Handnail Roofing installs new asphalt shingle roofs on new homes, additions, detached garages, workshops and patio covers in The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia and the rest of Montgomery County. Andy Hughes, the owner, checks the deck and prices the job himself; his crew hand-nails every shingle and roofs most new decks in a day. The site visit and the written price are free.
Installation is a different job from replacement. There’s nothing to tear off, but everything under the shingles is on us: the decking has to be flat and nailed, the framing has to give water somewhere to go, and any place the new roof meets an old one has to be tied in so the joint outlasts both. That’s where new roofs leak, so that’s where the time goes.
What we install
New construction
A shingle roof on a freshly framed and decked house, dried in on the builder’s date so the trades behind us can start. We inspect the deck before any underlayment goes down.
Home additions
A new bedroom, a second story or a sunroom means a roof section that has to tie into the existing one. We cut the old roof back, build the valley or wall joint properly and match the shingle as closely as the market allows.
Detached garages and workshops
Garages, shops, pool houses and sheds with real decking and a pitch that takes shingles. Small roofs are priced by the square and usually done in a morning.
Patio and porch cover roofs
Once the cover is framed we deck it, dry it in and shingle it to match the house, with the flashing at the house wall done right so the joint doesn’t leak into your ceiling.
Re-decking
Plank decking with wide gaps, thin plywood that has sagged between the rafters, or sheets rotted by an old leak. We replace the deck, then roof it.
Roofs for builders and remodelers
If you build or remodel for a living and want a hand-nailed roof with photo documentation on a date you can plan around, we’ll talk.
How a new roof goes on, layer by layer
Start with the deck. We check that every sheet is nailed to the rafters, that no gap is wide enough to lose a nail in, and that the framing drains: no dead valleys, no low spot behind a chimney without a cricket. Then, in order: drip edge on the eaves and rakes; ice-and-water shield in every valley and around every pipe, vent, wall and chimney; synthetic underlayment over the rest, lapped so water runs onto the next sheet and never under it; a starter course with the sealant right at the edge; then the field shingles, four nails each and six in the high-wind pattern, every one set by hand, flush, inside the marked nailing zone.
Flashing goes in as the courses climb: a new pipe boot at every vent, step flashing woven into every course where the roof meets a wall, a kick-out at the bottom of each wall so the water goes into the gutter instead of behind the siding. On new construction the step flashing goes on before the brick or siding, so the mason or siding crew can counter-flash over it. Last, the ridge is cut open for a continuous vent and capped with ridge shingles nailed through the vent into the deck. Then we photograph every slope for you.
Tying a new roof into an existing one
Additions are where installation gets careful. We strip the old shingles back a few feet from the joint and look at the old decking while it’s exposed. The new underlayment slips under the old so the lap runs the right way. Where the two roofs meet at an angle we build a real valley, ice-and-water first, then either metal or a closed-cut shingle valley depending on the pitch. Where the new roof runs into an existing wall, it gets step flashing on every course and a kick-out at the bottom, not a bead of caulk.
Color is the honest caveat. A new shingle next to a faded one reads darker for a season or two. We match brand, line and color when the product is still made, and if your existing roof is near the end of its life we’ll say so, because doing both at once is cheaper than a tie-in today and a replacement in three years.
Re-decking: when the old boards won’t hold a nail
A lot of older homes in Montgomery, Conroe and the older streets of Spring were roofed over plank decking, and the boards have shrunk until the gaps swallow nails. Others got thin plywood that now sags between the rafters, so the shingles wave and the nails back out. Shingle manufacturers want a solid deck, and so do we. We pull the old boards, sheet the roof with new decking nailed to the rafters on the manufacturer’s pattern, and then roof it. Every sheet is photographed and priced before it goes on, so re-decking is never a surprise on the invoice.
