Roofing Tips Every Homeowner Should Know
Owning a home is a great investment, but protecting your investment comes with work. Some tasks are easier than others, but every system in the home depends on the roofing system to work properly. If you suspect a roof problem, or know you have a leak, take care of this as soon as possible! Procrastinating roof problems or clogged gutters will only cost more the longer you wait.
First, Get a Professional Inspection
If you have any questions about your roof, you should get a professional inspection. A professional from Excel Roofing will let you know if anything is wrong with your roof. The door knocker companies always recommend filing an insurance claim. Excel does not do this; we never recommend filing an insurance claim unless there is clear damage that exceeds the homeowner’s deductible. If a roof repair is necessary, we have a full repair department to take care of you. Would you believe most residential roofers don’t do repairs?
If you have trees around your home, trim them and don’t forget to clean the gutters!
Leaves and branches will clog gutters and cause them to overflow. Excel has seen gutters get pulled off of the home because of excessive weight! Clean your gutters regularly and cut any branches from nearby trees that overhang your roof. Clogged, leaking, and improperly draining gutters will cause damage to your home’s paint, wood, and foundation. Excel has flat rate pricing for cleaning gutters:
1 Story Roof $199
2 Story Roof $299
3 Story Roof $399
The advertising for gutter protection systems makes them seems like a great solution for clogged gutters. Unfortunately, Excel has never seen a system that works well. Most gutter protection causes heavy rain to overshoot the gutters, they also cause icicles and ice damming problems. Gutter protection systems can also be awfully expensive, $20 or more per foot ☹
Flashings and Roof Leaks
A professional inspection will verify all the flashing is sealed and no water is accumulating behind chimneys or skylights. Standing water and ice will penetrate the roof and cause leaks. We are experts at finding leaks. The best way to find a roof leak is to spray water with a hose on the suspected area and have a person in the attic determine where the water is coming in. This sounds straight forward, but some leaks are extremely difficult to find. When the leak is found, the area should be re-done and then perform another water test to verify the leak is fixed!
Attic Ventilation
Does your attic have proper ventilation? This is critical to keeping your home cool in the summer and will prevent premature shingle failure. How do you know if your house has proper venting? Walk around the outside you should see a grated vent in the soffit every 10 to 15 feet. The soffit is that area between the gutters and the house wall. The home should have a number of vents on the high point of the roof. The air goes in the soffit vents and out the roof vents. If the system does not have a place for the air to go in and out, it’s probably done wrong. You can find more information about this here.
Attic Insulation
Attic insulation is particularly important in keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. R-49 is the recommended amount of insulation for attic in our area. This roughly equals 20 inches of insulation. The insulation should not cover the soffit vents at the lower edge of the attic; sunlight should be visible through the soffit grates, if you can’t see light, this should be fixed. Excel is not an insulation installer; however, we work closely with insulation contractors because insulation is a vital component of a complete roofing system. To learn more about the complete roofing system click here.
Protect your largest investment. If you have any questions about your roof call Excel. If you have a leak, suspect hail damage, or need your gutters cleaned we are your go-to company. Excel has been in business since 1993, serviced over 36,000 customers, has an A+ rating with the BBB, and is personally recommended by Tom Martino. The most important thing that every consumer should demand from contractors working on their home is Excel’s motto: You Don’t Pay A Cent Until You’re Content!
