by United Roofing MN | Oct 11, 2011
You Need a Certified Roof Inspection When Buying a New Home – Part 2 Get An Accurate Roof Inspection Report continued from Part 1 Leaking roofs, poor drainage, and clogged gutters and downspouts can all lead to water damage inside your home. This is why it is important to get a roof inspection report regularly, both for the inside and outside. It is very simple to inspect a roof from the outside as long as you have an unobstructed viewing of the rooftop. Outside Roof Inspection The following is a checklist of warning signals will help you look for any potential problem areas during an outside roof inspection. Loose or missing shingles or tiles Loose or exposed nails that can lead to leaks in the roof Dark patches on asphalt shingles or large amounts of granules in the rain gutters Sagging on the ridges or in the center of the roof Broken or loose shingles at the ridge and hip lines Rusty or corroded metal (flashing) and loose shingles in the valleys, plumbing vents or near chimneys Overflowing gutters or excess water pooling near the foundation of your home Blisters, depressions near vent pipes, separations in flashing, and clogged drains on flat roofs (popping blisters with a knife and coating them with roofing cement can prevent further damage; depressions can also be filled with roofing cement). Blistered, curled or splitting shingles Indoor Roof Inspection The following checklist includes all the problem warning signals to look for during an indoor roof inspection: 1) Sagging decking between the rafters (if the decking is sagging or deteriorating, the decking will also need to...
by United Roofing MN | Oct 6, 2011
You Need a Certified Roof Inspection When Buying a New Home – Part 1 Buyers face many dangers when purchasing a home, and there are many different aspects of the home that must be taken into consideration. It is important to get a full survey of the property to see if there are any potential problems before buying the house. Mortgage companies typically demand that some sort of inspection is done on the property in order to be sure you are paying a fair amount, which makes sense considering that this is probably the most important financial investment you will make in your lifetime. Your lender may require that the roof is surveyed as a part of this inspection because they know this is one potentially costly aspect of purchasing a house that is unfortunately often overlooked. Make Sure Your Roof is Safe with a Certified Roof Inspection It doesn’t matter if you are having your roof inspected to satisfy a mortgage lender or if you are doing a routine maintenance check; it’s always preferable to invest in a full, certified roof inspection. When you request a certified roof inspection, a recognized and reputable roofing contractor will come to your house, inspect the roof for any potential problems, and as long as all is well, they will complete the certified roof inspection by presenting you with a certificate. This certificate is typically valid for two years, and if anything goes wrong with your roof in that time the roofing company is obligated to fix it free of charge. Benefits of a Certified Roof Inspection Sometimes it is just reassuring...
by United Roofing MN | Sep 27, 2011
The Importance of Roofing Underlayment We select our roofing material carefully and one of the basics is that it has got to be waterproof. It has to perform that function, so why the heck do we need to spend extra money on underlayment? While the roofing material is indeed waterproof there are other factors that come into the equation. You could quite possibly void your roofing manufacturer’s warranty if you don’t use it. Regulators around the world require it. If you don’t use it you could be in trouble, but the regulations are there for good reason:- The roofing underlayment forms an additional waterproof membrane for the extreme cases that the roofing material itself can’t handle. Extreme wind blown rain, capillary action and ice dams around chimneys etc can let water past the main roofing material. Condensation. In humid conditions variations in temperature between inside the roof space and outside the roof can cause condensation on the inside of roofing material, causing rot in timber dampness and mildew in ceilings. Thermal efficiency. A good underlayment can keep hot air inside the home in winter, saving heating costs and it can keep hot air out of the home in summer saving on air conditioning costs. Choosing the Right Underlayment There are different categories of roof underlayment. The old faithful, roofing felt and its derivatives. Be careful here and check carefully the fire ratings of these materials and your own regulations. Felt itself, as in felt hats is a non woven material. The strands are aligned in a bonding material and pressed into flat layers. The original fibres were probably wool,...
by United Roofing MN | Sep 22, 2011
Roofing Contractors Minneapolis & St Paul MN All roofing systems are made of a number of different components: roof sheathing, underlayment, roofing material, roof intersections, flashing details and ventilation. Each of these systems must be installed correctly for the system to work as designed. Roof underlayment acts as water barrier installed underneath the roofing system. Essentially, it is a roof underneath the roof. It protects your roof from condensation that may form underneath the metal due to the differences in temperatures in the attic and outside. More Information On Felt Roofing Underlayment One of the most common mistakes being made today in the installation of asphalt shingles on new or re-roofing work is the practice of not using felt underlayment. Many thousands of new homes do not have felt beneath the shingles. This is a HUGE mistake! Remember, shingles rely on gravity to keep water from entering your house. It is very possible for wind driven rain to get underneath your shingles or to enter along valleys (especially when the valley shingles have been improperly trimmed!) Without felt Underlayment, you have no hope of stopping a leak. With felt, there is a possibility that the water will travel down the felt and not enter your house. Many asphalt shingles that are installed on residential roofs carry a Class A fire rating. This rating is given to the shingles by independent laboratories. The ratings are granted only when the shingles are installed as they were tested in laboratory conditions. The shingles are tested with felt in place under the shingles. As such, if felt is deleted on your job, the shingles...
by United Roofing MN | Sep 8, 2011
MN Roof Leak | Roof Leak Repair MN A roof leak can result in significant damage to insulation, walls, ceilings, flooring and personal property. If undetected, a roof leak can cause rot that will endanger the structural integrity of the roof framing system and cause costly repairs.
The larger the leak, the greater the damage; however, even a pinhole leak can ruin an entire room during a single storm. According to the National Roofing Contractors Association, a roof should be inspected at least twice annually — once in the fall before the rains and again in the late spring to determine how it fared during the winter. Look for loose shingles or shakes, or, if you have a tile or slate roof, check for missing or cracked pieces. On shingle roofs, look for curling, fraying and tears at the edges. Check the flashings around chimneys, vents, skylights and other roof penetrations. They should be tight and in good condition. Maintaining good roof flashings, especially those at roof edges and penetrations, is crucial. Many roof leaks are actually flashing leaks. Sometimes a visual inspection of the roof isn’t enough. A water test may be in order. You’ll need to venture atop the roof to do this effectively. Use a firmly braced or tied-off ladder equipped with rubber safety feet and wear rubber-soled shoes to avoid slipping. Using a garden hose, run water onto the areas where a leak is most likely. For example, if there is a water stain on the ceiling just in front of the fireplace in the living room you’ll want to concentrate on that general area....
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