Roofing Tips and Tricks
The roof is a home’s primary barrier between the elements and the interior. Water, sun, and wind are relentless, and they will find even the smallest chinks in the armor of the roof. It is essential to construct the roof properly and to maintain the roof flawlessly. Always keep in mind that there is no such thing as a roof that lasts forever. Timely maintenance will be required, and the consequences for failing to detect an incipient problem may be enormous. When, through age or inattention, the roof must be majorly renovated or replaced, there are a few major options to choose from.
1. Pick the Right Shingles
The majority of roofing systems for non-commercial roof utilize some form of asphalt shingling on a roof with at least a mild pitch. Asphalt shingles are a marvelous way to create a dense, impermeable membrane between the house and the sky. They are heavy, thick, sturdy, and versatile. Best of all, the heat of the sun will cause them to melt the slightest bit, allowing the tiny edges to slough together and form a complete, solid mass. Water simply rolls right off of it.
2. Prepare for Weathering
When time and climate have worked on these roofs for a while, they will need some help. With asphalt shingles, the first choice is always to add a second layer. This means that the roofer simply purchases a roof’s worth of shingles and some extra long nails for their pneumatic air gun. They start at the bottom and install a second layer of shingles right over the first. When they’re done, the roof has more than twice the protection it had before. It insulates better, sheds water faster, and didn’t take a lot of effort removing, cleaning, and replacing the roof. The only problem is that a second layer of shingles can be heavy, but the vast majority of homes are more than capable of bearing the weight. New flashing should be installed, but flashing is the most critical part of any roof and deserves the most attention no matter what repair or replacement is envisioned.
3. Replace Damaged Areas
If the roof has been double-shingled in the past, or if there is substantial structural damage from within or without, it will be necessary to tear all shingles off, strip the surface to the wooden substrate, cutting away and replacing all damaged areas, and then rebuilding the roof from the bottom up. In order to make the roof as perfectly flat as possible, the surface must be sanded and extensively prepared. The advantages to a complete teardown are many, from the opportunity to make structural repairs in the timbers and supports to the chance to use the most modern roofing materials to take advantage of their vastly improved insulative properties, but it is expensive. It takes time and a lot of effort.
4. Consider Going Ultra-Modern
Finally, there are new ultra-modern roofing systems to be considered. For example. there is a new roofing design called “vinyl PVC membrane.” This is a solid piece of thick vinyl that is attached to the roof substrate and then melted into place with heat guns. It is totally waterproof, nearly impervious to damage, and literally ten times cheaper than asphalt shingling. It also reflects light and heat, improving the insulating qualities of the roof by more than half. Vinyl PVC membranes and other innovative systems have been gaining in popularity in recent years, and they can be seen on more renovated roofs every day. Renovating a roof just keeps getting easier!
