Monday, October 31, 2011

Roof Insulation Keeps Costs Down


If you're like most people, you have memories of your parents making sure you were wearing a warm hat when you went out on a cold winter day. The reason for this was simple: humans lose most of their body heat through their heads.

By keeping that area of the body covered, they can retain that heat and are less susceptible to the wiles of the weather. The same principle is true of your house. While keeping heat from escaping the walls and windows is important, the best way to keep the house warm is by packing in some quality roof insulation.

Making sure you have adequate roof insulation will ensure that your furnace or central heat is not working overtime to replace heat being lost through the top of the house. This can mean hundreds of dollars in savings each year, depending on where you live and how judiciously you run the heating system. With oil prices expected to skyrocket in the coming months and years, it only makes sense to cut down on heating use as much as possible.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that since they already have roof insulation, nothing more can be done in that area to cut costs. This is usually not the case. The padding in your attic may be old and worn out, thinning through and letting heat escape.

Your best bet is to let a qualified company come and inspect your padding to make sure this isn't happening. They can tell you whether or not you need to replace what you have. You may be able to simply add on to your existing padding, providing an extra bit of protection from heat seepage.

With the help of competent installers, you can also determine what kind of roof insulation makes sense for your home. Different houses respond to different types of packing. One of the most popular types is fiberglass batts. This padding comes in long blankets and can be laid directly over the rafters.

It's often preferred for homes that have sloped areas as it can be fit into tight corners. For flat roofs, fiberboard is one of the best forms of padding. These come in rigid layers that can be laid flat against the surface, covering every square inch of the surface and providing no way for the heat to escape. Many people choose to go with loose fill packing, which can be great for roof surfaces that have a lot of hard to reach areas.

This winter, don't make your central heating work itself into a frenzy fighting the good fight. With a proper amount of insulation, you can cut costs on your electric bill and keep your house as warm and toasty as its ever been.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4674669

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Roofing Contractors - Ensuring the Durability of Your Roof

The works of roofing contractors will last for several decades if you know how to care for them. During the autumn, make it a habit to inspect the condition of the roof before winter sets in. Like in any other parts of your home, the materials are subject to wear and tear. If you neglect the infrastructure, it can cost you a huge amount of money. To ensure the durability of the work, here are some of the things you must do.

Regular Inspection

Yearly inspection is sufficient if you do not see visible problems like leaks and the environmental factors are relatively normal. The roof has to endure the changes in the weather condition; and thus, is subject to possible damages. However, if your region experiences frequent adverse weather conditions, semi-annual inspection is advisable.

You can also check the roof after a storm or high wind rains. Check the flashings and contact your local roofing contractors once you see damage in them. You may also request them to do the inspection for you free of charge.

Maintenance

My roofing contractors recommend that I clean my roof regularly. They say, pay attention to the areas that do not get washed during the rain, such as under the eaves. Wash them once or twice a year to avoid the build up of salts and dirt. Otherwise, the accumulated dirt will decay and cause the damage in your system.

Pay attention to overhanging branches of trees as well. They can also cause problems to all types of roofs. The fallen leaves lodge on the gutters and block them while the larger branches can scratch your roofs and cause dents.

Your roof is your defense against the caprice of Mother Nature. Be sure to provide the necessary attention to it to enjoy its longer quality. In case you notice a problem, call your roofing contractors right away.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4742685

Sunday, October 23, 2011

GAF Offers Winter Roof Protection Tips on KHQ-TV


GAF's Kory Kelly joins the KHQ-TV crew to discuss tips for preparing your roof for the winter. Using a GAF model house, Kory reviewed checking the roof structure, the flashing areas -- valleys, chimney, and penetrations, and keeping roof and gutters debris-free.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

When to Hire Roofing Contractors



Maybe you have just recently moved into a new home, or you are getting ready to move within a few months. Then, before your big move, one thought popped into your head-since the new house is kind of old, when would I have to spend all of that money to repair or get a new roof? How will I even know if I need to invest in a new roof? Such answers can be found here!
If you are moving into an older home, you may want to play it safe and have a roofing contractor come out for a free quote. The roofing company should be able to tell you whether or not you need a new roof right now, or if you can wait a few years to replace it.
On the other hand, if you are moving into a newer home, you might be wondering how long the roof will last before you must invest in a new one. This is a great question to ask yourself and your roofing contractor so you can plan for this major, but critical home investment. Once again, you can call professional roofing contractors to inspect your roof and gutters to give you their opinion.
In the meantime, you can learn a little bit more about how long the average roof lasts. To start with, you can learn about the few factors that have significant, strong effects on the lifetime of your roof. These include:
  • The color of your roof (light color versus dark color)-Some colors of roofing materials attract more sun than others, which, in turn, can cause your roof to age quicker.
  • Ventilation options-If proper ventilation was not planned for when installing your roof, this can lead to a shorter life span for your roof.
  • How your current roof was installed-This depends on the expertise and craftsmanship of the previous roofing contractors who originally installed the roof.
  • The pitch or the angle of your roof-Every roof is different, so a thorough inspection is needed to assess this.
  • The types of roofing materials that were used-This will highly depend on the area in which you live. For instance, homes located in the desert are typically made with different roofing materials than a home located where it snows a lot.
Far and beyond the previous factors, you should know that the climate you live in also has a significant impact on your roof's lifespan. For instance, the following weather conditions could reduce the amount of years your average roof can last, including:
  • Sun
  • Wind
  • Heavy rains
  • Snow, hail, and ice
  • Traffic (pertinent to commercial buildings)
  • Movements in the building's structure
  • Temperature fluctuations
Those are just some factors that you can evaluate on your own before your roofing contractor arrives at your house for the thorough inspection. It is a good idea to research and understand these factors so that you can have an intelligent and thoughtful conversation with the roofing specialists about your current roof's condition.
So taking all of these factors into play, how long could the average roof last? Well, the lifespan of an average roof is between 10-20 years. It is critical to keep in mind that you cannot expect a roof to last its entire lifetime without regular maintenance and repairs. As an example, you wouldn't expect your car to last for 15 years without ever doing the routine maintenance and oil changes, would you? The same care and maintenance applies to your roof, too!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6444837

