Although the benefits of leaving your old shingles are obvious (cheaper, much less labor, faster), unless the preliminary roof is a single, problem-free layer, you could be setting yourself up for trouble.

You should take off the old roof if any of the following are true:

• Inspection indicates it is in terrible shape—shingles are curled, mossy, split, etc.

• The decking is sagging, rotting or deteriorating.

• The new roof is of a lighter material than the original roof. If you put light-weight shingles over heavyweight shingles, all of the old bumps and ridges from the original roof will still show.

Your roof already has more than one layer.

At Integrity Roofing, LLC, we do not do recovers, we believe removing the old shingles and underlayment is necessary to inspect the roof decking. This imperative to assure there are no underlying issues that would cause the new roof to leak.