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Reroofing a shed: OSB ok? Any way to avoid stabbing my head on nails in loft?

Reroofing a shed: OSB ok? Any way to avoid stabbing my head on nails in loft?


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Old 06-09-19, 08:10 PM
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Reroofing a shed: OSB ok? Any way to avoid stabbing my head on nails in loft?

I'm reroofing a gambrel / high barn roof (10x16) shed and based on comments here and videos I see on the web, gaining confidence that I can actually do this and it won't leak : )

A couple questions:

1) it seems OSB is much cheaper than plywood? $9 / sheet vs. something like $28 for CDX (both 1/2" ) sound right? The shed had OSB and it lasted 20 years so, it's OK to use again / significant savings?

2) The shingles were attached to the OSX (without tarpaper / underlayment) using long staples. I don't recall getting stuck with them when in the loft areas at each end. I'll be (manually?) nailing using roofing nails for the new roof. having all those nails sticking into the inside of the shed / poke my head on them is kinda unavoidable,right? Not sure if they used shorter staples that didn't protrude into the inner part of the shed. I took the shingles off already so I can't tell.

THANKS!
 

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06-10-19, 04:29 AM
Bud9051
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If nails are too short they are a pain to hold as you hit them, and I do mean pain.

Easiest would be to add a layer of 1" rigid foam on the inside where protection is needed. Loose fit and can be just stuck to the nails, maybe a few dabs of adhesive.

Bud
 
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Old 06-10-19, 03:18 AM
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Roofing nails and staples almost always protrude all the way thru the roof decking, although staples might not be as noticeable. You can get roofing nails in shorter lengths so they don't come thru as far. Nails are superior to staples! staples won't pass code in many jurisdictions.
 
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Old 06-10-19, 04:29 AM
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If nails are too short they are a pain to hold as you hit them, and I do mean pain.

Easiest would be to add a layer of 1" rigid foam on the inside where protection is needed. Loose fit and can be just stuck to the nails, maybe a few dabs of adhesive.

Bud
 
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Old 06-10-19, 04:48 AM
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I'm old school, still like to see plywood sheathing, but, particularly on a secondary building, i.e. garage, shed, whatever, yeah, it's fine and I'd probably use it myself. The allowable span between rafters will be stamped right on it. You said that the original OSB lasted 20 years, so I assume you are replacing only certain sheets, and you'll want something the same thickness as what you have. The nails need to be long enough to extend through the sheathing about 3/8", so yes, you will have head gougers if you get too close, but nails are available in various lengths, and Bud's way of using rigid insulation between the rafters is an ideal way to deal with that. Since you'll probably be keeping them as short as possible, remember that they probably won't be long enough for your caps so you'll want longer ones for those. And yes, you can do it. The hardest thing with a gambrel is figuring out how you want to handle the break from the lower to upper roofs. Then, once you decide that, you want to do some layout on the lower roof so that your course spacing is consistent, and so that your top course lays where you want it. Oh yeah, and ladder placement can be tricky on gambrels, although a 10x16 shouldn't be too troublesome, but watch that during your tear off so that you know where you want them when laying the new ones. And you do want underlayment.
 
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Old 06-10-19, 07:54 AM
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Don't forget that when shingling mansard roofs, it requires special fastening and tar. See your shingle instructions.

example: https://www.tamko.com/docs/default-s...sn=5c505ca0_16
 
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Old 06-10-19, 09:19 AM
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THANKS everyone!

The rigid foam - cute, but more than I'll bother for a shed. I'll just be careful and remember saying this when I stick myself : )

Xsleeper - it's a gambrel, not mansard. But thanks for the tip!
 
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Old 06-10-19, 09:29 AM
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Ed... in case you didn't know, they are basically the same thing... my point is that you will need to follow those instructions on the part of the roof that is the steepest. On shallow roofs, gravity / the weight of the shingle holds it down into the tar strip so that it seals down but on steep roofs, you need to follow the "mansard/high wind" instructions or it voids the warranty and they will be more likely to blow off.
 
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Old 06-10-19, 09:35 AM
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X: Oh! Yes, when I googled the Mansard, it does look like what I have. Duh! Thank you again for the tip.

Not to digress much but I got seriously burned by a roof contractor's shoddy job last year on our house. Through that and dealing with Owens Corning and reading the small print of warranties, my impression is that 'the warranty' isn't really worth much / loads of exclusions/ likely they don't pay out often?
 
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Old 06-10-19, 10:02 AM
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Oh, and am I in the right price ballpark - OSB is something like $9 and plywood (CDX?) is something like $28? There's no grades of OSB? interior / exterior? Are there other plywoods you would would go with / less money?

AKAPedro: some of the OSB appears OK, but rather than try to get rid of all the staples in those pieces... and likely the overhangs will be different with the new boards, I am expecting to take all the old OSB off.

Yes, all that layout / spacing / appearance of shingles is ahead of me : )
 
 

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