Did April showers bring May flowers or huge gusts of rain and wind that damaged your roofing?
We know: roofing is probably not the most exciting area of your home to remodel. It seems pretty basic: shingles, shield, gutters. What more do you really need?
Here are 5 ways to tell if you need a full-roofing replacement:
1. Age of the roof:
Despite popular belief, most 10-15 year roofs are in fact 5-7 year roofs. We’ve even remodeled 3 year old roofs that had little to no ventilation or underlayment, which aged the roof even quicker.
2. Seal:
Do you know that Best Installation Practices with roofing includes roofing synthetic underlayment & ice and water shield under the starter shingle strip as well as all ridges and valleys? This is an easy way for roofers to cut cost to land jobs. They simply apply shingle to your plywood roofing or inadequate underlayment. Why the ice and water shield? We are in New England: the land of ice dams, icicles, and roof collapse. These pretty angles in your roofline are also a breeding ground for ice to live and melt straight through to your kitchen ceiling.
3. Condition of shingles:
Even if you have just one side of your house that truly appears beat up, the rest of your roofing will surely follow. The same installation techniques and materials were used, and they will not outlast the current side by 5 years. Any curling and faded shingles will quickly become those easily torn-off and missing shingles.Your home will be less protected and more vulnerable to the elements.
4. Defend:
What type of shingles do you have? Most inspectors recommend using architectural shingles like Owens Corning. What really keeps the strength of these Tru-Duration shingles is the specialty starter strip shingle and hip and ridge shingles. In using other products, these shingle types may not be available. Why is this a problem? Well, if you have a roofer who bends a typical shingle into a “U” shape to put along the peak of your house/ ridgeline, he is already weakening the integrity of your shingle before it is even installed. Not good!
5. Breathe:
Does your roof breathe? No, we don’t mean having a bunch of holes in your roof is a good thing. Simple additions to your roofing/roofline is a huge factor of reducing ice dams and keeping your roof healthy. Without sufficient soffits pulling in air, which is then pushed out through your ridge vent at the top of your roof, air is not being well-ventilated. Keeping your roof/attic the same temperature as the weather outside will benefit the entire exterior envelope your home.
FREE Owens Corning Ridge vent for the month of May! For more information on Owens Corning roofing products, give us a call! We are happy to answer your questions!
((P.S))
Check out this 30 second, Sure Nail technology test in the video to the right!