Shingles

Is there a sure way to tell how many shingle layers are on a roof?

Thanks, Doug

I don't know as I would call it a sure way, but I look at the gable edge and try to determine from there, plus what I see at the eave edge allowing for starter. Sometimes the shingles are brittle so lifting them is not recommended. Also, sometimes a new drip edge is installed over the old shingles during a re-roof and can be tricky to determine. If multiple layers many times the top layer will be a bit wavy from multiple layers below. Regardless, I always say approximately when I identify multiple layers. Oh, sometimes I can see the layers at holes cut in the attic for penetrations.

Thanks.

Mike,

I appreciate the info.

Thanks, DOUG

If I see st least 2 then my narrative says "multiple layers..." since it is sometimes hard to tell. The worst I saw was 3 asphalt layers over a wood shake/shingle roof.

Doug:
I lift up the edge and look. This time it was a different color which helped.

Something I have seen when replacing roofs is that they Roofers cut them back to hide them , so you can't see the from the rake or gable edge view. This is done when a home owner doesn't want to pay to remove the other Layer(s) and that's just one reason... So they cut them back to fool the insurance company if its a claim making them think the new roof only has one layer and all shingle were removed. It's amazing what some people to save or make a buck. Not cool ,But I've seen it done a few times when removing a roof. So because of that I never give a exact number on layers. I always just state there appears to be multiple layers on the roof and a exact number of layers is not known and may not be visible.

STEVE8511 wrote:Doug:
I lift up the edge and look. This time it was a different color which helped.

Yep, that's how I do it.