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011

How Seamless Gutters Are Superior to Traditional Rain Gutters


In order to understand why seamless gutters are superior to a standard type gutter, we need to examine how the traditional style is made. With a traditional gutter system, there are many joints or seams along the stretch or span of your roof line. These are typically at 10 feet, unless of course you have a shorter span that requires less length than that. Let's say they are 10 foot spans at their max, in most cases.

At each of these joints, there needs to be a way of connecting one segment of gutter to another. With metal gutters, like aluminum being the most common, there are either folds and sometimes sealants used at the seams. With vinyl gutters a sealer is used as well. For the most part, they are pieced together and then fastened along until a corner or joint is met.

With each seam, joint and fastener that is made, there is a potential for failure. By failure, I mean leak. With a gutter leak, this can mean serious damage to many aspects of your homes structure. Your roof may be affected, your walls, foundation or even landscaping. If you have an outdoor patio that is freestanding, pooling water with poor drainage can mean a tilting patio cover and possible shorter life span for that structure. Proper water drainage is essential for a gutter system to be considered beneficial and successful. After all, this is their sole purpose.

Now, consider how much of these problems could be avoided by using a seamless gutter system. Not only can you find these types of gutters in the same materials, aluminum, copper, steel and vinyl, but they will last longer as well. One reason for this is because there are less pieces. A seamless system uses a specific machine that folds a continuous roll of metal or vinyl to create your gutter profile to the exact length needed. Therefore, the only seams are where corners or downspouts are installed.

This obviously decreases the places where a leak can occur. With snow and ice being a problem for many homeowners, the constant thawing and freezing causes excessive wear and tear on a traditional segmented gutter system. This weakens it and shortens its life span. A seamless gutter has no such problem.

Additionally, a continuous gutter is much stronger because of its uniformity. With multiple pieces there is the chance that any one of them will fail causing the whole unit to be at risk. One straight length of continuous gutter is stronger. On top of that, a continuous run is also more pleasing to the eye. For these reasons, if you are in the market for new gutters, consider seamless gutters. You'll be glad you did.

If you are looking for new gutters for your home, it makes sense to look into Seamless Gutters over the traditional types of Rain Gutters on many homes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2492174

Monday, October 10, 2011

Deck Defense™ High Performance Roof Underlayment


New Deck Defense™ underlayment's durable synthetic construction provides an immediate line of defense—It acts as a secondary water-shedding barrier for your roof once shingles are installed.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

GAF Featured on "World's Greatest"


GAF is featured on the TV show, "World's Greatest." The program prides itself on providing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews of some of the most amazing and unique companies, products, people, and travel destinations the world has to offer!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Roofing Jobs That Should Be Performed by Roofing Companies


When it comes to roofing problems it can be both difficult and expensive. There are some roofing projects that you can do yourself over a weekend with a few extra pairs of hands but there are some roofing projects that do require the assistance only found in roofing companies.

Roofing repairs can be difficult and expensive and if you don't know what you are doing, it could be a complete replacement of your roof. Over time, the boards underneath the roof will begin to decay and rot away if there is any moisture that gets to them. If you do it your self, you may just patch the bad spot not paying attention to details and hurrying up your project so you can be done by Sunday evening. Roofing companies can go in and assess the damage done by the moisture and cut away all the bad board in the roofing and replace everything that was damaged so when the roofing goes back up the roof is strong and you can feel confident in your roof lasting a few more years.

A complete roofing replacement is one of the main jobs in roofing. After having the same roof covering for years it is time to replace it when you notice several leaks starting after a heavy rain. Over time, as snow lays on the roof for days, or if there are trees over your home your roof will need to have a complete makeover. When this happens, you can plan on a large expense that will pay for itself for many years after. Roofing companies do complete roof makeovers every day. Working with customers, they determine what the best roofing solution is and offer many styles and colors for the homeowners to choose from. When you call roofing companies out to your home for an estimate on replacement roofing, you need to also ask them to see their license information and ask for any references they may have.

Before you agree to one roofing company you may want to interview several roofing companies to see which ones can provide the right service for you. These roofing companies will have experience and be able to assist you with all your needs. It's important to also go over many different types of roofing you have to choose from. Maybe it is time to change the roofing materials you use.

You can also contract roofing companies to assist in the installation of solar panels. If you want to add that sunlight in your kitchen you need a solar window that will direct the daytime sun down in your kitchen. This will give your kitchen a different look during the day and cut out the need for electricity as long as the sun is out. When you install solar panels on the roof you may feel that you can do them yourself and you may be able to however if you don't have the experience or have anyone helping you, it may be time to call one of the many roofing companies available today.

Roofing companies offer benefits when they install roofing on homes and businesses. Benefits can include satisfaction guaranteed and many years of warranty. Make sure that you get all benefits in writing at the time of the agreement to start working. This is to ensure that no one misinterpreted the information and you get the benefits that you paid for. Usually when you get warranties and benefits you pay a little more to cover any additional expenses in the future.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6563874