Need advice on replacing an old leaky roof

That’s pretty much how I see it too - no sense in dropping a fortune on fancy shingles if the bones underneath are shot. I learned that the hard way when we bought our place. The roof looked fine from the street, but once we started poking around, there were soft spots and mold in the attic. Turns out, the previous owners just slapped new shingles over old ones and ignored the ventilation. Classic shortcut.

I’ll admit, I was tempted by all those “lifetime” warranties and high-end upgrades at first. But after talking to a few roofers (and getting wildly different answers), I realized most of them just want to upsell you on stuff you don’t need. One guy tried to convince me that ice-and-water shield should go over the whole roof, not just the eaves and valleys. Maybe that makes sense in Minnesota, but here in Virginia? Didn’t add up.

What really made a difference for us was focusing on airflow and making sure any leaks or rot got fixed before anything else went up. We ended up replacing a couple sheets of sheathing and adding more soffit vents - nothing glamorous, but it’s been bone dry ever since. I’d rather have a boring roof that works than something flashy that’s hiding problems.

One thing I’d add: don’t be afraid to crawl up there yourself (if you’re comfortable) or at least get photos from your contractor as they go. I caught a couple things mid-job that would’ve been easy to miss otherwise - like nails poking through where they shouldn’t be, or insulation blocking vents.

At the end of the day, it’s your money and your house. The basics matter way more than whatever color shingle is trending this year. If you get those right, you’ll sleep better when it rains... trust me on that one.

I get where you’re coming from about not overdoing it on the upgrades, but I actually went for the full ice-and-water shield on my last roof - also in Virginia. Maybe overkill, but after a freak ice storm a few years back, I figured peace of mind was worth the extra bucks. Did it pay off? Hard to say, but I haven’t had a single leak since, and that’s more than I could say before. Sometimes I wonder if “good enough” is really good enough, or if it’s just asking for another headache down the line...

I get what you mean about “good enough” sometimes just being a gamble. I went with the standard underlayment on my first roof, thinking it’d be fine for our area (also Virginia, funny enough), and sure enough, a couple winters in, I got some minor leaks around the eaves. Not catastrophic, but enough to make me rethink things.

When you did the full ice-and-water shield, did your installer mention anything about ventilation or trapping moisture? I’ve heard mixed things - some say if you cover the whole deck, you need to be extra careful about attic airflow or you risk other issues down the road. I’m curious if anyone’s actually run into that? Or is it just one of those “theoretical” problems contractors like to warn about?

It’s always a trade-off. Spend more now and maybe avoid headaches... or maybe just spend more for peace of mind. Hard to know where that line really is.

When you did the full ice-and-water shield, did your installer mention anything about ventilation or trapping moisture? I’ve heard mixed things - some say if you cover the whole deck, you need to be extra careful about attic airflow or you risk other issues down the road. I’m curious if anyone’s actually run into that? Or is it just one of those “theoretical” problems contractors like to warn about?

This is a really important point, and honestly, not just theoretical. Full-coverage ice-and-water shield is fantastic for stopping leaks, but it’s still a vapor barrier at its core. If your attic isn’t vented well, moisture from inside the house can get trapped under that shield and start causing rot or even mold over time. I’ve seen it happen on a couple of older homes that got reroofed without much thought to airflow - looked great from the outside, but inside the sheathing was starting to blacken after a few seasons.

It’s a little ironic, because you’re paying for extra protection and sometimes it backfires if the system isn’t balanced. I’d say the risk is very real if your attic insulation isn’t up to par or if there’s no clear path for air to move from soffit vents up to ridge vents (or gable vents). Contractors who gloss over this step do their clients a disservice.

That said, there are ways to do both: get the peace of mind from full ice-and-water coverage and still let your roof “breathe.” It just takes some extra planning - sometimes adding baffles in every rafter bay, making sure soffits aren’t blocked by insulation, and double-checking that the ridge vent actually functions (you’d be surprised how many are just decorative). On my own place, we went with a hybrid approach - full ice-and-water in the most vulnerable zones (eaves, valleys) and high-perm synthetic underlayment everywhere else. Combined with a good venting setup, it’s been solid so far.

There really isn’t a clean answer here. “Good enough” can mean different things depending on how much risk you’re willing to accept and how much you trust your installer to look at the whole system - not just slap on layers and call it done. Sometimes peace of mind is worth paying extra for... but only if it’s real peace of mind, not just more layers stacked on top of each other.

ICE-AND-WATER SHIELD AND ATTIC MOISTURE - REAL RISK OR OVERBLOWN?

Honestly, I’ve seen both sides of this. On one project the builder insisted on full ice-and-water, but didn’t really touch the venting. Fast forward a couple seasons and we were poking at some weird attic smells... turns out, blackened sheathing just like you described. The irony’s not lost on me - sometimes trying to “overprotect” just shifts the problem.

Curious, has anyone tried those newer “breathable” underlayments? Or is that just marketing fluff? I keep wondering if there’s a sweet spot between Fort Knox-level waterproofing and letting the house actually dry out. Maybe it’s just about balance (and a contractor who actually cares about the details).