Roofing How to Guides and Supplies

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Where to Find a Good Roofing Contractors

December 29th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

One of the first places you can go to check for good roofing contractors is The National Federation of Roofing Contractors which has its offices in Weymouth Street.  They are also strong allies of International Roofing Contractors.  Roof repair contractors have to pay dues and follow a Code of Practice in order to be allowed to stay a member.Find out what members they can suggest to you.  And if you have a complaint about one of their members, they want to know and will try to help.

You know the old saying, “One rotten apple spoils the barrel.”  This saying is especially true with roofing contractors, London.  Roofers want to stay in business.  It’s actually more expensive to set up a shop, cheat customers and keep on the run from police, irate customers and Watchdog.  It pays them to be as good a roofer as they can be.Yes, there are some newbies there, but they are not many anyway.

Questions, Questions

One of the best and easiest things you can do to tell the “cowboys” from the good roofing contractors, London, is to ask questions.  Don’t be shy.  Ask about money, when payment is due, how long they’ve been in business, when they can start, what their materials will cost, why they need those materials, what procedure they’re going to do, where they can be easily located and get it all in writing.  If they cannot explain anything clearly to you, treat you condescendingly, or put pressure sales tactic on you, time to show them the door.They’re some unexperienced roof repair contractors.

And ask your family members, your friend or local businesses about what roof repair contractors they can suggest.  Many banks have lists of tradesmen they approve of they will share with you (in other words, they are willing to give you a loan if you decide to go with the roofer they recommend).

Why are Solar Panels a Good Idea?

December 15th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

With all the talk about the environment in recent years we are all aware of solar power and how we can turn it into electricity.  There are many products that can use solar panels and such products include calculators, security lighting and birdbath fountains.  Solar energy is of course popular on roofing.

It all starts over one hundred years ago when a man got the idea to use the heat from the sun to power his machinery. The main focus was to use the steam from the hot sun light in order to start and maintain their machines.  Scientists from around the world were very interested in this method and became eager to develop it further.  We certainly need all the green technology we can.

Solar panels can be different shapes and sizes but their main purpose is to convert the light in order to make electricity. Photovoltaic, or PV, is how the light energy is turned into elecricity.  These cells are essential if you are wanting to convert the energy from the sun into a power that you can use to do all sorts of things such as heating your water or power your lightbulbs.

Solar panels can be found in all different shapes and sizes including round, square, and rectangle.  There are so many places you will see solar panels if you look hard enought such as roofs and also in fields.  Of course, it’s not just the large panels that you find in roof, there are small solar panels that you can use to power up your cell phone or radio.  The sun is a wonderful natural resource and can greatly cater to our way of life.  The study of natural resources like the sun is ongoing and the improvement that can be made in the future is anyone’s guess but you can’t go wrong when you use natural resources.

Things have changed and newer material has surfaced and since we know more about the solar panels the cost is not as high, although it is still higher than using man made methods of producing heat and electricity.  A solar roof panel should really be seen as a great addition to any home improvement project.

TPO Roofing

December 8th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

TPO Roofing was invented by the chemical company DOW in the early 1990’s. TPO Roofing means “Thermalplastic Olefin” roofing. TPO membranes are made from ethylene propylene rubber, and are a combination of rubber and hot air welded seams. They have excellent resistance to ozone, are algae-resistant, environmentally friendly and safe to install. The material is sometimes advertised as a monolithic (seamless) roof. TPO is highly tear resistant, resists impacts, and resists punctures with good flexibility to allow for building movement. TPO’s are available in white, light gray, and black with thicknesses of either 45 mils (.045″) or 60 mils (.060″). The width of the membrane depends on the manufacturer but they usually come in widths of six to six-and-a-half feet and are one-hundred feet in length.

TPO Roofing is a fully-adhered roofing. That means the roofing membrane is already attached to the substrate material with adhesive, thus it forms a strong chemical bond. TPO is highly heat reflective, fire resistant, and energy efficient. It also resists UV rays and dirt. TPO is also used in the automotive industry where it is known for impact resistance. This crosses over into the roofing industry where hail damage to roofs is a common concern.

Another advantage of TPO, for the Roofing Contractor and Manufacturers at least, is that there is a shift from some lower priced materials like EPDM to the higher priced TPO materials. Commercial roofing sales reached $3.3 billion overall in 2007 with single-ply products comprising the largest segment. TPO has been taking more of that large share.

As the green movement grows, TPO is becoming more and more popular, particularly because it is recyclable. Not only can it be recycled for roofing materials, but it can be burned as a fuel. TPO burns extremely clean with no toxic emissions when no flame retardants are present. It therefore has a high potential as a high energy fuel for waste-to-energy programs.

TPO roofs are considered “cool roofs.” A cool roof can be defined in many ways by people or by different municipal codes. But basically, a cool roof reflects and emits the sun’s heat back skyward without allowing it to pass into the building or home. The more sun it reflects and emits, the cooler the roof. The Cool Roof Rating Council, CRRC, maintains an on line database of cool roof products. Some TPO roofs score high on the scale, some do not, so be advised.

It may seem silly to say, but for many TPO roofing is the way to go.

Ruber Roofing

December 6th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Rubber baby buggy bumpers. I’m rubber you’re glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks to you. Rubber ducky, you’re the one. Rubber roofing. What? Rubber roofing? There’s no such thing as rubber roofing. Yes there is. If rubber keeps rain and weather off a person when worn as a rain coat or rain boots, why not keep water and the elements out of a house as a roof?

