Roof install, start to finish: what to expect when Optimum is on your house

If you've never had a roof replaced, install day can feel like a circus. A dumpster shows up. Trucks block your driveway. Six guys are on your roof at 7 a.m. There's banging for hours. Then, just as suddenly, it's quiet — and you have a new roof.

I want to walk you through what actually happens, hour by hour, so nothing on the day catches you off guard. This is the standard sequence we follow on a residential reroof in Baldwin or Mobile County. Most asphalt replacements wrap in one to three days . Metal jobs run longer — typically three to five days.

Day 0 — the day before install

The day before your install, two things show up at your house: the materials, and the dumpster.

We coordinate the material delivery to land in your driveway 24 to 48 hours before the crew arrives, so the shingles, underlayment, drip edge, and ridge material are already on site when work starts. If your roof has the pitch for it, we'll have the materials roof-loaded — the delivery truck has a conveyor that puts the bundles directly on the roof. Less lifting for the crew, faster install.

The dumpster gets dropped near the driveway. Where exactly depends on your lot — we work that out with you in advance. We slide plywood underneath to protect concrete and pavers. Move your cars at least 30 feet from the house, and consider where the dumpster will be staged relative to your daily comings and goings.

Day 1 — tear-off and deck inspection

The crew rolls in around 7 a.m. The first thing that goes up is the protection: tarps on flower beds, plywood on AC condensers, plant covers, drop cloths over pools and patio furniture. Then the tear-off starts.

Tear-off means removing every shingle, every nail, and the existing underlayment, all the way down to the wood deck. This is the loudest part of the job — you'll hear it from inside the house. Most asphalt roofs tear off in two to four hours depending on layers and pitch.

Once the deck is bare, we walk it. This is the most important moment of the whole install. Soft spots, rotten boards, daylight from below — anything we find on the deck gets photographed, shown to you, and replaced before new material goes on. On most coastal homes we expect to replace a few sheets. On a roof that's been leaking for years, we might replace a dozen.

Underlayment goes on

With a clean, sound deck, we lay the water barrier. There are two layers worth knowing about.

• Ice-and-water shield — a self-adhered rubberized membrane that goes at the eaves, in the valleys, around penetrations, and against any wall flashing. It's the second line of defense if water ever gets past the shingles. On the Gulf Coast we run it 6 feet up from the eave, full coverage through valleys, and around every pipe boot and skylight.
• Synthetic underlayment — a woven plastic sheet that covers the rest of the deck. Modern synthetic is grippier, stronger, and more UV-stable than the old felt paper. We use synthetic on every job.

Drip edge, starter strip, and the first courses

Drip edge is the metal trim that runs around the perimeter of the roof. It directs water off the edge into the gutter and protects the wood fascia from rot. We hand-bend valley metal when needed and use prefab drip edge on the straight runs. Color-matched to the shingle when we can.

Starter strip is the first course of shingles, run along the eaves and rakes. It's a specialty shingle without tabs, designed to seal the first course of full shingles down. Skip the starter strip and your roof will fail at the edges in the first big wind event.

Then the field shingles go on. Course by course, from the eave up to the ridge, in a staggered pattern. Six nails per shingle on the high-wind nailing pattern . We use ring-shank nails on coastal installs because the threading holds in wind uplift better than smooth-shank.

Penetrations and flashing

Every pipe boot, vent, satellite mount, and chimney gets new flashing and fresh sealant. We replace pipe boots on every reroof — the old ones are a leak risk by year ten and not worth saving. Chimneys get new step and counter-flashing if the existing is failing. We don't reuse old flashing on a new roof.

Ridge cap and ridge vent

The ridge is the peak of the roof. Two things go on it: the ridge vent (a continuous airflow channel that lets hot air escape the attic) and the ridge cap (specialty shingles bent over the peak to seal it up). Proper ridge ventilation is what keeps your shingle warranty valid in Gulf Coast heat. Without it, the attic temperature climbs above 140°F in July and bakes the shingles from below.

Cleanup — the magnet sweep

The last hour of the last day is cleanup. Debris goes into the dumpster. Tarps come off the flower beds. Plywood comes off the condensers. Then we run a heavy-duty rolling magnet around the entire perimeter of the house — three or four passes — to pick up every nail that fell during the install. We do it twice. Then once more in the driveway.

You'll still find a stray nail or two in the yard for a few weeks. That's normal. We'll come back and run the magnet again if you want.

The final walk-through

Before the crew leaves, I walk the job with you — usually with Jon Jon from sales. We point out what was replaced on the deck, walk the perimeter for cleanup, and hand you the warranty packet (paper and digital). Anything you spot, we fix that day.

What you should do on install day

• Move your cars at least 30 feet from the house. Nails happen. Better safe than a flat.
• Kennel or back-room your pets. The noise will stress them out. If you can have them at a friend's for the day, even better.
• Stay out of the attic. Falling nails and debris inside the attic are a hazard during tear-off.
• Plan around 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. of noise. Working from home that day is fine but expect background banging through the entire workday.
• Take down anything fragile from interior walls. Vibration from hammering can shake pictures off walls and knock shelves loose. Rare, but it happens.

Weather wildcards

We watch the radar for the three days leading up to your install. If a thunderstorm cell looks like it could land mid-tear-off, we either reschedule or push the start time. The worst-case scenario is a deck exposed during a downpour — and we don't put homeowners in that position.

If weather rolls in mid-job, we tarp the deck before we leave. The tarps hold through a Gulf Coast squall, and we finish the install the next clear day. You won't get water inside.

The bottom line

A good install is loud, fast, and clean. Two days of disruption, and then a roof you don't have to think about for 25 to 30 years if it's asphalt — 40 to 50 if it's metal.

For more on what we install, see our pages on roof installation, roof replacement, and who we are.