Janie,

When I was shopping for houses I had a contractor look at them with me. He was a friend of a friend whose work I had seen and admired. He is now my friend, after doing a lot of work for me on the house I bought (I remodeled and built a new garage). He told me several things that helped me choose the house, including what to look for in the attic that pertains to the roof.

I my area there were originally shake roofs on the houses. They were directly on the trusses (or the strapping that Barry mentions), where was no decking put in place. When I was looking at houses I would see the composition roof from the outside, and if I saw decking in the attic I could be sure they replaced the old roof when it needed it. If I saw shingles in the attic I could tell that they simply slapped a new, cheap composition roof on top of the old one. You can't put any more roofs on top of that, you have to tear it all off, put on decking, then the new roof. So I learned to recognize the cheap fix from "investor" sellers who wanted full value for a house they short-changed wherever possible as they attempt to "flip" it. Finding someone who could tell me what the tricks were was a huge help.

Good luck with your roof. Mine is beginning to flake apart (the composition shingles) after an ice storm last winter. I'll try to preserve the current decking and have newer, lighter colored (more reflective) composition shingles put on once the old ones are torn off.

SRS