To stay healthy, you go to the doctor for a regular checkup called a physical. Dentists recommend twice-a-year visits for cleaning and checkups for cavities. Motor vehicles need to have their tires and oil changed periodically for best performance. Roof maintenance is no different.
Roofs are out there every day in all kinds of weather getting tortured by the hot sun, frozen by winter’s ice and snow, drenched by the monsoon rains and ripped apart by the strong winds. But yet, most homeowners never give their roof’s maintenance a second thought. Why? If it is out of sight it is usually out of mind. The average homeowner does not typically climb up on their roof, therefore, they do not see the many issues that could result in possible premature roof failure.
They do not see the split rubber seals on the plumbing vent pipes. They do not see the nails that are backing out of the roof vents and flashing components. They do not see the cracks developing on the chimney crown and in the mortar holding the chimney brick together. They do not see the deteriorating caulk on the wood frame chimneys. They are unaware of the various problems associated with their rain gutters. They do not see the missing shingles that are exposing the roof deck. Many homeowners do not realize they have had storm damage that could be significant enough for filing an insurance claim resulting in a new roof paid for by their homeowner’s insurance.
The prudent homeowner will hire a professional roofing company to inspect their roof every two years to ward off damage to the interior of their homes. Sadly, the impetus for calling the roofer is when a stain appears on the ceiling of their home or when they see water running down the interior wall of their home during a thunderstorm. By being proactive a homeowner can save literally thousands of dollars that would have otherwise been spent on interior repairs. At Solid Rock, we recommend a routine maintenance schedule called a roof tune up every two years. Once on our plan, we will remind you when it is time for the tune-up. Currently, we offer that service for only $129. Just because a roof is new does not mean it is immune from problems. Have you ever taken a new car to the garage for service? So, regardless of the age of the roof a tune up every two years makes very good sense.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRockIncorporated@gmail.com
October 15, 2010 – 11:32 am
Solid Rock Roofing has twenty years of experience of attempting to control ice dams. We have learned and continue to learn effective techniques in the very difficult job of keeping water out of homes caused by ice. Ice has sculpted Earth since time began and every winter attempts to move and dislodge roofing and flashing elements on your home.Simply put, ice happens.
The length of ice dams is equal to the length of gutters on any house. In other words, all homes have ice dams. Fortunately, most ice dams do not present any problems for homeowners. The problem comes when the ice dams are large enough to impound large volumes of water that eventually backup and enter the home.
In the past several years, the product called ice and water membrane has been widely marketed to fight ice damming. It is a sticky-backed material 3 foot wide that is applied to the roof deck beneath the shingles. The manufacturer advises placement along all eaves over heated space as well as around roof penetrations such as chimneys, skylights, vents and pipes. This is all well and good but I have known of ice that will circumvent the lower edge of ice and water membrane in the area of the drip edge metal at the very lowest edge of the roof.
At Solid Rock, we have found the most effective way to control ice damming is to install de-icing cable in those problem areas for the winter season. The cable should be installed prior to winter and de-installed in the spring each year. The homeowner is responsible for plugging the cable into a 110V outlet whenever snow is on the roof. We provide that service for several homeowners each year and here is what some of them have to say:
- The de-icing cables work just as advertised. Where we had cables installed, there were no ice dams and no corresponding brown stains on walls or ceilings.
- We had experienced severe ice damming last winter resulting in leakage ruining paint on inside walls. Solid Rock installed de-icing cables this winter and the snow was the worst in years, and it truly worked to melt the snow slowly and we had no backup.
- What a nifty thing and it really does the job! Love how it stopped the leaking in the kitchen.
- Worked really well. Just wish I had known about it sooner.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991.
February 15, 2010 – 10:02 am
ecently, one of our customers commented on the sound emanating from her roof during the roof removal operation. She said, “It sounds like a herd of elephants!”
Yes, roof tear off is noisy and roof replacement is noisy as well– sounding like a flock of woodpeckers as the installers are rapidly firing their pneumatic roofing nail guns to install the shingles. These irritating sounds are unavoidable so I advise homeowners to be away from their homes if possible during those times and to take their pets with them as it can be upsetting to them also. Many homeowners opt to have their roof done while they are away on vacation, thus avoiding any disruption to their lives.
We always protect the landscaping with tarps and the old roof debris is picked up quickly and placed in our rubber tired dumpster. The gutters are left clean as a whistle and we run a leaf blower over the new roof to
remove any fine debris. And, just as importantly we run the leaf blower on all ground surfaces around the house including patios, porches, sidewalks and driveways. We always run a magnet to locate any nails that may be hiding in the grass or driveway. We pride ourselves in our spic and span cleanup.
