Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home. As you know, mid-Missouri weather can be anything but predictable. Your roof on your home is your first line of defense against the outside elements and the roofing replacement process can be confusing if you’ve never been through it before.
At Expert Roofing & Exteriors we know your roof is a valuable asset. When the time comes to get it replaced, you want to make sure the company that is doing it knows what they are doing and doesn’t cut corners. Our team of experts are here to help you stay informed about the process so that you are better able to protect your investment and your home.
Materials
Let’s start with the basics. The first step is understanding your roofing materials. The type of material you use on your roof can make a huge difference. The two main types of roofing materials that are used here in mid-Missouri are Metal Shingles and Asphalt Shingles. We’ve got more information about metal shingles and asphalt shingles. You can check out that information by clicking here.
The Roofing Process
We typically take 2-3 days to re-roof a home. During that time our crew makes every effort to be as courteous as possible. We know that having your roof replaced typically isn’t a quiet time, but our experts do our best to make a small impact on your daily lives. Now let’s cover the process we go through when putting a new roof on your home.
Step 1: Removing the old roof
The first thing our team will do is remove the old shingles from your roof. It has been fairly common in the past for roofing contractors to place a second layer of shingles over the old layer instead of removing the old layers. This can be dangerous for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that if you don’t remove the shingles you may miss wood that needs to be replaced. Finding damage that needs to be fixed when replacing a roof can be a bummer. But, it’s better to find it when it is a minor fix than have your roof start leaking. If the new shingles are just layered over the old ones, that damage could get worse and worse until the small fix becomes a big fix.
The second reason is that many cities have updated their building codes. It is becoming more common for cities to require that a home only have a single layer of shingles. As part of our commitment to our customers, we always remove the old layers of shingles.
Step 2: Roof inspection
Once the old shingles have been removed, we like to do a thorough roof inspection. We want to make sure that the structural integrity of your roof is good and that there are no leaks. Since the shingles are already off, it gives us an excellent opportunity to make sure your roof is ready to continue protecting you and your family for years to come. If there are any repairs needed we will discuss those with you and get to work.
Step 3 Roof replacement
Once any repairs that are required have been made to the roof, we start the roof replacement. We start by laying down roofing paper over the wood. This creates a waterproof barrier that helps protect the wood from getting saturated during storms or when snow is melting.
The next step is to start applying any metal drip edging around the edge of the roof. This goes on both the eave sides and gable sides. If necessary we will also apply new valley flashing along areas where two roof planes meet. This is a pretty straight forward process and adds additional weather protection. Once the flashing is in place we nail it in and seal everything with roofing caulk.
After the edging and valley flashing has been installed, we begin putting the shingles on the home. The process is pretty similar for both asphalt and metal shingles. As we are applying the shingles we will also be installing the roof vents.
Roof vents help ensure that your attic can breathe and helps the overall health of the home (and your utility bills). Our roofing experts will also be adding additional flashing in strategic locations that run the risk of leaking. This is typically against a chimney, around skylights and stack vents, etc.
Step 4 Cleanup
After the roof has been replaced, it’s time for us to cleanup and let you enjoy the security of a brand new roof. It is part of our commitment to our customers to always leave your yard in better condition than when we got there. We will ensure that any mess we made is cleaned up and hauled away so that you don’t have to worry about it.
Cost can play a big factor in the roofing replacement process. Needing a new roof isn’t always planned and it can cause an unpleasant financial strain on a family. The first step is to see if it can be claimed under your homeowners insurance policy. We wrote another post about the insurance process and you can read that by clicking here.
Do you have more roofing questions? We’ve got more roofing answers. Be sure to check out our FAQ page where we address some of the top questions mid-Missourians have about the roofing process.
If you think you might need a roof replacement or roof repairs please don’t hesitate. Waiting to long can cause damage that can become a lot more expensive than a roof replacement. Our team of roofing contractors provide risk-free assessments and quotes. You can request your free quote today by calling (573) 567-3177 or by using this contact form.
