Can I reuse metal flashings during a re-roof?
At Roof Life of Oregon, we recommend completely replacing all your metal flashings during a re-roof project. The codes have changed since your roof was first installed, which means the flashings currently on your roof aren’t going to cut it.
Any time you have a transition where the wall meets the roof, you need a flashing. It’s a piece of metal that allows you to connect the transitions and waterproof the area. It’s very common for roofers not to replace metal flashings but instead just making a simple roof flashing repair to save time and money.
Nice new roof but with re-used, rusty pipe flashings and bad valley cuts
When your roof was put on a couple decades ago, codes were different. There were different requirements for metal flashings, including their size and thickness. We replace them to make sure the water stays out of your home. But a lot of contractors don’t.
For example, a lot of roofers will re-use your chimney flashing. Most contractors take the old counter flashing, bend it up and remove it. They replace the metal, put it back it and bend the old flashing back down. By now, it’s old, rusted and never lays flat again.
We don’t do that. We grind it out of the chimney, and put in brand new metal. It’s not going to be the easy way, but it’s going to be the correct way. A lot of contractors are cheaper, because they try to reuse as much as they can and flashing is a big part of that.
Replacing your flashing is just one more way Roof Life of Oregon ensures a high-quality roof that will keep you dry during our Portland storms. Stay tuned for Part 3 of my re-roofing series.