DIY roofing experience?

[Andrew Hove]

I have a rental that is a 2/1 single pitched roof that is only 780sqf. Pretty much the easiest roof you could ever do. I've done a lot of remodeling but never a roof. Has anyone done a DIY roof? tips? Should I do a 30 year shingle or go metal so I never have to worry about it again? I plan to hold the property for a very long time. 

[Frank Adams]

I've done about a dozen roofs, but not in the last 10 years because I'm 70 years old. A few things about roofers and roofing:

MOST roofers, and I've watched a lot of them, do the first course WRONG. They flip the shingle 180 degrees and then nail it down. This leaves about the first 7" of shingle exposed to the wind. If the wind blows heavily, I used to live in Houston and now in Colorado-both high wind areas, it can easily peel at least several courses off.

Low wage workers, and let's face it roofers are relatively low wage, are NOT CAREFUL in their work habits. They'll be standing with their feet planted when their buddy shouts from 20 feet away and they'll LEAVE THEIR FEET PLANTED AND "SPIN", which tears the composition right off. That can easily convert a 30 year shingle into a 5 year shingle.

A lot of what I learned about roofing I learned from an article in a property owner's magazine/newsletter that my brother subscribed to. The title was "Your roof, for heaven's sake" (The fourth word may not have been "heaven" it's been 25 years since I read it.) 

You can also read the fine print on the back of a bundle of shingles and it will spell everything out.

Roofing, like laying tile or painting can be mind numbingly BORING, at least as far as the FIELD WORK goes. But, like tiling or painting the devil is in the details-at the edges and at interruptions, which on roofing are penetrations. Get something wrong at the edge or at a stack and you can easily ruin an otherwise fine job by creating a leak. On tiling on painting it just makes for a sloppy looking job. On roofing it can create very expensive problems that might not be readily apparent.