by United Roofing MN | Aug 30, 2011
Minnesota Townhouse and Condo Roofing Contractor Minneapolis MN Budget time has come and gone, Minnesota has had several tornados and rain storms, your maintenance budget has already been exhausted due to roof leaks…… and it’s only August. What do you do? You scramble to get quotes for roof replacements, have an association meeting to try to explain to the community why you need to do a special assessment or secure a loan for a capital improvement project. In the end, you hope that the project and financing are approved. Does Your Roof Have You Covered? Does this sound familiar? If so, you should know how to identify the signs that your roofs are either failing or nearing the end of their life expectancy. Here are the danger signs that you can look for: Current leaks. These leaks are most likely due to inadequate or missing underlayment, deteriorated and/or missing flashing or poor overall workmanship by the original roofing contractor. Many apparent roof leaks are actually flashing leaks. Without good, tight flashings around chimneys, vents, skylights and wall/roof junctions, water can enter a home or building and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation and electrical systems. Flashings should be checked as part of a biannual roof inspection and gutter cleaning. The appearance of water stains on interior ceilings and walls over the winter months. The most likely cause of these stains is an ice dam. An ice dam is a ridge of ice that usually forms either at the eave of the roof or where a side wall meets a roof edge. Once an ice dam forms, it prevents water...
by United Roofing MN | Jul 19, 2011
Minnesota Residential Metal Roofing Contractor Minneapolis MN Valuable Investment While the initial cost for a premium metal roof is higher than most other roofing materials, you’ll save money in the long run. A metal roof can last a lifetime, whereas materials like asphalt require reproofing every 10 to 20 years. A metal roof can also increase the resale value of your home. In some states, a metal roof can even lower your homeowner’s insurance by 35%. Long Lasting The average life of a non-metal roof is 17 years. Asphalt can require re-roofing every 10 to 20 years, often sooner. But a metal roofing system offers unmatched durability, lasting 2 to 3 times longer. Chances are good that a metal roof will be the last roof you ever install on your home. With metal roofing, you need not worry. Longevity is one of the top reasons consumers report choosing metal roofing for their homes. When configured and installed properly by a Metal Roofing Contractor, metal roofing can last as long as fifty years or more, requiring very little maintenance and looking beautiful all the while. But it isn’t just the dependability that people love about long-living metal roofing; it’s the low life cycle cost. Few homeowners realize until after the fact but metal roofing can actually cost as little or less than asphalt roofing. Since asphalt roofing needs to be replaced 2 – 4 times as often as metal roofing, you really need to multiply not only the initial cost of asphalt roofing materials but also the cost of asphalt roof repairs and re-installation man hours to compare to the...
by United Roofing MN | May 3, 2011
Condominium Roofing – Replacement or Recovery – Defining the Difference Many Minnesota condominium associations will be contemplating reroofing projects in the upcoming months as melting snow and spring showers cause water infiltration problems. This can be a complicated and expensive proposition, particularly for the low slope “flat” roofs. All reroofing projects fall into two categories: roof replacement, or roof recovery. It is crucial that a building owner understand the difference between these two reroofing options. Roof Replacement A roof replacement project involves complete removal of all existing roofing materials down to the structural deck. The deck should then be inspected and repaired, if necessary. Finally a complete new roof system is installed. The new system generally consists of an insulation bed, a waterproof membrane, and some type of surfacing. Roof Recovery In a roof recovery project the existing roof assembly is left in place and the new roof system is installed directly over it. Although there are rare instances when this approach makes sense; in general, it is poor roofing practice to recover an existing roof. Condominium associations most often decide to recover roofs, instead of replacing them, because of the initial savings in cash outlay. However, just because an option costs less up front does not mean that it is financially wise. For a number of reasons, recovering a roof can end up costing an association much more over the long term than a complete roof replacement. New Roof Over Existing First, an association must remember why they need a new roof. The roof in place has likely failed. It is no longer capable of providing the building...
Click Here To Use
Click Here