Our method of operation is to do the job of removing the old roof and installing the new roof as quickly as possible so we ‘do not wear out our welcome.’ It is not uncommon for us to do an entire house in one day. Our crews are highly orchestrated and move with a catlike grace, akin to circus trapeze artists. They work in a safe and efficient manner with absolutely no wasted moves. They move with a sort of careless perfection that only men who have spent their entire lives on rooftops can achieve.
Our goal is to deliver that perfection in the shortest amount of time possible that brings about ultimate satisfaction.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRock@woh.rr.com
February 15, 2010 – 9:45 am
I get the same questions every winter about icicles hanging from the gutters. Homeowners have no control over what falls out of the sky. In the wintertime in Ohio, that is usually snow. At first, the snow looks pretty and fluffy but after enough snow and after a few days of melting, the frozen water takes another form………………….icicles. As the snow melts from interior heat; it now takes on the form of icicles that hang precariously from the gutters. Since the H2O is now in a solid state rather than liquid, it does not flow normally through the gutters and downspouts as it did when the temperature was above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus the gutters are now frozen solid and extra pressure is applied to the gutter fasteners. Weak gutters will fail and pull away from the house.
So, what is a homeowner to do? Hire a professional to:
- Install strong gutters using 6 inch continuous aluminum strengthened with Alcoa Leaf Relief gutter guard and attached with screws.
- Before winter sets in, install a de-icing cable in any problem areas of known ice dams.
- Break the icicles off thus removing some of the pressure on the gutters.
- Increase the attic insulation, thereby reducing premature melting of the snow.
- If an ice dam has occurred and water is dripping from the ceiling, remove the ice dam by chipping the ice away in the affected area and install a de-icing cable.
The homeowner should avoid:
- Attempting to remove ice from the gutters as that will only harm the gutters.
- Avoid walking beneath large icicles…………..you never know when they could dislodge and come crashing down. They can cause severe injury.
- Climbing on a snowy roof.
- Worrying about icicles. 99.9% of the time, they will just melt and go away without causing any harm whatsoever. Keep in mind that your house is not the only house to ever have icicles. It is a very common occurrence.
Yes, ice is a powerful force of nature but it can be managed if some of these measures are taken. At Solid Rock Roofing we specialize in making molehills out of mountains no matter what the concern may be regarding roofs, gutters, skylights or chimneys. Call us to discuss any of these concerns. We never charge for advice over the phone and are happy to assist our customers in any way that we can.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1990. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRockIncorporated@gmail.com.
February 15, 2010 – 9:32 am
An epithet that would honor me would say, “His roof was strong and sound.” Another might say, “He slept when the wind blew.”
You see, I have a Cadillac roof; a metal roof that has the appearance of slate. It came through Hurricane Ike with nary a problem. My noncombustible metal roof was manufactured of recycled aluminum pop cans just up the road a few miles, is as light as a feather and has a 50 year material warranty but if I were a betting man, (which I am not), I would say it will last 100 years. There are many disadvantages in using the standard asphalt shingles. The biggest drawback is they need to be replaced every few years. A so-called thirty year shingle will last about 20 years at best and a so-called fifty year shingle will also last about 20 years. In my travels to Europe, I have yet to see my first asphalt shingle roof. Roofs in Europe are usually slate or clay tile, both 
having a lifespan of at least 100 years. A metal roof is not as expensive as a slate or clay tile roof but does cost more than an asphalt shingle roof. My recommendation is to spend a little more money and put on a roof that will last.
The average sized home takes between 30 and 35 squares of shingles. That is enough to cover 3,000 to 3,500 square feet of roof surface. When the old asphalt shingle roof is removed, it goes to the landfill to be buried. There are some asphalt shingle recycling yards scattered across the country but they are few and far between and are not very economical since they require the separation of waste. It is estimated that it takes about 75 barrels of refined oil to manufacture the asphalt shingles on an average sized home. As a nation, I believe we can do better to reduce our need for foreign oil and using roofing products made of recycled aluminum pop cans is a very ‘green’ idea.
Asphalt shingled roofs lose that ‘new’ look after just a few months whereas a metal roof will stay looking new year after year. Another big advantage of a metal roof system is that it does not support algae growth. Asphalt shingles seem to support the growth of the unattractive dark streaked algae that is all too common on the north (cool) side of the roof. Even though all of the asphalt shingle manufacturers claim their products are algae resistant, I have found the resistance is short lived at best.
