A window air conditioner set into a wall under a roof edge is easy to overlook when a roofer walks the house. It is not on the roof and it is not in the gutter, so it often does not appear on the first list of items on the lot. But a tear-off sends shingles, nails and grit down the wall, a ladder has to land beside it, and the unit has to survive a day or more of work next to it. Before you sign, you need to know which unit is in the way, who moves it, and who restores the wall around it.
Find out what the unit is sitting in
Most window units in Creve Coeur homes sit in one of two places. Some are set in a window opening with an accordion side panel and a foam or wood filler around the frame. Others sit in a sleeve that was framed into an exterior wall when the house was built or when the unit was first installed. The sleeve matters most for the roof. If it passes through siding that sits close to the roof edge, the flashing and the drip edge above it may have been lapped by the shingles in a way that channels water toward the sleeve. A roofer who does not know that is likely to tear off that area without thinking about what sits below.
Walk the wall with the roofer and answer three questions. Is the unit a sleeve or a sash? Does the wall around it have a flange, a trim board or a caulk line? And is there a gap between the unit and the frame that you can see light through from inside? A gap is not a leak by itself, but it tells you the seal has already been tested by a freeze and thaw cycle, and a crew working next to it may open it further.
Who removes the unit, and when
A window unit is heavy. Depending on its size, it can weigh well over fifty pounds, and it sits in a frame that is not built to be lifted by a crew member on a ladder. For that reason the safe default is that the homeowner or a qualified installer removes the unit before the roofers start, and the unit goes back in only after the wall work is finished. Neither the roofing crew nor the roofing company should be the one to disconnect it from its outlet, and the breaker or plug should be turned off before anyone touches the cord.
Ask each roofer to write the removal in the scope, not just mention it. The line should say whether the unit comes out, who takes it out, the date it leaves, and the date it goes back in. If the unit stays in place, the scope should say how the crew will protect it from falling debris, and whether a tarp or board will cover the top of the unit and the side panels for the length of the tear-off on that wall.
Timing matters in July and August. A window unit that is pulled out for a day or two can leave a bedroom without cooling during the hottest part of the week. If the tear-off on that side of the house is scheduled for a summer week, ask whether the crew can work that wall first so the unit can go back in the same day, or whether the roof can be opened on a cooler day and the wall handled later. Those are two different schedules, and each one should appear in the written schedule before the first nail is pulled.
Seal the sleeve before the shingles go back on
When the unit goes back in, the sleeve and the frame need the same care they had before the roof was opened. The flashing above the sleeve should be lapped correctly so water runs over the unit instead of into it. The side panels should be closed and the gap at the frame filled with foam or a sealant rated for exterior use. If the wall has a trim board that was removed, it should go back on with fresh nails and paint on any cut edges before the cold weather arrives.
Ask each roofer who is responsible for the wall flashing and the sealant around the sleeve. In most jobs the roofing crew handles the roof flashing and the drip edge, while a separate trim or siding installer handles the wall. If the roofer says the sleeve is not their work, ask who does it and whether that person is on the schedule. A gap in that handoff is where water finds a way in after the first spring rain.
What to check on the day the unit goes back in
- Ask whether the unit was tested for power and cooling before the crew left the wall.
- Look at the sleeve from inside the room and check for daylight or a draft around the frame.
- Confirm that the condensate drain, if the unit has one, still drains outward and is not blocked by a shingle or nail.
- Photograph the sleeve, the flashing and the side panels before the crew packs up, with the date visible.
- Keep a copy of the signed scope that shows the removal and the reinstall dates.
The photographs matter later. If a stain appears on the wall beside the unit after a heavy rain, the photo file and the scope show what the wall looked like on the day the work was finished. A roofer who documents the sleeve and the flashing in writing is easier to hold to the scope, and a homeowner who has the photos can show exactly where the wall stood on that date.
Questions to put to each roofer
- Which window unit is under the eave, and on which floor?
- Who removes it, who disconnects it, and who puts it back?
- Is the sleeve or the sash part of the roof scope, the wall scope, or neither?
- What covers the unit while the tear-off is open above it?
- What date does the unit leave, and what date does it return?
- Who seals the frame, and what product is named?
If a roofer cannot answer these in writing, the unit is probably not in the plan yet. A line that reads to be determined on the day is an open question that will be settled on a hot afternoon with a ladder against the wall. Ask for a revised scope with the unit named and the dates filled in before you authorize the work.
Where to start
Start with a walk of the wall, a photo of the unit and its sleeve, and a short written question to each roofer: who moves the unit, who seals it, and when it goes back. Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 to talk through the scope for a Creve Coeur home. A window air conditioner under the eave is a small item on a roof bid, and it is also one of the few items that can leave a room without cooling for a week if nobody wrote it down.