Roof Replacement Day: Hour by Hour | Wannamaker

You signed the contract, picked your shingle color, and now replacement day is on the calendar. But nobody really tells you what the day itself looks like — and it's nothing like a quiet home improvement project. A full roof replacement on a typical San Antonio single-story home takes roughly 8–12 hours with a properly staffed crew. Here's the real timeline, hour by hour, so nothing catches you off guard.

Before the Crew Arrives (The Night Before)

Your prep work actually starts the evening before. A few things that will save you headaches:

• Move vehicles out of the driveway and garage. A dump trailer or roll-off dumpster will need that space. Nails also end up in driveways — we sweep and use magnets, but an empty driveway is the safest driveway.
• Take down wall décor inside. The hammering vibrations can rattle picture frames off nails, especially on upper-floor walls directly under the roof deck.
• Cover attic items. Dust falls through during tear-off. If you have stored belongings in the attic, throw a tarp or old sheet over them.
• Secure pets. The noise is intense. Dogs bolt through open gates when crews are moving around. Board them or keep them in an interior room.
• Warn your neighbors. A quick text goes a long way. Debris occasionally drifts, and the noise is hard to miss at 7 a.m.

6:30–7:00 AM: Material Drop and Setup

The material delivery often arrives first — sometimes the day before, sometimes that morning. Shingle bundles, underlayment rolls, drip edge, ridge vent, and ice-and-water shield get staged in the yard or loaded onto the roof with a conveyor (a motorized belt that carries bundles up the slope). The dump trailer gets positioned, and tarps go down around the perimeter of your home to catch debris and protect landscaping.

The crew lead will walk the property one more time, confirm the scope, and note anything that's changed since the initial roof inspection.

7:00–9:00 AM: Tear-Off

This is the loudest part of the day. The crew uses shingle shovels (flat, fork-like tools) to rip off the old shingles, underlayment, and any rotted decking. Everything gets tossed directly into the dump trailer below. On a standard 2,000–2,500 square-foot San Antonio home, a crew of 6–8 can strip an entire roof in about two hours.

During tear-off, the crew lead is inspecting the exposed roof deck for soft spots, water stains, and rot. This is the moment we find hidden damage that wasn't visible from the surface — and it's one reason an honest contractor won't guarantee an exact price until the deck is exposed. If you're going through an insurance claim, any additional damage found here gets documented and submitted as a supplement.

What About Decking Repairs?

If plywood or OSB decking needs to be replaced, it happens immediately during tear-off. Crews carry spare sheets on every job. In San Antonio, we commonly see decking damage around plumbing boots, in valleys, and at areas where previous flashing failed. A few sheets of decking replacement is normal. If your contractor says they've never had to replace decking, that should raise an eyebrow.

9:00–10:00 AM: Underlayment and Flashing

Once the deck is clean and any bad wood is replaced, the crew rolls out synthetic underlayment across the entire roof surface. This is your secondary water barrier — if a shingle ever fails, the underlayment keeps water from reaching your home. In our area, we install ice-and-water shield in valleys and around penetrations (pipes, vents, skylights) where water concentrates.

New drip edge goes on along the eaves and rakes. Pipe boots, step flashing against walls, and any chimney flashing get installed or replaced. Flashing is the most failure-prone part of any roof system, so this step is where craftsmanship matters most.

10:00 AM–2:00 PM: Shingle Installation

The main event. Starting from the bottom edge (eave) and working upward, the crew nails asphalt shingles in overlapping courses. Each shingle gets 4–6 nails depending on the manufacturer's specs and local wind requirements. In the San Antonio and Hill Country region — areas like Boerne, Stone Oak, and Helotes — we follow high-wind nailing patterns because our storms don't mess around.

This phase takes the longest, but it's also the quietest relative to tear-off. You'll hear the steady rhythm of pneumatic nail guns. Multiple crew members work different sections simultaneously. Valleys, hips, and ridges get special attention — these are the architectural details that separate a quality install from a sloppy one.

The Heat Factor

San Antonio summers push 100°F regularly, and a roof surface can reach 150°F+. Experienced crews start early for a reason. By mid-afternoon in July, productivity drops and safety risk increases. If your replacement is scheduled during summer, don't be surprised if the crew takes staggered breaks. A good contractor accounts for heat in their timeline.

2:00–4:00 PM: Ridge Vent, Caps, and Detail Work

The crew installs ridge vent along the peak for proper attic ventilation, then caps it with ridge cap shingles. Pipe boots get sealed, any remaining flashing gets a final check, and sealant is applied to exposed nail heads in critical areas. This finishing phase is where shortcuts show up months later — ridge caps that blow off, pipe boots that leak by year two, or missing kick-out flashing that sends water behind siding.

4:00–5:30 PM: Cleanup and Final Walk

Cleanup should be thorough — not a courtesy, but part of the job. The crew pulls tarps, rakes the yard, and runs a rolling magnetic sweeper across the driveway, walkways, and yard at least twice to pick up stray nails. Gutters get cleared of debris. The dump trailer leaves.

The crew lead does a ground-level and (if possible) drone or ladder inspection of the finished roof, checking for alignment, proper nail placement, and clean flashing details. At Wannamaker, we walk the homeowner through what was done, show photos of the decking condition we found, and explain any supplemental work that was added.

After the Crew Leaves

A few things to keep in mind for the days after:

• Stray nails. Even with magnet sweeps, a nail or two can hide in grass. Walk your yard carefully in shoes for a few days.
• Shingle smell. New asphalt shingles off-gas slightly, especially in Texas heat. It fades within a week or two.
• Granule runoff. Your gutters will have loose granules from the new shingles for the first few rains. This is completely normal.
• Warranty registration. Make sure your contractor registers your manufacturer warranty. This is separate from their workmanship warranty, and it's easy for less organized companies to skip.

The Bottom Line

A roof replacement is one of the biggest single-day projects your home will ever go through. It's loud, it's disruptive, and it's over faster than most people expect. Knowing the timeline takes the stress out of it. The real variable isn't the hours — it's the quality of the crew filling them. A well-run replacement day means your roof is tight, your yard is clean, and you don't think about your roof again for decades.