Plywood Over Old Roof

The new plywood will have to be nailed to the rafters or roof trusses.

Plywood over old roof.

Open spaces form between the once tightly fitted shiplap boards. Its really common here too to see 3 8 plywood used on roofs from the 70 s. As the boards to do the roof deck were manufactured here in the northwest it was still more economical than plywood through the 60s. But with the old plywood left in place it will be considerably more difficult to locate the rafters to ensure proper nail.

Today a shiplap roof is usually 60 years old. If the old plywood was clean and not infested with dry rot or mold it should be ok to cover it with the new plywood. If your home was built prior to 1970 there is a good chance it will have board sheathing. Exterior grade plywood was not available until the 1940 s.

One thing to consider is that the new plywood probably wants to be the same thickness as what would be used if it was used by itself on the rafters i e. In the case of the old t g boards it makes for a flatter surface plus greatly lessons the chance of nailing into the gap between boards. Over time shiplap fir wood resin dissipates causing the boards to shrink crack form knot holes and become extremely brittle. Both cdx plywood and osb tend to come in standard sheets of four foot by eight foot 4 8.

Another issue that many people encounter is what size plywood the roof may need. Fortunately this is one issue that has primarily been standardized by the industry. However you might find that osb can better suit your needs than plywood for the roof.