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Tornado stricken - sick disabled home owner needs expert opinion

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Posted by skott_alabama

My storage building got hit in November. then My house was hit in May. I'm sick but I work full time. Barely able to keep going thru all this. I get a different opinion from every roofer. The main issue is whether to fully redeck the house or not. If I do it's roughly $5300 more to install 7/16 Radiant OSB, 24" on center. It will make the attic radically cooler and my roof is very near to my ceiling causing heat to radiate down into the house but the savings don't justify redecking the house. The justification needs to be the actual need. The last roofer said it is 3/8" (50 yrs old plywood decking) He said the decking will hold the shingles in place but won't stop the sagging. The only evidence of sagging I can see is some areas seem to be streaked darker from the ridge down to the edge with possible algae stains? Is there someone I can contact for independent expert advice?
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Posted by skott_alabama

To be clear:  the justification for redecking needs to be that the redecking actually needs to be done for it's own reason, primarily I'm told by one roofer that it's sagging. The other roofer just said it was bad which is not even true. If I redeck it I would use the radiant OSB because it really doesn't cost any more than regular OSB. It is of course cheaper the a thicker grade of OSB or plywood but the only available option for radiant OSB is 7/16 and 15/32 but the 15/32 has not been available for months and I can't wait much longer. I have been deceived by several roofers in different ways. So shaddy. One roofer wanted $800 fro 25 ft of gutter. Just the gutter. and all along our discussing details and waiting and taling back and forth did they tell me it would be 2 or 3 months before they could do it! They told me that when I said "ok, you do, but how long?" I had to drag it out of them.  Help.
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Posted by Jack Gray

Hi Skott - 

Of course without being able to examine your roof I can't address the specifics of your situation. But here's what I can tell you:

Pitched roofs usually sag due to issues with the underlying structure (rafters, trusses, joists) and not the sheathing. If you don't even notice any sagging, you should check the rafters to make sure they are structurally sound, but you probably don't need to worry about it. If the existing roof deck (the plywood) is in good shape, you should leave it in place. If you are having a new roof installed, you should only replace the pieces of sheathing that are actually deteriorated.

If you have a typical roof with asphalt shingles nailed into the deck with a layer of underlayment, a radiant barrier on the decking will have very little effect on heat transmission. It would absolutely be a waste of money to re-deck the house if you're doing it just for this. Please see this article: Radiant Barrier Under Shingles - Scams & Bad Information, and this one, too.

If you want to stop heat from getting down into your house, you should make sure that the attic is properly ventilated and use above-ceiling insulation to do it (increase what you have now, install another layer of insulation that has a radiant barrier on it, etc.). If you want to cool down the attic, you can install insulation with a radiant barrier under the rafters (and make sure the attic is well-ventilated).

As far as contacting someone for independent advice, a certified home inspector would probably be your best bet, if you want to pay for an independent inspection. 

Basically, to answer your question, I would not recommend fully re-decking the house with Radiant OSB.

Hope this helps.

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Posted by skott_alabama

Thank you Roof Online for your detailed answer.
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Posted by skott_alabama

I do agree the cost of radiant barrier does not justify redecking for energy savings but when you reduce heat transmission by 97% the attic is much cooler, 30 degrees or more. I haven't seen a single instance of anyone proving otherwise.
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