Hail will not penetrate a metal roof and in the worst case scenario, the surface design of the metal will camouflage any cosmetic damage. Metal roofs are available in many heat resistant colors that reflect the heat rather than absorbing it like asphalt shingles do. Another advantage of a metal roof is the soothing sound of the raindrops on the metal. Most of the sound is dampened by the attic insulation but just enough is heard to lull me to sleep, even with the wind blowing.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRock@woh.rr.com.
February 15, 2010 – 9:10 am
| Our company offers four variations in cap shingles for your new roof. First of all, let me explain what a cap shingle is. A cap shingle is the highest shingle that is installed over the top of the ridge or peak of a roof. A hip cap is the same thing except it tops the ‘sloped ridge’ on some houses from the ridge to the gutter. Not all houses have hip caps but all houses do have ridges or peaks. |
1st There is no reason why any homeowner cannot be innovative when it comes to the choice of cap colors that he has installed on his roof. Let’s imagine the popular roof color of Weathered Wood capped with a contrasting darker shade of brown cap shingle. It would be akin to piping on a suit or icing trim on a cake. You could go with white on black, black on white, light brown on dark brown or gray on black. The color combinations are virtually endless by mixing grays, browns, greens, blues, blacks and whites. There is no extra cost to accent your roof in this way.
2nd Any ridge cap or hip cap looks more pronounced and fancy if it is raised slightly to catch the eye. This can be done by installing ridge vent material beneath the cap shingle. This is often done on ridges to provide more attic ventilation. However, the same treatment can be done on hip caps 
as well giving the entire roof a striking appearance. The only difference between the ridge and the hip is that no opening is cut into the attic on the hip due to the possibility of creating an avenue for water to penetrate the roof.
3rd You have all seen the dark streaks of algae on roofs. This can be managed to some degree by installing cap shingles made of galvanized metal. The zinc in the metal is released slowly over time and kills the algae. What a clever and practical way to control those dark streaks and keep your roof looking like new, year after year.
4th Birds like to perch on the end cap shingle. Their acidic droppings destroy that end shingle in short order, so our company will manufacture a special end cap shingle of 16 ounce copper and install that in place of the end cap shingle. The birds hate it and usually fly away to roost on the neighbor’s house.
So there you have it………………………….four creative and practical ideas for using cap shingles in an innovative and aesthetic manner. You can add value and distinction to your cookie cutter roof at a low cost that will set your roof apart from your neighbors.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRock@woh.rr.com.
January 8, 2010 – 12:45 pm
FASHION
Customer #1 (Fashion) Recently, I had a customer who did not like the way some flashing looked on his new roof. The purpose of flashing is to correctly channel water to keep it out of the house so we try to do our work accordingly. This customer wanted the base wall flashing covered with shingles to help with the aesthetics. I explained to him that by nailing shingles
over base wall flashing, the possibility for water to enter the house where the fastener is placed would be created. However, he insisted that is the way he would like to have it done. My only recourse then was to do the work the way the customer wanted but to issue a caveat voiding the warranty against leaks in the areas affected. This pleased the customer but, in principle, it did not please me.
FUNCTION
Customer #2 (Function) Today’s customer was quite different. He chose function over fashion. He had been fighting a leak in his garage for many years and had some repair work done yet the leak still persisted. That is when I got the call based upon the recommendations of two different referrals. Upon a quick attic inspection, it was obvious to me what the problem was. The roof was twelve years old and the original installer had placed the shingles over the base flashing. Over time, the rain had entered the fasteners. I removed the shingles that were on top of the flashing and reinstalled them under the flashing, then sealed the numerous nail holes in the flashing. Problem solved! It was too bad the customer had sustained damage to his house and wasted money in the previous attempt to solve the problem.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991.
January 8, 2010 – 12:20 pm
The calls usually begin with, “I see a stain on my ceiling so I believe my roof is leaking, can you come quick?” During periods of extremely cold weather, interior moisture from bathing and cooking will condense on the underpane of skylights causing many homeowners to panic and make unnecessary calls to their roofer. The remedy is to simply dial down the humidistat on the furnace.
On one occasion, the stain turned out to be a shadow that was cast by the light globe. To prove it, I turned the light out and shone my flashlight on the ‘stain’ to prove that the spot was gone. The homeowner thought I was a magician.
And then there was the time that the owner had this oily type stain on her ceiling. After several trips to try to catch the roof in the act of leaking, I concluded that someone had spilled something in the attic and it had seeped through the drywall ceiling.
