Roof Replacement
Nobody replaces a roof for fun. By the time a homeowner in Florence asks about a new one, there is usually a story behind it: three leaks in two years, a storm that took half the shingles off the back slope, or a home inspector who flagged the roof during a sale. Our job is to tell you honestly whether the roof is really done, and if it is, replace it properly once.
A replacement with us means a full tear-off down to the decking, rotten wood cut out and replaced, new underlayment and flashing, architectural shingles, ridge ventilation that actually moves air, and new gutters if the old ones are tired. Everything is planned before the first shingle comes off.
How to tell a roof is finished
Age is part of it, but the weather here shortens the clock. Long humid summers, heavy rain and the afternoon thunderstorms that roll through the Pee Dee wear shingles faster than the number on the package suggests. Look for shingles curling at the edges or cupping in the middle, bald spots where the granules have washed off, cracked tabs, and a lot of grit in the gutters.
Inside, the signs are leaks in more than one place, a ceiling that keeps getting new stains after repairs, and decking that feels spongy or sags between rafters. If a roof has had several rounds of patching after big storms, some of them hurried, the patches often start failing at the same time. When most of a roof looks like that, more repairs just delay the bill. If yours only has one problem spot, the repair side of the business is the better place to start.
Shingle options
Most of the roofs we put on in Florence are architectural, also called dimensional, shingles. They are thicker than the old flat three-tab style, they hold up better in wind, and the layered look hides the small waves in older roof decks. Three-tab shingles are still around but are getting harder to find in a full range of colors.
Color is more than looks here. Lighter shingles reflect more summer sun and can take some heat load off the attic. Darker shades hide the black algae streaks that show up on shaded north slopes under pines. We bring sample boards so you can see them in daylight against your brick or siding. If you are weighing shingles against steel, it is worth reading what a metal roof does differently before you decide.
Tear-off, day by day
Before the crew arrives, a dumpster or trailer goes in the driveway and tarps go over the shrubs and along the foundation. On day one the old shingles and underlayment come off down to the wood, and we walk the whole deck looking for soft or rotten boards. Anything bad gets cut out and replaced before new underlayment goes down, and the roof gets dried in before work stops for the day.
Then the new roof goes on in order: drip edge, synthetic underlayment, ice-and-water shield in the valleys and around penetrations, new flashing at walls and chimneys, new pipe boots, the shingles, and finally the ridge vent and caps. Most houses are done in one to three days depending on size, pitch and weather. We run a magnet over the yard and driveway to pick up nails, haul the debris, and send you photos of the finished roof.
Decking and ventilation
The decking is the plywood or plank layer the shingles are nailed to, and nobody can see its condition until the old roof is off. We note the likely trouble spots during the first visit from the attic, then confirm once the shingles are up. You see photos of any boards we replace.
Ventilation matters more in South Carolina than most people think. A hot, poorly vented attic bakes shingles from underneath and holds the summer moisture that rots decking. We look at the soffit intake and the exhaust at the ridge together and balance them, rather than just adding more vents on top. Getting that right is one of the cheapest ways to make a new roof last.
Permits in Florence
Re-roofing inside Florence city limits generally needs a building permit, and places outside the city have their own rules through the county or town. Whether a permit applies depends on the address, so it is worth settling before a start date is set rather than after the old roof is off.
It is fair to ask any roofer, us included, how the permit for your address will be handled before you sign anything, and whether an inspection is part of it.
Gutters with a new roof
A re-roof is the best time to deal with gutters. The drip edge and the first course of shingles have to work with the gutter line, and hanging new gutters after the fact can mean pulling up the edge of a brand-new roof. We look at whether your existing gutters are sagging, leaking at the seams or too small for the roof area feeding them, and whether the downspouts dump water against the foundation.
New seamless gutters, sized and pitched for the roof, go up at the end of the job. On lots with heavy pine cover we will talk through guards, since pine needles clog an open gutter fast. Out in Effingham and the rural parts of the county, where houses tend to sit under big trees, what we see out in Effingham covers more of that.
Price it out
A replacement quote depends on the size and pitch of the roof, how many layers are coming off, how much decking turns out bad, the shingle line you pick, and whether gutters are part of the job. The written quote lists each of those, plus how any extra decking will be handled, so nothing on the final bill is a surprise. Fill in the form with your name and phone number, and use the message box to tell us roughly how old the roof is and what made you start thinking about replacing it. We will call back to set up a time to come look.