better reinforcement of the roof structure. The only advantage to installing additional 1-by-6 boards is the supposed monetary savings on materials and the perceived economy of utilizing the boards that are already in place. But these benefits are outweighed by the additional labor necessary to install so many 1-by-6 boards. Installing plywood or OSB takes far less time than cutting and fitting so many smaller pieces of lumber.
These facts favor your position over the suggestion of your roofing contractor. If your roofer doesn't agree, find someone whose approach coincides with your preferences and with common sense.
Q. In a recent column, you wrote about the risks of replacing 20-amp fuses with 30-amp fuses in old fuse boxes. I'm not an expert or an electrician, but doesn't a 30-amp fuse have different threads than a 20-amp, making it impossible to install the wrong size fuse? I looked online and these are called "rejection base fuses."
A. Rejection base fuses are relatively modern innovations. Houses with fuse boxes were mostly built in the 1940s or earlier. In those days, fuse sockets were not sized according to amperage. Fuses in those old homes were interchangeable, and improper fuse changes caused house fire: hence, disapproval of fuse boxes by insurance companies.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
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