Residential
Roofing & Repair

Good roofers and home inspectors know a secret that they wish everyone knew....More than half of the residential roofs we see are not properly installed. It could be a small detail that is of little consequence for the short term, or an entire material package that is incorrectly installed. We have all heard the horror stories regarding bad contractors. Jobs gone wrong, down payments that disappear with no work being done, unqualified/uninsured people doing the work. Regardless of what the cause is, the end result is the same...A customer who is left with the mess, and a contractor who suddenly can't find their phone. When it is 2am and your new roof that looks great from the ground is leaking you suddenly realize that the few dollars that you saved by having your brother-in-laws buddy do your roof on the weekend was not worth the few dollars saved. Like many things, roofing included, the quality hides in the details. Most of the time these details cannot be seen from the ground. More often than not, an improperly installed roof will hold out the water in the beginning. Then it will begin to leak. Maybe only when the wind blows a certain way, or only in freezing weather, or maybe every time it rains. A good portion of these roofs will hold out water for a year or two, then suddenly you are chasing a leak every time you turn around. Your house is likely the largest investment you have, and your roof is one of the most important components of that investment. Much like your roof, your heart is a critical component serving a larger body. If something goes wrong, do you want the best heart surgeon, or the cheapest? 

Ice & Water Barrier

Ice & Water Barrier is one of the best things that ever happened in the world of residential roofing. Ice & Water Barrier is a 3 foot wide roll of self adhesive material that has a black granulated surface. This material self adheres directly to the plywood decking and self heals around nail punctures from the shingles that are installed over it. This material can be placed on the eaves, and up the rakes to prevent winter time leaks caused by ice damming. Not as an upgrade, but as standard practice we install Ice & Water Barrier under all valleys. This product can be used in other problem areas as well such as skylights, chimneys, and pipe flashings.

In the picture above the customer was having problems with snow and ice infiltration at a sidewall. This is a common problem area on most house, especially those with vinyl siding. As you can see, the vinyl siding, as well as the old shingles and flashing have been removed. Ice & Water Barrier was adhered to the deck and folded the go up the wall approximately ten inches. New flashing (the gray pieces) was installed along with new shingles. Now, if water freezes and backs up, or snow blows under the siding and gets under the flashing or shingles it will be on top of the barrier where it will be dumped back onto the topside of the shingles further downhill.

Pipe Flashing

Every house has at least one pipe flashing. Most modern houses have 2-3 pipe flashings. A leaking pipe flashing can cause ceiling damage anywhere in your house, but the most common areas that a bad pipe flashing will reveal itself are on kitchen and bathroom ceilings. Pipe flashings are considered a maintenance item and will typically need a new seal after 10-12 years depending on site conditions. If one of several pipe flashing has failed, it may be a good idea to service all of them. 

Roof Ventilation

An often overlooked component of residential roofing systems is the ventilation. Ideally the attic space will be as close as possible to the temperature outside. This is why the ceiling rather than the roof is insulated. If a roof is improperly or inadequately ventilated the roof can fail prematurely, or condensation will form and cause water spots on the ceiling. If the ventilation system is out of balance it can cause a reverse draw and pull large piles of falling snow into the roof vents. A properly balanced system draws air into the vents in the eaves and exhaust air out of the roof vents. Causes of system imbalance can be an imbalance of the ratio of soffit vents to roof vents, blown in insulation blocking soffit vents, or plugged soffit vents. The soffit vents have an insect screen on the inside. Over time dirt accumulates on the insect screen and blocks the air flow. This issue is compounded when the vent get painted over. Often times it is a good idea to replace the soffit vents when installing a new roof system.