Brand-new asphalt installs done to spec.

Brand-new asphalt installs done to spec.

A new construction roof is a different animal than a re-roof. The deck is bare, the framing is fresh, and you have one shot to lay everything down right before the rest of the trades take over the house. We work directly with builders, GCs, and owner-builders to install new asphalt roofs that pass inspection the first time and last the way they should.

Standard install includes synthetic underlayment edge to edge (we don’t use felt anymore; synthetic outlasts it 3x and won’t tear in a wind event before the shingles go on), ice and water shield in every valley and at every eave to the inside of the warm wall, drip edge on all rakes and eaves, and Owens Corning Duration shingles installed to the manufacturer spec for nail count, exposure, and starter strip.

You get a written quote that itemizes squares, materials, labor, decking allowance, and disposal. Every job carries our five-year labor warranty plus the Owens Corning manufacturer warranty on materials. Roofing Installation is the kind of work that pays you back for fifteen years if it’s done right and costs you for fifteen years if it isn’t.

What a proper new-construction install involves.

A roof that lasts is built from the deck up, and every layer has a job. It starts with deck preparation: the sheathing has to be sound, flat, properly fastened, and free of gaps before anything goes over it, because a wavy or loose deck telegraphs through to the finished shingles and creates weak spots. Then comes underlayment, and the choice matters. We run synthetic underlayment edge to edge instead of old felt because it holds up to weather during the build and won’t tear out before the shingles are on. Ice and water shield goes in the valleys and along the eaves where water backs up. From there it’s the starter course along the eaves and rakes, which gives the first row of shingles something to seal to and keeps wind from getting under the edge.

The shingle layout itself is where craftsmanship shows. The courses have to be laid with the right offset so the seams stagger and water always lands on solid shingle, never running down a seam to the deck. Nail count and placement follow the manufacturer’s spec to the letter, because an under-nailed or high-nailed shingle is the first thing to blow off in a wind event. It finishes at the top with the ridge cap and ventilation. A balanced ventilation system, intake at the soffits and exhaust at the ridge, lets the attic breathe, which keeps the deck dry and the shingles from cooking from underneath. Skip the ventilation and you cut years off the roof no matter how good the shingles are.

The Owens Corning preferred installer designation is the part that protects you long after we leave. It means our crews are factory-trained and that we install to Owens Corning’s specific requirements, the same requirements that activate the manufacturer warranty on the materials. A shingle warranty only holds if the roof was installed the way the manufacturer says, and a lot of roofs get denied warranty claims because the installer cut corners on nail count, starter, or ventilation. Being in the OC network also means there’s accountability above us. We answer to the manufacturer, not just to ourselves, and that keeps the standard honest.

That standard is what determines how long your warranty actually runs. Owens Corning Duration shingles installed to the full OC system spec qualify for a 50-year limited warranty, where the same shingles installed by an uncertified crew might carry far less coverage or none at all if a claim ever gets inspected. The install quality and the warranty length are tied together. Do it to spec with a preferred installer and you’ve got decades of coverage behind the roof. Do it cheap and fast and the warranty paper isn’t worth much when you need it.