Know When Your Roof Actually Needs Replacement

Most homeowners in the United States will face the need to reroof at least once in their lifetimes.  Depending on when a roof is purchased and how much expertise the roofer has, homeowners may only buy one roof their entire lives.  However, as more home buyers enter the market, many of them are unaware of whether or not their roof actually needs replacement.  Additionally, you may have a storm chaser that instructs you to get a new roof, when in actuality you could get by with just a repair.  There are several easy tips to determine if your roof needs replacement.

The Age of the Roof

The best clue you can use for arguments to replace your existing roof or to reroof before purchase, is the roof’s age.  Current roofs on the market that are more than 20 years old may have a tough time keeping up with today’s building codes, which are designed to make your home last longer. 

Over time materials wear down and roof failures can occur.  Older roofs tend to leak more, waste more energy, and display lost cosmetic appeal.  Newer roofs can fail too.  However, newer roofs tend to fail from problems with the installation process or the installers.  Newer roofing materials have a very low rate of failure, especially from defective manufacturing.

Finding Clues from the Outside

Grab your favorite pair of binoculars and head outside to a location that will grant you a good clear view of your roof.  Use the binoculars to looking for problem areas or possible clues.  Clues that you will see, if your roof needs replacement, are;

·        Cracking shingles

·         Shingles that are curled back (away from the roof)

·         Shingles that are lifted off of their support structures (also can look blown back)

·         Smooth dark spots (missing granules)

With each one of these exterior roofing components missing or worn, water has a higher chance of entering the home.

Spotting Clues from the Attic

One more place a home owner can look at is the attic.  The attic will give you the view from the underside of the roof and the roof sheathing.  On a sunny day, enter the attic and look for any lights that are coming through the roof sheathing.  The tiny pinhole lights that you may find are openings to the outside and should not exist.

Air can move through these holes, greatly reducing your home’s cooling and heating efficiency.  Water can also enter through these pinholes as well.  During the colder winter months, water may freeze and expand, increasing the diameter of the pinhole.  During summer or warmer months, water will enter the roof system, causing water damage and/or water stains.

If your home has any additional structures like a chimney, be sure to look at those from the attic side as well.  Any openings or spaces that you see are most likely due to missing flashing, which is a critical water barrier in a quality roofing system.

Most professional roofing companies offer an inspection program like Houston roofing repair, Schulte Roofing’s 17 point Inspection.  These programs cover many more points that will give you a better picture of the current condition of your roof.  To get professional, local advice, contact your local roofing contractor.

Combined Green Roofing Project Results

Recently, Ryan Miller and Green Roofing Technology help construct a roof for the NY Parks and Recreation Department.  The goal of the green roofing system was to provide solar energy for building use.  Other portions of the project included a rainwater collection system and vegetation on the roof.  One aspect of the project that complicated things was the fact that they could not pierce the underlying membrane and instead had to rely on a ballasted system.  In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit the area and the original build crew went out to assess the effectiveness of the green roofing system.

Many Components to the System

In order to prevent piercing of the underlying membrane the team has to ballast the roof, which means it was essentially perfectly balanced.  The sheer weight of the roofing system keeps everything in place.  Vegetation was also located on the roof, fed naturally by sunlight and rainfall.  Excess rain was captured by a water collection system and used to regularly irrigate roof vegetation.  Finally, photo voltaic panels were installed to generate usable energy for the building during the day and lights for the roofing system during the evening.

The entire system was well configured to be an effective use of evapotranspiration to keep the building cool.  In this process water was stored through the water collection system, located under the upper roof where vegetation and solar panels were located.  The water was warmed by the internal heat of the building.  As the water evaporated from the system it released the building’s heat, in a similar mechanism as sweating.

The water collection system also extended the operating life of the photo voltaic cells by lowering the overall operating temperature on the surface of each panel.  By providing a cooling effect, the system was able to generate more power, on average, than bigger solar system.

Power Generation

Considering the roofing system was built in the northeast and not College Station, TX, the power generation results was outstanding.  The total square footage of the roof was divided between pedestrian space, vegetation space, lights, and solar panels.  When compared to a solar roofing system that is completely solar panels, the combined green roofing system produced 8.3% more power.

What about the Costs?

The total cost of the combined roofing system was equal to the cost of a traditional solar power roofing system.  The space saved by fewer solar panels and better operating efficiency, allowed costs to be saved from less required mounting equipment. That space was converted in living space for plant life.

By the year 2021 the building will have saved over $359,431 in savings at a rate of $.20 kWh.  Additionally, the federal government offers many tax incentives that make these roofing systems financially attractive.  One program in particular, called the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit can allow up to a 30% tax concession on the roofing system.  Savvy building owners can also tax advantage of carbon credits, which can be sold with the aid of investment firms and brokers.

