We offer you this Information not to sell you on choosing All Season Roofing® inc, but to give you the knowledge and expertise of what we do and why we do it, and if you choose to go with another company you know what to watch out for and what to avoid. Maybe they offered you an estimate significantly less than most, are they recovering the roof? Are they not adding high quality materials or cutting corners to make the price more attractive? These are all things that unless you’re a professional or you did proper research you would have no idea what they are or why they’re important. So this information will give you a simple but concrete understanding of the different materials should be used and the proper way to install them. And at the end if you choose to go with All Season Roofing® inc go ahead and give us a call or email us today or you can set up an appointment online for a free estimate here on our website!
The Basics of proper Installation and quality Materials.
Tear off.
We start all our Re-Roofs with first removing the old roof, this is called the tear off. This sounds like a no-brainer, however some roofing companies will offer something called a recover, where they install the new roof right over the top of the old roof. For obvious reason this a bad idea. Aside from the fact it can save you money today, a recovered roof will only last you about 10 years, and will void the manufactures warranty as well. So lets do it right the first time. Once we’ve completely removed all the original roofing we can now see exactly what the “deck” of the roof looks like.
The Deck.
The deck is the plywood sheeting that the roofing materials are going to be nailed to. If your house was made in the last Fifty years and your roof is made from composite shingles, it is likely you already have plywood decking underneath and all that would need to be replaced is any rotted plywood caused from leaks in the previous roof.
*Suspicious plywood would have been noted in your estimate, however until we tear off the old roof, we can’t know for certain how much plywood replacement is needed.
If you have an older home or you have a wood shake roof, it is likely you DON’T have plywood decking underneath. Older homes used a decking called Shiplap, basically a bunch of interlocked 1×8 boards. This turned out to be a bad idea because of expansion and contraction, especially here in the NorthWest, where we can go from warm and sunny today and freezing rain tomorrow. With so many different boards expanding and contracting underneath the roof this can push nails up through the shingle, and actually buckle and warp the roofing. If you have a wood shake roof, it uses a decking called Skip Sheathing, which is similar to Shiplap except there are vertical gaps between the boards, this is a perfect design for wood shakes, however it doesn’t work well with shingles. So both Shiplap and Skip Sheathing need to be completely resheeted with plywood.
*This would have been noted and included in your Estimate.
CDX Plywood Vs. OSB Particle Board.
We always recommend using 3/4″ CDX Plywood as opposed to OSB particle board. CDX is solid, durable, and long-lasting. Its very dense and because of that it holds the roofing nails better than OSB, which is also why we recommend 3/4″, the more wood to hold the nails the better. Another point to be made is that because OSB isn’t solid it absorbs moisture and expands, releasing the nails resulting in little wind resistance. And in case of a leak OSB wouldn’t stand a chance, it would deteriorate a lot quicker than CDX. So incase of a Wind Storm or a tree branch falling on your roof 3/4″ CDX is the most reliable option. If your house has OSB already and needs any rotted sheets replaced we will use OSB to keep it the same, but if you need to sheet the whole house we always recommend using CDX.
So why do we even have OSB? It’s cheaper. Not significantly, but in new construction where they are building 50+ cookie cutter style houses they try to save every nickel and dime and don’t care about the repercussions because they are no longer liable 10 years down the road.
Drip Metal and Metal W Valleys.
Our next step is another thing new construction and sometimes competing roofing companies will omit to decrease the price. We install metal W valleys where two roofs come together at an angle creating a convex point, or a valley. This area is a critical point where roofs can fail, a lot of water is being dumped into them and debris can stack up a causing dam. The metal W valley ensures that water won’t penetrate your roof. The alternative is overlapping roofing shingles to create and valley for the water to run down, the problem with this at the bottom of every shingle there is a another point where, if debris creates a dam, water can find its way through the roof causing a leak. We also install drip metal, this goes on the outer edge of the roof or the “gable”. The purpose of the drip metal is to protect against capillary action, water curling over the edge and running down the decorative wood up against the gable called the fascia board. Without drip metal, over time the paint on the fascia will deteriorate and eventually the fascia itself begin to rot.
Ventilation.
You want to make sure your roof can breath for two main reason. One, as human we produce a lot of moisture causing the air in our homes to be humidity and this moisture needs to escape somehow otherwise the wood will absorb it causing mold. To protect against this we increase the airflow of your home by adding vents on the top of your roof. The second, is a form of insulation with more airflow your home will stay cooler in the summer and won’t feel as stuffy in the winter. The proper ventilation is an AF 50 vent about six inches from the top of your roof every four feet. You want the vent to be as high up on the roof as possible because heat rises and this positioning optimizing airflow. Other companies will sometimes offer a product called Cor-A-Vent or ridge vent and this basically looks like plastic cardboard that goes under your roofing ridge at the peak of the roof and the micro holes allow for air to flow. We don’t use this for a couple reason, the micro holes often get blocked by moss, algae, and even sometimes bees will nest in there. The ridge vent also has little wind resistance and because the ridge of the roof gets the highest wind speed it can easily be ripped out, we go out on repairs for this constantly.
