Roof Underlayment Assessment

Our roof underlayment, asphalt, is 35 years old. We are not due to replace, per the Reserve Study, until 2033. Our Board want an engineering survey by an independent structural/roof engineer to verify the current date of replacement. This has come up because every roof leak we get seems to be put down to underlayment failure. In 2025 we spent $29,000 repairing roofs.

Pulling the replacement date forward does nothing to help our finances, underlayment predicted to cost 2.5 million, currently have 1.4 million in reserves. But that's a separate problem.

Does an independent assessment sound like the best next step? And also where do I go about finding an independent engineer in Northern CA to conduct the survey.

Thanks,

Sue

I did ask our Analyst for a recommendation, he hasn't got back to me. Thanks, Sue

Yes, it does. Conventional wisdom: the greater the frequency of leaks, the more likely it is that a full roof replacement is needed.

You are spot on with your comments and advice, thank you. Sue

I disagree with a membership vote on if the roof is replaced or not.

The Board has a duty to maintain the common elements.
If the roof needs replaced, replace the roof.
Failure to do so can result in legal issues if something happens.

Now, I do think that if a special assessment is needed that the membership should vote on the special assessment.

Most bylaws do not require a unit owner vote to do a special assessment.

Assuming that is true at SusanO3's property - then I say don't do a vote.

Because: what if the result of the vote is a "no"? The roof is still failing, and still needs to be replaced. The board has a legal duty to replace it. But now the board is really stuck. They must ignore a unit owner vote in order to carry out their duty.

Thank you all for your input. Agree that we would only need a majority vote of the community if we needed a special assessment to replace the underlayment. Currently we do not know if we will need a SA, or if we can get by on a phased replacement that spreads the costs over 6 years (for example). Currently, we have one roof that has leaked 4 times on the same roof plane (the plane has solar panels on it but impossible to say if that has caused the leaks).

We are getting bids on
1 Replacing the underlay on the roof plane with the leaks
2 Replacing just half the roof (this situation is on a townhouse, just one side leaking)
3 Replace both underlayment

This will give us a chance to see just how bad the underlay is on one roof (two homes) which will be helpful information in tackling the bigger underlay project.

It boggles the mind how unpaid volunteer Boards are meant to manage the decision making (with some professional help) on $2.5 M projects.
(rant over)

Sue