Combined green roofing systems have found a special place in the roofing industry.  Future ramifications of this system could prove to be a consistent source of revenue after the system has paid for itself.  In this particular study, the system generated full ROI within 5 years.

Schulte Roofing is a professional Houston roofing repair company with over 100 years of combined experience.  As Home of the Bulletproof Roof™ Guarantee, Schulte Roofing can help design and build the green roof you require.  To learn more about combined green roofing systems, contact your local roofer.

5 Key Steps of Building a Flat Roof Right

Flat roofs are very popular with commercial properties despite the tendency to collect water.  That is because a flat roof offers the ability of access and ease of maintenance to roof mounted devices and structures.  However, when a flat roof is built properly, they can last just as long as a conventional roof.  With proper expertise and installation experience a flat roof can last well over 20 years.  In order to have a well performing flat roof, several key steps must be done correctly.

1.       Proper Roof Framing
Despite the name a flat roof is not completely flat.  That is because well-built flat roofs have a slight incline grade to prevent water from pooling.  A common incline found on flat roofs are 1/8 inch per foot.  The slope of the flat roof should also be done in a direction that diverts water to the nearest downspout or off of the roof.

2.       Gapping Plywood Sheathing
Plywood sheathing is laid down on top of the roof frame during the installation process.  A small gap is left behind intentionally to allow for contraction and expansion of the roofing system during cold and hot temperatures.

3.       Complete Underlayment
Iso-board is a big industry buzz word for the type of material used in underlayment.  This material is laid down completely over the entirety of the roof, without any spacing or gaps.  That is because this material is one of the most critical pieces of the water barrier in flat roofing systems.  Without an underlayment major roofing components will fail.

4.       Applying EPDM
EPDM or ethylene propylene diene monomer is laid down as the outermost layer that you see.  It is applied using special adhering glue.  There should not be any ripples in the material as they will be the source of water damage.  Ripples can occur from the material being stretched as it’s applied.  The material will spring back once the tension is released.

5.       Finish the Edges and Beyond
In areas like corners and spaces near vertical walls, water will have a tendency to pool.  To prevent that, the EPDM layer must extend up the vertical face of the wall and held in place with termination stops.  Flashing called gravel stops are often used around the roof edges as well.

Schulte Roofing is a Houston roofing repair contractor with over 100 years of combined roofing experience and is “Home of the Bulletproof Roof™ Guarantee”, a 100% satisfaction program.  For more information on flat roofing, contact Schulte Roofing today.

During the late summer months going into fall every year

During the late summer months going into fall every year, residents in low lying and coastal areas prepare for hurricane activity.  Homes falling within a 150 miles within a coastline are now experiencing more damage than ever from hurricane winds and rains.  Over 49 million homes are estimated to be “at risk” for hurricane damage.  A roofing system’s age tends to exacerbate the situation further because they were constructed prior to updated building codes and enforcement, under a grandfather clause.

Routine Inspections & Maintenance      

Routine maintenance scheduled inspections are the best way to shield your roof from hurricane damage.  When performing a quick DIY inspection, be sure to look for curled, loose, or even missing shingles.   Missing granules is another common sign of premature roof wear.   If you have a different roof type, look for other clues, like cracks found in tile roofing, which indicate impact damage.

The roof edge on older roofs, is especially vulnerable to wind and rain damage driven by hurricane storms.  A hurricane will produce over 150mph winds that impact the roof edge.  These winds create an “uplifting effect”.  Older roofs tend to have worn roof edges, failing sealant, and loose or missing nails.  In some instances, building code has been updated, requiring the attaching nails to be closer together to provide more structure security.

So when hurricane force winds impact the roof, shingles and other roofing material is blow off.  As the storm passes overhead, the circular path of hurricane winds will then pick up the loose roofing material.  The loose roofing material becomes flying debris that can damage additional structures and components of the home.

Limit & Reduce Hurricane Damage

If you find anything after your initial inspection, have a professional roofing contractor come out and take a closer look.  The roofer can replace missing nails, shingles, and reseal loose attachment areas and ventilation systems.

Professional roofers can also install hurricane clips, required in some areas, on the inside of the home.  This adds more support for the roofing system by attaching it to the support system of the interior walls of the home.    If you have a gable roof, your local roofing company can install wooden braces at the ends of gable roofs.  The braces attach and secure to the rafters.

Using Professionals to Prep

The benefits of using a professional roofer far exceed the benefits of a DIY project.  The roofer will have expert knowledge of the most common and most hidden components of a roofing system that fail.  Additionally the weather effects from the storm are different in each area, which means the local roofer will understand, better, how winds will affect your home and roof before, during, and after the storm.

Schulte Roofing is a professional roofing contract with over 100 years of combined experience.  All of their work is backed by the roofing industry’s best guarantee, “The Bulletproof Roof™ Guarantee”.  For more information on how to best protect your roof, investment, and how to limit your insurance premiums in hurricane prone areas, contact your local houston roof company today.