Number one with a rubber roof is a myth. It’s perfectly fine to install rubber roofing over an existing roof. After all, it saves time from removing the old roof. And in areas where the old roof is intact there’s double protection. Wrong! Whatever the other reasons, no roofing manufacturer will honor a warranty of a roof that has not been installed on a completely clean surface. So get ready for that removal. It’s step one.

Rubber roofs can be easy to self install. They come in a variety of styles of both rolls and shingles. An ideal material for large flat roofs, rubber roofing will last for years, and won’t split or crack. Rubber roofing experiences less stress than other material shingles because it expands and contracts with the roof in response to weather changes. In fact the first rubber roof, which was installed in Wisconsin in 1980, is still in perfect condition after nearly three decades of service.

Both rolls and shingle rubber roofing is attached to the roof surface with adhesive. Therefore make sure the roof is as clean as possible with nothing protruding which could pierce the rubber. The surface must be dry and free of oils or dirt. So make sure to blow or sweep away and dirt.

Once the base is clean, the rubber roof can be rolled out onto the area being covered, and cut to fit over vents and pipes. Do not apply adhesive until the rubber roofing is cut and shaped. Imagine securing portions of the roof only to find it doesn’t fit, or to develop a bubble or seam. Once it has been fit then apply adhesive to about one half the roof at a time, rolling it back to apply the adhesive. Apply it evenly and give it time to set up, to become tacky.

The roofing will be nearly impossible to lift once it’s stuck. So once the adhesive has set carefully roll the rubber roofing into place. Let the first half dry for about an hour before repeating the process with the second half.

Now your rubber roof is in place. Imagine that.

Roofing Tools

December 4th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

There’s no doubt it’s a wise move to hire a professional to remove, install or maintain a roof. But with a little bit of time and knowledge, and often with the help of a few friends, replacing a roof is a realistic do it yourself project. The key to doing it yourself rather than doing yourself in is the right roofing tools. These tools can be found at the local hardware store.

A slate cutter does just what the name implies, cuts slate and shingles. It goes through most roofing materials like a hot knife through butter. Industrial versions cut 1/2” thick shingles easily. Some models have a punch to get them started, which also offers better control in the cutting process.

Instead of throwing the shingles to the ground, which requires a constant trek to the perilous edge, consider a ridge bucket. These buckets are designed to hug the roof so they don’t slip even on a steep incline. It’s safer and quicker to use this bucket to dispose of materials.

Use a hip runner to install ridge cap and hip ridges perfectly straight every time. Of all the roofing tools this is one the contractors always have, but do it your self enthusiasts rarely consider.

Seaming pliers aren’t for sewing. They’re for yanking off shingles, especially stubborn shingles that seem to have a mind of their own intent on staying in place. Seaming pliers have teeth to grip the shingle without tearing it. Add a good pair of thick work gloves to save your fingers and hands from scrapes, bruises and blisters from gripping and pulling rough shingles.

A slater’s hammer has a hammer head, as well as a small ax and a blade on the opposite side. This roofing tool can be used both for removing the old roof and installing the new roof. It’s also useful as a regular hammer and with the ax and blade for other projects besides roofing.

Not only will most local hardware stores carry these tools, they’ll rent some of the larger ones such as a slate cutter. This way a roofing novice can use the best quality tools rather than one that’s cheaper to purchase. Keep in mind too that knowledge is a roofing tool as important as any other. These local hardware stores are also sources of information on roofing. Between books they carry and staff on hand who can give you advice, they can prepare a person for every step of the roofing process.

Roofing Supplies

December 2nd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Roofing supplies include a wide range of materials and items necessary for the construction and maintenance of a roof. This means not only shingles but molding, lumber, pipes and vents, roofing cements, ladders and all the necessary tools including roofing nails.

One of the most important roofing supplies is, of course, the top roofing material. This is considered the roof proper and includes wood shingles, ceramic tiles, asbestos shingles, metal roofing sheets and tiles, rubber roofing sheets and shingles, and more. The roofing material should be chosen based on location, so that the roof will stand up to the local elements and issues that impact a roof.

Lumber is used in a roof primarily as the support structure or frame. This usually consists of a triangular truss and a lattice of beams. The roof itself is then laid over the frame. Other lumber elements include the cornice, part of the frame that hangs over the wall, the fascia, which is the underside of the cornice, the eave, beam ends of the wood frame that allow water to drip away from the roof, and the soffit, which is the underside of the eave.

Pipes and vents stick up from the roof. They help the house breathe, and are also the escape routes for smoke from a fireplace or cooking hood, as well as for hot air from the attic. The bottoms of pipes and vents are generally sealed with a boot, or metal strip, that includes a lead based or plastic sealant. These pipes and vents have one way shields sealed with rubber so that the air or smoke can escape, but water doesn’t drip into the pipe or vent.

Roofing tools include the ladder to get to the roof, as well as other items necessary for both installation and removal, as well as for regular maintenance. These include simple items such as a broom and bucket to hold waste shingles, a slater’s hammer that includes a hammer as well as an ax and blade, a slate cutter to cut through shingles, seaming pliers to grasp shingles, and a hip runner to install the ridge cap, the portion of the roof on top of seams.

When it comes to roofing nails they must be long enough to go through the shingles and get about 3/8 inch below the bottom of the shingle. Anything that interferes with the nails biting into the wood could cause the nail to pull out, and eventually the loss of shingles. This includes shingles with ridges, some under shingle materials, and of course nails that are too short. A good roofer can drive a roofing nail with one solid hit. A homeowner doing it themselves will find that they can drive the nails with one hit after only a few minutes.

Roofing supplies aren’t as simple as they first seem. But with a little planning, you’ll have everything needed for a quality roof.

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