Why we strip to the deck
Roofing over an existing layer hides whatever is wrong with the deck underneath, and it adds weight the original rafters were not sized to carry through a heavy Ward County snow load. We tear off every layer on a replacement, expose the full deck, and walk it looking for soft spots.
Any plywood or board sheathing that has gone soft from a slow leak gets replaced before anything else goes down. We photograph what we find so you can see it, not just take our word for it.
Wind rating and fastening
Minot sits in open country where sustained wind is the normal condition, not the exception, and gusts off a summer front can outpace what a builder-grade shingle is rated to hold. We use architectural shingles with a wind rating built for this, and we hand-nail in the manufacturer's nailing zone rather than letting a gun set too hot blow through the shingle mat.
Starter strip and hip and ridge cap get set with the same attention, since a lifted starter course or ridge cap is usually the first thing that goes in a hard wind event, and it is the cheapest detail to get right the first time.
Ice and water barrier placement
Every replacement gets self-adhered ice and water barrier at the eaves, run further up the slope than the minimum code strip, and across every valley and wall intersection. Those are the spots where drifted snow sits longest and where a dam is most likely to back water up under the shingles.
On lower-pitch sections and porch roofs where snow sits even longer, we extend the barrier further still, because a bad winter here does not stop at the code minimum either.
Ventilation built into the new roof
A ridge vent paired with continuous soffit intake goes on every replacement so the attic stays cold through the winter, which keeps the snow frozen instead of melting and refreezing at the eave. We check the soffit vents are actually open before we close up the job, since blocked or painted-shut vents are common on older Minot homes and they undo the benefit of a new ridge vent.
Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans that were venting straight into the attic get rerouted through a proper roof or wall cap while we are up there, since that moist air feeds ice dams from the inside.
Timing around the season
Shingles seal by heat, and adhesive strips do not bond the same way once temperatures drop hard, so we push to get replacements scheduled and finished before the ground freezes solid. Late summer through early fall is the window where materials behave the way they are supposed to and the crew is not fighting the cold to finish a job.
When a replacement has to happen in winter because a roof failed outright, we adjust the schedule and the sealing method, but we tell you upfront that a winter roof needs a follow-up check once warm weather lets the shingles seal properly.