Of all roofing topics to talk about, you may wonder about the proper way to remove a shingled roof. Well today is your lucky! It's not rocket science to remove shingles off a roof, but you also can just get up there and rip them off and do a messy/crappy job... unless you want to be repairing other things in the process. \
First off, it's probably pretty easy to notice when someone is getting a new roof because they have one of those big dumpsters in the driveway. That's basically a necessity, as it makes the job a million times easier. Ok, so now that you've got your dumpster in place and positioned in a location to catch the shingles, onto the roof you go! You will need a shingle scraper. Take that shingle scraper, beginning at the peak of the roof, and slide it under the top layer of shingles and pry them off. Push the shingles down off the roof and into the dumpster. Continue working row by row, prying off the shingles. Make sure you don't hit your helpers on the ground with your flying shingles!
Once you get all the shingles off the roof, go back and examine the roof for any bits of leftover shingles or roofing nails. You want a clean surface to work with as you go to install your new roof. You're going to want to use a ripclaw hammer to pull up any nails with trapped bits of shingle in them. Then just push the debris off the roof. If you see any remaining nails sticking out, just hammer them into the roof. If you see any loose roof sheathing boards, just nail them down.
Your job is about done! Just come down off the roof, clean up any remaining mess or debris, stick it in your dumpster and have it hauled off! So as you can see, removing shingles is not the most fun job in the world, but it's not the hardest either. Obviously, we always recommend hiring someone whenever it comes to roofing jobs due to the dangerous nature of climbing on a roof. Give us a shout if we can help you out!
www.sawyerroofing.com
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
Starter Shingles!
So when you hear the term "starter shingle", you may think of it as just buying the least expensive shingle option. That would make sense! That's not exactly what it is though! Starter shingles are basically a product to enhance and extend the life of your roof. A starter shingle is a row of shingle material that is applied on top of the underlayment and drip edge but underneath the primary shingle layer. Did I lose you yet? We've talked about all of those things in the blog, so you should be somewhat familiar with the terms "underlayment", "drip edge", and obviously "shingles'.
We've talked a ton about roofing products, shingles, etc and now I'm throwing a new thing at you! Why would you need this starter shingle with everything else we've talked about? As with so many things, it's an added layer of protection. One of the main purposes of the starter shingle is to protect the shingles from wind at the bottom of the roof by adhering it to the edge of the eaves. The other main purpose is it fills in the spaces left by the tabs of most shingles so that there is always one or more layers covering the sheathing. Picture a really bad storm with horrible, gusty winds. Without a starter shingle, those winds could blow the shingles off at the edge of the roof, taking other rows of shingles with it. The starter shingle helps to prevent this.
The starter shingle strip is applied before the first course of roofing. This will enable it to fill any spaces between the cutout and joints of that first course of roofing. I bet you didn't know roofing was as involved as it is! It seems you can just slap some shingles up there and you're good to go. Ironically, some roofing contractors think the same way, which is why your roof fails prematurely. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it's so important to make sure you've hired a roofer who knows what he's doing so that he knows about all of these roofing components and will install it as it should be installed.
Happy roofing!!
We've talked a ton about roofing products, shingles, etc and now I'm throwing a new thing at you! Why would you need this starter shingle with everything else we've talked about? As with so many things, it's an added layer of protection. One of the main purposes of the starter shingle is to protect the shingles from wind at the bottom of the roof by adhering it to the edge of the eaves. The other main purpose is it fills in the spaces left by the tabs of most shingles so that there is always one or more layers covering the sheathing. Picture a really bad storm with horrible, gusty winds. Without a starter shingle, those winds could blow the shingles off at the edge of the roof, taking other rows of shingles with it. The starter shingle helps to prevent this.
The starter shingle strip is applied before the first course of roofing. This will enable it to fill any spaces between the cutout and joints of that first course of roofing. I bet you didn't know roofing was as involved as it is! It seems you can just slap some shingles up there and you're good to go. Ironically, some roofing contractors think the same way, which is why your roof fails prematurely. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it's so important to make sure you've hired a roofer who knows what he's doing so that he knows about all of these roofing components and will install it as it should be installed.
Happy roofing!!
Monday, July 6, 2015
If you don't read any further, read this: Vent your attic! Attic ventilation works hand-in-hand with keeping your roof protecting your home to the best of its' ability! Without proper attic ventilation, your roof will fail prematurely. It's actually kinda crazy that a poorly ventilated attic has such a high effect on the functioning level of a roof. Even the manufacturer's warranty of your shingles can be voided due to the condition of your ventilation in your attic. So let's dive in!
There are multiple options when it comes to ventilating your attic space. I will briefly discuss each one, but the following are your different options: soffit vents, whole house fans, and gable vents. There are a few other options that may be available for your home that we won't go into today, such as louvered dormers and mushroom vents. We will first discuss the soffit vent.
The soffit vent allows convective air movement from the soffits to the ridge vent. Insulation baffles must also be installed when you go with the soffit vent to prevent the insulation from restricting airflow.
Whole house fans are another option. They simply draw air out of the attic space and filter it outside. It's good to have the fans controlled by a switch or thermostat that will automatically control them and turn them on when they are needed to exhaust the attic space.
Lastly, we have gable vents. Gable vents are like they sound, vents that are installed at the gable ends of a home. These vents allow air to be drawn from the attic space, as well as preventing moisture from being drawn back into the house.
Another thing to consider with properly ventilating your attic is making sure you have adequate ventilation for the amount of square footage in your attic space. If you're interested in calculating this yourself, you can find the equation for it online or just call me and I will come check it out for you. If your shingles are starting to buckle or look "wavy", there's a good chance you need to check on your ventilation.
So all in all, if you're looking to prevent things like premature roof failure, inefficient HVAC systems, and lack of quality in your home.... do a thorough check in your attic and ventilation systems and make sure they are up to par and running as they should!
www.sawyerroofing.com
There are multiple options when it comes to ventilating your attic space. I will briefly discuss each one, but the following are your different options: soffit vents, whole house fans, and gable vents. There are a few other options that may be available for your home that we won't go into today, such as louvered dormers and mushroom vents. We will first discuss the soffit vent.
The soffit vent allows convective air movement from the soffits to the ridge vent. Insulation baffles must also be installed when you go with the soffit vent to prevent the insulation from restricting airflow.Whole house fans are another option. They simply draw air out of the attic space and filter it outside. It's good to have the fans controlled by a switch or thermostat that will automatically control them and turn them on when they are needed to exhaust the attic space.Lastly, we have gable vents. Gable vents are like they sound, vents that are installed at the gable ends of a home. These vents allow air to be drawn from the attic space, as well as preventing moisture from being drawn back into the house.Another thing to consider with properly ventilating your attic is making sure you have adequate ventilation for the amount of square footage in your attic space. If you're interested in calculating this yourself, you can find the equation for it online or just call me and I will come check it out for you. If your shingles are starting to buckle or look "wavy", there's a good chance you need to check on your ventilation.
So all in all, if you're looking to prevent things like premature roof failure, inefficient HVAC systems, and lack of quality in your home.... do a thorough check in your attic and ventilation systems and make sure they are up to par and running as they should!
www.sawyerroofing.com
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