Haag Certified!

If you're like most, you're probably wondering what the title means. Haag is actually the last name of the man who founded the Haag Engineering. This company was established back in 1924 to basically examine why structures or components fail or do not function properly. Haag Engineering has a research and testing laboratory that has tackled the roofing industry. They assess the damage to a roof and determine where the damage came from (hail, improper installation, defects, etc.). Now, where does this come into play with contractors and roofing companies?? The expertise that Haag Engineering has acquired is the foundation of the Haag Certified Roof Inspection Program. Contractors have the privilege of going through this intense training program and learn the in-depth forensics behind roofing and roofing products. If the contractor completes the program and passes the test, he and his business is then Haag Certified.
Have I lost you yet? Yours truly (yes, that would be me), has gone through this training program, passed the test, and become Haag Certified, which I'm extremely excited about. I've increased my knowledge in more exact roof damage evaluations, more precise cost estimates, more accurate damage assessments in general, and much more! So basically, choosing a contractor with this certification is more insurance for you that he will do a great job with whatever task he is dealt. Another important point about being Haag certified is that the contractor is then recognized by all insurance companies. If there is ever a discrepancy about the cost of repair between the insurance company and contractor, the Haag certification always carries assessment validity.
Hopefully you've now come to the realization that Haag Certification is pretty crucial when it comes to picking a contractor. Even as a contractor myself, I love having the backing of Haag because they have already done the so much research and testing on the products I'm using, it gives me even more of a peace of mind in my line of work.

www.sawyerroofing.com

Filing your claims!

It's the weekend!! In honor of the weekend, I'm going to spice things up for you loyal blog readers. Instead of talking specifically about roofing, I want to touch on insurance claims! If you've ever had to deal with an insurance company on a claim you're filing, more than likely, it was probably a more grueling process than you were hoping for. Now for smaller claims, insurance companies are pretty easy to work with. When you get into the bigger claims, insurance companies don't tend to fork over the money as easily. Whenever I'm working with my customers, I also insist they have an advocate with them. That's part of my job! I work with the insurance company to get my clients what they deserve.
Before we even speak with the insurance company, you need to read through your coverage and find out exactly what is covered for you. If you need the shortcut, just go ahead and contact your insurance provider and they will be able to tell you. Different companies assess situations differently. For example, if your roof is 14 years old, they may give you the depreciation value of your roof (at the time of damage) versus a full roof replacement. You just have to find out your coverage.
Now here's a tip I would love for you to follow through with. Insurance companies work well with documentation. It obviously makes the claims process a little smoother. So my tip is for you to go outside this weekend and take "before" pictures of your roof and the exterior of your home. If you ever do any repair work to it, take pictures of that as well. When you have any damage, take the "after" photos. Submit these photos, as well as any quotes or invoices you receive, to your insurance company. This will help you immensely when you go to file your claim.
Now the last part was submitting any quotes, etc to your insurance company. This quote you should receive from a professional contractor, like myself. Most of the time, you will be able to choose whomever you would like. Your contractor will be very familiar with insurance companies and will be able to help you navigate your way through the claims process.
I hope this has opened your eyes to the insurance claims process, and helped you to see that it's not as daunting as some may think... just reach out to the professionals to lend you hand!
www.sawyerroofing.com

Proper Shingle Removal

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

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!!

 

www.sawyerroofing.com

      

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

Quality Shingles

This of course is a roofing blog, and we've talked a good bit about roofing materials, shingles/tin roofing, flashing, gutters, etc! We've talked about hiring the right contractor, but we haven't talked about how to tell the quality of a shingle! Most of the time, a customer will choose the type of roofing they want, and then trust the contractor to put the right, high quality product on their roof. As wonderful as that sounds, unfortunately you can't trust people these days like you could 20 years ago, so I want you to know what to look for when you're talking with your roofer. Today, we are going to focus on shingles since they are the most common choice of roofing material.
For starters, asphalt shingles are basically composed of the backing material (cellulose material or fiberglass), the asphalt mixture, and mineral granules. There are 3 grades of shingles you can choose from, mostly referred to as "good," "better," and "best". The "good" catergory basically consists of the basic, 3-tab asphalt shingles. These are your cheaper, shorter warrantied shingles. They're not bad quality, they just won't last you as long as the others. In your "better" and "best" category you're going to have your architectural/dimensional shingles. These shingles have better curb appeal, they're thicker than the 3-tab shingles, more durable, will last longer, have a more visual texture, and most importantly, are warrantied longer than the 3-tab shingles. There's really no comparison between the 2, 3-tab and architectural shingles, but it just depends what's in your budget. The main differences between your basic shingles and your premium shingle is the warranty, cost, and durability. As with most things, you get what you pay for.


It's probably not hard for you to tell which shingles are which in the pictures above, just JUST IN CASE, the top picture is the 3-tab shingle, and the bottom is the architectural shingle.
Standards and specifications have been set for all shingles. Before your new shingles go on your roof, it would be wise of you to make sure the shingles that your roofer bought meet the specified quality guidelines. The guidelines were put in place to govern things that could result from harsh weather conditions (tear resistant, wind resistant, ice resistant, etc.). You can find this information online or just give me a call so we can talk about it.
The last thing I want you to consider before choosing your shingle is how long you will be in your home. If you plan on moving in a few years, you may not want to choose as expensive of a shingle as you would if you are just building your home or plan on staying in it for many years to come. Talk to your roofer about your different options as he should help you see what will suit your needs best!

www.sawyerroofing.com