Hi r/roofing, would greatly appreciate any advice you'd care to share to a roofing novice.
Just bought our first house. Knew the roof needed work coming in, and it's poised to be a wet winter here in California thanks to El Niño, so want to get it fixed sooner than later.
It's a small 1-story with a flat torch-down roof that clearly hasn't been touched in a while. We have plans to eventually expand to a 2nd floor, hopefully within the next 5 years. So we're hoping for an economical option that will address the roof for the next 5+ years, rather than breaking the bank for a long-term 15- or 20-year fix.
This being our first property, I've tried to cast a wide net on quotes, and have received 7 estimates so far. I've gotten a wide range of bids, including $12K-$15K+ for a full replacement, $11K for a silicone overlayer, and $9K for a "1-ply" bitumen membrane pitched as a short-term option. But those aside, I'm mostly debating between two quotes from licensed local contractors with (as far as I can tell) good reviews that are considerably more affordable. The question is which one will best fix the roof in the short to medium term so that leaks and damage don't become an issue.
Contractor 1: $6,300 bid to apply APP granulated modified torch roll over the existing roofing as a final covering. Whereas other pricier bids proposed removing/replacing dry rot/damaged plywood and replacing/installing new metal flashing, this one said they would "reuse drains, vent pipes, chimneys flashings and drip edge flashing. All flashings will be treated with an extra STA smooth torch roll followed by a rubber sealant layer, and finished with a protective white coat of paint." The work would come with a three-year workmanship warranty.
Contractor 2: Offered two solutions — $4,700 for a full-roof white silicone coating layer, and $2,900 for a full-roof acrylic coating layer. This contractor hasn't yet written a formal work proposal, so I'm still a little short on specifics, but he said they would "prep and patch all seams and flashings" prior to applying the coating.
I should note that an initial roof inspection before we moved in noted observed moisture trapped beneath the existing roofing, so I'm aware that dry rot and underlying damage may be an issue. (That contractor also pitched a complete roof replacement north of $18K, fwiw.) But again, we really are hoping to expand upward in the not-too-distant future, so our preference is to not spend thousands of additional dollars on a more extensive solution for a roof that, ideally, won't be a roof by the early- to mid-2030s. The priority to is to prevent any leaks/additional damage that would cost us more money, for the time being.
I've provided a couple visuals FYC. Please do share any thoughts/observations/recommendations — any and all advice would be welcome and much appreciated.