My favorite ‘non-leak’ story was about the time I crawled into the attic to see what was going on only to discover a 12 quart bucket full to the brim with yucky water. It took me a couple of minutes to figure this one out. The bucket was situated directly below a PVC elbow on a bathroom plumbing vent stack. The normal condensate from the pipe was slowly seeping out of a bad elbow joint in the pipe and was being collected in the bucket. The homeowner told me her ex-husband apparently had put the bucket up there before their divorce seven years prior. After emptying the bucket and placing it back in the same location in the attic, I told her it would be good for another seven years.
Each service call generally requires about an hour of our time and we always investigate thoroughly on the rooftop and in the attic. Then we follow that with a moisture test using our moisture meter to determine decisively whether or not moisture is actually present. We have never charged for these false alarms. We feel the good PR is returned to us by word-of-mouth referrals to other customers. After all, our most important asset is our reputation.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991.
January 8, 2010 – 11:02 am
No matter what season of the year it is, a cool attic is a friend of your roof. Let me explain. First of all, how do you make your attic cool? There are two main ingredients to a cool attic and I don’t mean ice cubes or air conditioning. The two best ways to cool your attic down is by installing lots of attic insulation and by providing proper ventilation.
The best ventilation system is a continuous ridge vent on your roof combined with lots of soffitt vents. The soffitt vents provide for intake air and the ridge vent allows the warm air to escape, thus cooling your attic in the summertime. By having a cool summer attic you can reduce your air conditioning bills. The best brand of ridge vent is ShingleVent II made by a company called Air Vent. It has an external baffle that keeps wind-driven rain and snow from entering the attic. A bug shield prohibits bees and other insects from getting into the attic. It has a low profile and is covered by roofing shingles to blend well with the roof.
Now, let’s talk about the wintertime. Cool is a relative term so in this case, I like to see an attic that is as cold as the outside air. Have you ever wondered why some houses have lots of icicles while others do not? Here’s why……………..the ‘icicle houses’ do not have adequate insulation or attic ventilation. Another contributing factor is a higher thermostat setting. By keeping the living space cooler, less heat will travel to the attic and less snow will melt. The snow should be allowed to melt by the sun naturally. If it melts from the household heat, it may cause problems by running down the roof until it reaches the colder overhang. At that point it will refreeze and form icicles that hang from the gutters. The ice continues to build up until there are large chunks of it actually sitting on your roof edge! This is called an icedam. The icedam creates a blockage for the snowmelt and a small pool of water forms that may back up under the shingles and enter the house. A good barrier to prevent this type of moisture entry along the eaves is a three foot wide strip of a product called ice and water membrane. Ice and water membrane will not prevent icicles, it only prevents the meltwater from an icedam from entering the living space.
Have you ever noticed the snow on a vacant house or unheated garage? It stays on the roof until the sun melts it and guess what? These structures never have ice dams.
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991.
September 5, 2009 – 9:03 am
Most homeowners would be shocked if they knew they have a perfect mosquito breeding ground surrounding their home in the form of an elevated moat.
Yes, that’s right! It is called gutter.
I have yet to meet anyone who can keep their gutters clean enough to avoid standing water caused by debris backup. You see it only requires an amount of debris smaller than your fist to cause a gutter dam and subsequent water backup. This creates a perfect pool of stagnant water and the mosquitoes love it. I have seen pristine, white-carpeted mansions with the filthiest gunked up gutters imaginable. If the homeowners could only see into their gutters, they would not hesitate for an instant to remedy the hazards that dwell within caused by years of neglect.
So what is the solution? Gutter guard. Now we all know there are a zillion brands and types of gutter guard. Most do not work properly. They can sag and actually do more harm than good. Many are ineffective allowing debris to pass through. Some clog and do not allow the water to enter the gutter thus spilling over the gutter. Some attach to the shingles thereby creating holes in the roof. And then there are the expensive gutters with a guard made right in as one unit…………………how would you ever get into it if needed?
In my opinion, the best gutter guard on the market is Alcoa’s Leaf Relief.
The retrofit version can be added to existing gutters or it can be installed in new gutters as they are hung. Either way, the stuff really works. It stays rigid, does not sag and will not rust since it is manufactured of aluminum. It is completely invisible from the ground and does the job day in and day out. Leaf Relief actually serves as a continuous gutter hanger on new gutters thus making them stronger. You will never have any gutter spikes coming loose again.
What a relief it is to NEVER clean your gutters again. Why risk falling from a ladder? Why pay others to clean your gutters? Why create a West Nile Virus breeding ground around your home?
Rooftop Readings are written by Tracy Hanning. Tracy holds BS and MA degrees and is a veteran Industrial Arts teacher. He founded Solid Rock Roofing, Inc. in 1991. Drop Tracy a line at SolidRockIncorporated@gmail.com
