New Shingles After Hurricane Frances

DEAR TIM: Thanks to Hurricane Frances I have to reroof. I got estimates from two licensed contractors, but they are giving me conflicting information regarding the type of shingles to use.

One tells me that I should use 3-Tab Shingles considering I have a gabled roof. He claims that the other type of shingle, the dimensional shingle, will cause water to be trapped under the shingle, for the slope of my roof is not steep enough. Also, I have a solar panel (for the water heater) on the roof. He said that it will have to be removed in order to reroof and then reattached.

The other company does not require the solar panel to be removed, nor expressed any concern about the dimensional shingle for my type of roof.

Could you please help me?

Thank you.
Monique Pengel
Loxahatchee, FL

DEAR MONIQUE: You must get the written installation instructions for each shingle you are considering. It will address the slope issue and what has to be done on low slope roofs. I don't agree with the roofer who says a dimensional shingle will trap water. There are new large underlayments you can use instead of tar paper that seal the house from water that gets under the shingles. Investigate those.

As for the solar panel, I would have to see a photo of how it is flashed. If it is similar to many skylights that have special engineered flashing kits, it would not have to be removed.