Where new roofs fail in the Houston climate
A new roof can be leaking by year five if three details are skipped. The first is ventilation. Attic temperatures here pass 140°F in summer, and a roof with no intake at the soffits and no exhaust at the ridge cooks its own shingles from underneath. We open the ridge and check the soffits on every install; more on attic ventilation. The second is high nailing. A nail above the marked zone holds only the top layer of a laminated shingle, and the May 2024 derecho and Hurricane Beryl peeled roofs all over north Houston that way. The third is the kick-out flashing at the bottom of a wall, which many crews leave off; without it, water runs behind the siding for years before anyone sees the rot. A homeowner’s guide: how to tell if a roof was installed correctly.
Working with builders and general contractors
If you’re building or remodeling, give us the dry-in date. We look at the deck the day before, and if there’s a sheet that needs another row of nails or a valley that needs a cricket, you hear about it then, not after the underlayment is down. On the day we dry in first, so a surprise storm can’t get into the framing, then shingle. You get photos of the bare deck, the dried-in roof and the finished roof, and an itemized invoice that your customer can read. We do asphalt shingle roofs; if the plans call for metal or tile, we’ll say so up front.
What a new roof installation costs
Priced by the roofing square, 100 square feet of roof, the same as a replacement. The Houston market for a full replacement is $400 to $600 per square installed in 2026, and our 2026 replacements have averaged just under $400 per square; a typical 25-square home lands between $10,000 and $15,000. On a bare deck there’s no tear-off and no haul-off in the job, and the estimate shows that line by line, along with the underlayment, flashing, ventilation and the shingle you chose. It goes to an online portal where you read it, ask questions and sign from your phone. Financing is available, including 0% APR for up to 18 months for qualified buyers, subject to credit approval, and we’ll show any option as a monthly payment. For a quick ballpark, try the roof cost calculator. Want gutters on the new roof? See gutter installation.
Why we hand-nail every shingle
A nail gun is fast and it doesn’t look. Set hot, it blows the nail through the shingle mat; set cold, it leaves the head standing to cut the shingle above; angled, it leaves a nail that holds nothing. Our crew sets every nail with a hammer, straight and flush, inside the strip the manufacturer prints on the shingle, and looks at each one as it goes in. That’s a few extra hours on a new roof, and on the first hurricane-season gust it’s the difference between a roof and a yard full of shingles. The longer explanation is here, along with the nailing pattern we use in Texas wind.
Roof installation questions
What's the difference between roof installation and roof replacement?
Installation is a new roof on a deck that has never had one: a new house, an addition, a garage, a patio cover, or a roof we've just re-decked. Replacement starts with tearing the old roof off. The layers that go on, and the way we hand-nail them, are the same either way.
Can you match the new roof on my addition to my existing roof?
Usually close. If your shingle line is still made we use the same brand, line and color, and the tie-in is built so the seam holds even if the shade is slightly off. New shingles read a little darker than ten-year-old ones for a season, then the sun evens them out.
Do you install roofs on detached garages, workshops and sheds?
Yes, as long as the structure has real decking and enough pitch for shingles. Small roofs are priced by the square like any other job, and most are finished in a morning. We'll tell you if the framing needs work before a roof goes on it.
Can you put shingles on my patio cover?
If the cover has decking and at least a 2-in-12 pitch, yes; from 2-in-12 to 4-in-12 the underlayment gets doubled to make up for the slow drainage. Under 2-in-12, shingles aren't the right product and we say so rather than install something that will leak. We can also build the cover itself.
When does a roof need re-decking?
When the nails won't hold. Plank decking with wide gaps, thin plywood that has sagged between the rafters, and sheets rotted or delaminated by an old leak all need to come out. We photograph each sheet and price it before we replace it.
How much does a new roof installation cost?
It's priced per roofing square, the same way a replacement is. Houston-area replacements run $400 to $600 per square installed in 2026 and our 2026 replacements have averaged just under $400 per square; a new deck has no tear-off or haul-off in the job, and the estimate shows every line. Financing is available, including 0% APR for up to 18 months for qualified buyers, subject to credit approval.
Where we install roofs
We’re based in Spring and install roofs across Montgomery County and the north Houston suburbs: The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia, Montgomery, Tomball, Cypress, Willis, Pinehurst, Huntsville and Sugar Land. Not sure you’re in range? Call and we’ll say on the phone.
