Learn About Roofing

Three Steps to a Typical Roofing Project

Roofing Projects
A roof is something many people take for granted. If it keeps the rain out, the wind at bay, and the raccoons out of your home then it’s doing its job. So when do you start paying attention to it? When you find a leak? When some shingles blow off in a windstorm? Or when you get ready to sell your home and the real estate agent recommends it to increase the value of your home?

Whatever situation you’re in, we can help. We’ll help your neighbors be glad you’re moving to the neighborhood by helping you pick out the best shingles for your roof. And we’ll help you understand how a metal roof holds up in winter months, or how ceramic shingles can help best deflect heat. The more you know about roofing, the more you’ll feel confident in your roofing choices. Most roofing projects have three steps:

On-site Roofing System Estimate. Roofing estimates are exactly what they sound like. We usually go out to a home and make a visual inspection to see what kind of shape the roof is in. If you’ve had shingles blow off in a storm, or a drip in your home, chances are it’s time for a new roof. When shingles are showing wear and tear, they sometimes get a white layer on their edges. A few more years and they’ll be curled up. That’s when you know you’re past due for a new roof.

High-quality roofing companies include everything they can in their estimates to try and limit unexpected overages to a roofing job. We include items like the removal and disposal of old shingles, placing a dumpster close to the home, installing synthetic felt on the plywood, a new drip edge, membrane roofing, new gutters, replace and reseal heater flashings and pipe flashings, installing adequate ventilation, and daily cleanup of the process.

Keep in mind that an estimate it just that, an estimate. So, if we think it’ll take 75 bundles of shingles to cover the roof, and if it only takes 65, you’ll get some of the materials cost back. Typically, anything that slows down the job will add to manual labor costs, so if you have a raccoon nursery living in the attic, it’s going to take some time to get them out when we make sure the ventilation of the roof is done right. If we remove the sheeting and find rotted wood on top of the house (a main cause of roof problems like leaking) we’re going to have to repair the roof instead of just placing a band-aid set of shingles to cover it up. None of this can be seen in a visual inspection of the roof, so estimates can change.

By and large, we stick to our estimates. We’ve been in this business for decades and we know what to look for. We itemize everything so you see what’s included in your roof.

Old Roofing System Removal. Anytime you get a roofing job you kind of look for the surprises that you don’t know about until you take the roof off. Sometimes you find a rotted section of wood that needs to be replaced. Sometimes it’s a hornet’s nest or a raccoon in their attic.

Every now and again you find shingles that have been installed incorrectly. That adds time and expense to the removal because the removal itself is going to cause some damage. One of the biggest issues we run into is a wall flashing behind stucco or siding. If they’ve been installed badly the first time and now they’re trapped underneath, we’ve got to put a new roof and tying into flashing that’s two in a wall that’s done wrong.

Those are usually the tricky ones where you have to remove stucco and stuff like that. And that becomes part of the expense. You have to try to make new stucco look like old stucco. That’s not easy. After 20 years in business we’ve got some good people that we work with and that’s really the key. I’m very fortunate to have the awesome guys that work with me and for me.

New Roofing System Installation. Roofing is roofing, which means every house is different. Even in the same neighborhood or subdivision built by the same builder, you’ll have differences. Landscaping can make a difference when branches, leaves, pine needles, or other debris can impact a roof. Which direction the home faces matters when the rains come down and the floods come up. So, if you’ve got a low-pitch roof, you need something that’s going to work with that.

Ventilation, too, can vary by home. Some people like the look of a ridge vent on their home. Some people like having turtle vents because of the splash of color they can add to personalize their roof. The look of your roof matters because you’ll notice it every time you arrive home or drive by your house. Your neighbors will notice. That’s why we go through the process with you. You pick the shingles you want. If you want a splash of color, we can do that to accent the red brick of your home or the color of your siding.

People care about the way their roof looks. Having a flat roof is different than a low-pitch roof which is different than a traditional-slope roof. And the type of ventilation needed for each variation of roof style differs. That’s just the structural details. The aesthetic details matter to people, too. They want to know that it will match their neighborhood well and will still make their home stand out in beneficial ways.

Ventilation matters because hot, sunny days tend to bake the top of the roof, and if there isn’t proper ventilation that heat will build up on the bottom of the shingles. For the most part, you can’t stop the sun from shining on a roof, but we can cool the attic space. That’s something we do that keeps your product warranty in place. If your roof isn’t vented properly then your shingles are no longer under warranty. That’s why we do a visual inspection to see what we’re working with. Every roofing job has to be solved for how to vent it correctly and in a visually pleasing way.