High Street Duplex: Full Deck Rebuild, Velux Skylights & Fascia Upgrade — Stratham, NH

What Was Wrong With This Stratham Roof?

The duplex on High Street in Stratham, NH was overdue for a full replacement. When our crew pulled off the existing roofing materials, the real problem revealed itself: the entire structure was decked with rough-sawn barnboard. Barnboard is common under older New Hampshire roofs, but it doesn’t give modern shingles the flat, consistent surface they need, and it doesn’t meet Owens Corning’s installation requirements for their warranty to apply.

Before a single new shingle went down, we removed every board and rebuilt the roof deck from scratch with 3/4-inch plywood across the full duplex. That’s the kind of discovery that adds work and time to a project, but there’s no responsible shortcut around it — covering a poor substrate with new materials just delays the next failure.

What Materials and Work Were Involved?

• Full tear-off — all existing roofing materials removed down to the barnboard
• Complete deck rebuild — barnboard removed and replaced with 3/4-inch plywood across the entire duplex
• Owens Corning® Onyx Black shingles — one of the most requested colors in Southern NH
• Black drip edge and color-matched pipe boots — matched to the Onyx Black shingles for a clean, uniform roofline
• Two new VELUX® skylights — installed and flashed into the new roofing system
• Full fascia replacement — aging roofline trim replaced around the entire property

Why Install Skylights During a Roof Replacement?

The homeowners decided to add two new VELUX skylights while the project was already open — and the timing made sense. A roof replacement is the best window to add skylights because the deck is already stripped, the flashing can be properly integrated into the new roofing system, and the crew handling the roof is already on site coordinating the work. Retrofitting skylights into an existing finished roof creates new penetrations, requires careful flashing around an already-installed membrane, and typically costs more because it’s a separate mobilization.

Adding the skylights as part of this High Street project meant they were flashed and sealed correctly from day one, with no seams to worry about between the skylight curb and the surrounding field of new shingles.

Why Does Deck Condition Matter This Much?

Most homeowners only think about the shingles — what they look like, which brand, what color. But the shingles are only the top layer of a system. Beneath them is the ice-and-water underlayment, the synthetic felt, and then the deck itself. If the deck isn’t solid, flat, and structurally sound, none of the layers above it will perform the way they should over a 30-year shingle lifetime.

Barnboard decking in particular creates uneven fastening surfaces, gaps between boards that allow cold air infiltration, and inconsistent support. Owens Corning’s installation standards require a proper plywood or OSB substrate for warranty coverage — and for good reason. We wouldn’t install a premium shingle on a substandard deck any more than you’d put new floors over a rotted subfloor.

What Makes This Project Stand Out Among Stratham Roofing Jobs?

Stratham has a mix of housing ages, and many of the older homes and multi-family properties in town still have barnboard or skip-sheathed decks under aging roofing. This High Street duplex is a good example of why a roof replacement scope can’t always be determined from the driveway — the real condition of the deck isn’t visible until the old materials come off.

Compared to our other Stratham roofing projects, this one involved the most deck work: full barnboard removal and 3/4-inch plywood installation over a duplex footprint, combined with skylight rough-ins and fascia trim replacement. It’s the kind of coordinated, multi-trade project our crews handle well because all the moving parts are managed by one company from start to finish.

Roof Replacement With Skylights in Stratham, NH

If you’re a Stratham homeowner thinking about replacing your roof — especially if your home is older and you’re not sure what’s under the existing shingles — a professional roof inspection will tell you what you’re working with before you commit to a project. Compass Exteriors provides free estimates and honest assessments. Learn more about our asphalt shingle roofing services or call 603-219-1523 to get on our schedule.

This High Street duplex stands out among our Stratham roofing projects for combining a full barnboard deck rebuild, two Velux skylights, and fascia replacement as one coordinated job.