Lets Start roofing!
After all the decking is ready to go, metal accessories have been added and proper ventilation holes have been cut we put down a layer ASTM Felt. Felt is used for many reason, from an additional layer of water protection to using a guide to keep the roofing straight and uniform. It also fire retardant giving you a layer of protection incase of any exterior fires on your roof. Once the Felt has been installed we can begin putting on the roofing on. We prefer to use Pabco® roofing shingles as opposed to big national brand name manufactures. Where the big guys supply material for the whole country with varying weather conditions, Pabco® is based out of Tacoma, Washington and understand that Pacific NorthWest Weather is unique and we require something little more specific to our situation. They offer a heavier shingle increasing its durability and longevity, to stand up against the excessive amount of rain here. Pabco®’s shingles are also algae resistant, and algae loves cold, damp, overcast weather, sound familiar? This protection is crucial to keeping a pristine and long-lasting roof in the Pacific NorthWest.
Additional Roofing materials.
Roofs can have many different obstacle on them, each requiring a different and specific piece of equipment. Obstacles include things like chimneys, ventilation pipes, Skylights, walls, and AF50 vents. All of these obstacles are critical points where the roof is more likely to fail, so it is crucial that the right materials are used and that they are installed properly.
Plumbing Jacks: Your house has plumbing ventilation that goes up through the roof to allow vapor and gases to escape. We use lead plumbing jacks to provide a proper seal around the gap where the pipe extends out of the roof. Again there is an alternative to lead jacks that new construction and other competing roofing companies will use to save a dime, rubber boots, these fail constantly. Rubber will crack after years of expansion and contraction creating a hole for water to pass right through and into your home. Lead on the other hand will not rust nor crack providing the longest lasting protection.
AF50 Vents: As we stated earlier on the importance of proper ventilation, the AF 50 vent provides the optimal amount of ventilation. Installing these vents properly includes nailing in the manufactured nail holes on the vent with a neoprene nail, You DO NOT nail anywhere in the outer flange of the vent, this will cause leaks. The neoprene nail is a neoprene washer around a galvanized shank nail. The purpose of the neoprene washer is to seal the hole created by the shank nail. The shank is basically a ribbed nail and its purpose is to increase the hold it has on the roof. This is important because there is going to be a lot of constant wind trying to rip that vent out. And because the nail is exposed it needs to be galvanized to keep from rusting.
Metal Flashings: Many Obstacles require various types of Metal Flashings from Metal Step Flashing running up against walls, skylights, and chimneys, to Metal Back Pans and Metal Counter flashing. We use Metal Flashings in order to prevent against deterioration or leaks where water is likely to sit, cascade down, or stack up into a heavy stream. Because of the excessive amounts of water these points endure it is crucial they are installed properly and professionally, otherwise your roof is likely to fail.
Roof Cleaning Do’s and Dont’s.
Now that you have a brand new roof you want to keep it brand new, you wouldn’t buy a car and not wash it would you? On top of keeping that new roof look, routinely Cleaning your roof adds to its longevity as well. Things like moss, algae and lichen can actually eat through your roof over time and debris can build up causing a dam where water can sit and penetrate your roof causing a leak. We recommend cleaning your roof once maybe even twice a year depending on how many trees surround your house or which direction your house is facing. Yeah, that makes a difference. Moss doesn’t like the sun, so it grows heavier on the north side of a roof.
Bleach and Water
We spray bleach and water down on the roof to kill any moss or algae. Its best to do this on a warm and dry day when the moss and algae are thirsty and will absorb the most, ensuring to kill off the roots they have planted in the roof. We recommend bleach and water as opposed to the traditional laundry detergent method, because modern laundry detergents stopped using phosphorus in order to protect our rivers, and instead they use chemicals that may be more eco-friendly but they will actually eat through your roof.
DO NOT PRESSURE WASH YOUR ROOF!
Pressure washing is probably the biggest mistake home owners and inexperienced companies make when cleaning roofs. When you pressure wash your roof it removes the granules from the shingles, which is the first line of defense. Some not many people know is that pressure washing your roof will actually void the manufacturers warranty, leaving you to foot the bill if your roof fails. One way to think about it is this, how long would it take for that amount of pressure to fall the sky? And you just did it in ten minutes. Instead we recommend you use a leaf blower or soft bristle broom to remove any debris, spray down bleach and water, and if you can let it sit for a day to allow the moss and algae to absorb as much as possible, then come back with the soft bristle broom and leaf blower.
Thats it, easy as that! If you don’t feel like getting up on your roof your self give us a call or email us today or set up and appointment online here on our website!
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