In what order should I install roofing, gutters, and attic insulation

The three things that I ask people to consider when they're replacing a roof is if they're in a wind or hail damage region, and if they're in a region with high solar gain (such as Texas) or an area prone to ice damming (such as New England or the upper midwest.)

If you're in an area that is prone to wind or hail damage (thunderstorms or hurricanes), you might want to look into a more resilient form of roofing material. Stone-coated steel shingles (which look just like standard asphalt shingles) are a great product that will resist most forms of damage that can be dished out. Your insurance may give you a discount on them because they have a longer lifetime.

If you're in a high solar gain area, look into some of the energy-star rated shingles. They again look just like stone coated asphalt shingles, but they'll help keep your attic cool in the summertime.

If you're in an area that gets a decent amount of snow, make sure that they install an ice & water barrier around any roof penetrations (like skylights or places where they replace a vent) and along the edge of the roof where you could develop ice damming problems. This material is a sticky membrane that self-sticks to the roof deck and basically keeps water from seeping through at all. Common brand name for this product are "Grace Ice & Water Shield" ... I also personally use it in roof valleys, gable crotches, and several other places where water tends to get blown up inside something and you really don't want it to soak through.

You definitely want to get your insulation up to the max, but that's something that you can do at any time using blown-in insulation. If you are replacing roof decking and have it open, you should make sure that you have plenty of soffit vents and that your soffit vents are baffled properly. (I like the Berger Accuvent, personally...)

You want to make sure that any damaged or rusted flashing is replaced, and that tar paper is replaced. Look into what kind of tar paper they're using (heavier the weight, the better...), because that's actually your roof. Make sure you know what kind of valleys you're getting. For standard asphalt shingles, I prefer woven valleys, but they're harder to do and therefore are more expensive.

Are you planning on replacing the roof? If so, are you redecking the roof or just replacing shingles? If you're only replacing shingles then there will be little or no additional opportunity to install soffit vents. If you are redecking, make sure to use radiant barrier decking. It adds about $2 a sheet to cost and has a large impact on attic heat. No roofer will tear off and reinstall old decking.

Soffit vents vs gable vents vs whirlybirds vs vent fans will make little difference in attic temperature in Texas. I have had houses with all combinations, and no vents at all, and the effectiveness is as follows:

• Soffit vents (almost no effect)
• Gable vents (little effect)
• Attic fan with gable vents (some effect, still easily 140+ in summer)
• Turbine vents with soffit and/or gable vents

I made the mistake of replacing turbines with attic fans on one house and the temp in the attic went up!

You can definitely hire someone to install soffit vent channels, and they will come rake all of the insulation out of the way and install the channels, then move the insulation back. The impact of soffit vents will be minor though.

Honestly, if you are are not having moisture issues in your attic (i.e. you don't live in Houston) and you have a house built before 1970 in Texas with a $150 summer electric bill then you probably want to stop worrying about the attic and start looking at other systems for improvement. If you had no attic insulation then you probably have no wall insulation. Having insulation blown into the walls will have a noticeable effect. Have you replaced the windows with low-e vinyls, esp. on the south and west walls? That will also have an impact on cooling costs. After all of those, start looking at A/C upgrades, pressure testing (most utilities will do this for free or low cost). Soffit vent channels and retrofit radiant barrier will have negligible effect if you already have several ft of insulation in the attic.