F.A.Q's:
Q. What types of roofing can be installed on my house?
A. While most sloped roofs today have asphalt shingles installed on them, there are many other types of roofing that are becoming increasingly popular. Wood shakes have been a common choice in the past. Various metal designs, concrete tile, rubber and composite materials are also now becoming very popular among home owners.
Q. Are there any “Green” options when it comes to roofing?
A. Yes. Asphalt shingle recycling is in its infancy in Edmonton. There also are some things that you can do to become more environmentally friendly yourself:
- Choose a roofing product with the highest warranty that you can afford. By doing this, you will keep the material on your roof and out of the landfill for a longer period of time.
- Choose to roof or re-roof your house in steel. You can have steel panels installed over existing asphalt shingles thereby keeping them out of the landfill, as well. Most steel panels carry a limited 50 year warranty, lasting twice as long as an entry level asphalt shingle.
- Choose to roof or re-roof your house with concrete tile. Concrete has been a proven roofing material for decades and has been known to last longer than most other roofing materials. When the roof has finally lasted through its lifespan, the material can be recycled into road crush or used for other purposes.
Q. How are asphalt shingles made?
A. Traditionally, asphalt shingles were made with an organic (wood and paper fibers) mat core, saturated with asphalt and covered with colored stones or granules. Today, fiberglass mat cores are the norm with manufacturers, which are coated with asphalt and then the colored granules. The fiberglass mats are generally lighter in weight and cheaper to make.
Q. Are there different types of asphalt shingles?
A. Yes. Triple-tab shingles have been a mainstay for years on many roofs; however, various architectural designs are quickly becoming the norm, with triple-tabs being phased out. Many of these designs are made to look like real wood shakes and slate.
Q. What type of manufacturer warranties are offered?
A. In the past, it has been commonplace to find warranties as low as 10 to 15 years for asphalt shingles. These days, manufacturers are removing lower warranty shingles and offering as a base a 25 year limited warranty. Asphalt shingle and other material warranties can have up to a limited lifetime (40 – 50 yrs) or even a full 50 year warranty in some instances. It is always best to obtain as much information from manufactures as possible, before deciding on a product. Jayson Roofing Inc. is the only GAF MasterElite roofing company in the Edmonton are. This means that we can offer warranties that no other roofing company can. Ask us about our top-of-the-line Golden Pledge Warranty.
Q. Should I just put the cheapest shingle that I can find on my roof?
A. While ultimately as a homeowner the answer to this question is up to you, we have found that lower warranty shingles are more susceptible to damage from the elements, which may not be fully covered under warranty. The price of a mid-warranty shingle is becoming very competitive, and we believe that it is well worth the minimal cost upgrade to have them installed, vs. a low-end shingle. Asphalt shingle warranties are only covered up to certain wind speeds, beyond that they are not. The thicker the shingle, the less chance of having it blow off on windy days.
Q. Do I need to have my existing asphalt shingles removed before installing new ones?
A. While some roofing installers say no, it is definitely better if they can start with a clean roof deck for installing new shingles. If new shingles are installed over older shingles, the new shingles may not lay flat and there could be a greater risk of blow offs during windy periods. You may also have rotting or damaged wood under the older shingles that cannot be repaired if they are not stripped off of the roof.
Q. I see some stones or granules in my eaves troughs, is my roof damaged?
A. When asphalt shingles are made, the stones or granules are dropped on to the shingle while the asphalt is hot and sticky. Quite often, too many granules are put on for all of them to stick properly. It is very common to find loose granules in the new shingle packaging, as well as in your eaves troughs every year, and this will not necessarily be a sign of damage early on. If the shingles have been on your roof for a number of years, and you start to notice quite a few loose granules, you will need to have your roof replaced soon. As more and more granules are removed from the shingle, it will break down faster due to the elements.
Q. Do I need to have underlayment installed under my new shingles?
A. Yes. While the manufacturers of older organic shingles have not required underlayment under the shingles, they highly recommend having it installed under fiberglass core shingles. The reasons are that fiberglass shingles will not curl up at the end of their lifespan, as organic shingles do, so you may not know exactly when to replace them. If there is some kind of damage later in the roof’s lifespan due to aging, you will still have some protection before you can have the roof replaced. Also, the underlayment is a second line of defense against any of the elements that may get under the shingles. All higher warranty roofing products do require some kind of underlayment installed first, because all sloped roofing products only shed water, but do not seal it out. It just makes sense to have that second line of defense installed on your roof. Many manufacturers will also not give a full warranty if the proper underlayment is missing.
Q. Are extended warranties available?
A. Yes. Because we are properly certified by certain manufacturers, we can offer certain extended roofing warranties that others companies cannot. Contact us to find out the details of these extended warranties.
Q. Do I need to have my vents changed when re-roofing?
A. Yes. Your vents have also been on the roof for an extended period of time and have been exposed to sun, rain, snow, wind and hail. Many of the metal vents get beaten down by hail and don’t work as well as they once did. They also may have started to rust due to water sitting on certain parts. These rusted spots could easily create holes for water to get into your attic. The cost is also minimal to replace a vent during a re-roof vs. having one replaced at a later date.
Q. What is Ice Damming?
A. Ice damming occurs when snow builds up on your roof through the winter months, melts, and then freezes to ice. If your attic space is too warm, or in climates where some days are above zero with freezing occuring at night, the snow will melt, and then freeze again. The warmer your roof is, the more the snow will melt. Because water needs more room when it freezes, it pushes in all directions, including up the roof and sometimes, under the shingles. If this happens for a number of days in a row, an ice block or dam can form. When it melts again, the water has to flow down somewhere and may flow under the shingles and in some cases into your attic and down the wall.
Q. How do I stop ice damming?
A. There are things that you can do when re-roofing to greatly reduce any problems that may occur with ice damming. First, have the roofing installers put down a peel and stick membrane along the most susceptible areas of the roof before they shingle it. These areas would include along the eaves troughs and in the valleys. These membranes act like a big band aid and will greatly reduce the risk of water penetrating the roof deck.
Secondly, make sure that you have enough roof vents installed on the peak of your roof. Roof vents allow any warm air to escape from your attic.
Third, make sure that your soffits are open and not restricted in the attic. This will allow cooler air from outside to vent in, while the warmer air vents out the peak.
Fourthly, have someone check the R-value of the insulation in your attic to make sure that it is at appropriate levels. Not enough insulation will cause the attic to warm up, possibly creating large ice-dams.
The cooler your roof stays in winter, the less snow will melt on the roof on warmer days. Some people also pull the snow off of their roofs, along the eaves troughs using snow rakes. This prevents any snow build up from melting and freezing in those areas. 
Q. What is drip edge or eave flashing and do I need it?
A. Drip edge or eave flashing is a bent metal that is installed under the shingles along the eaves troughs. It allows any water travelling down the roof to run directly into the trough. On new homes, eaves troughs are generally installed tight to the edge of the roof, so there is very little chance that any water will travel outside of the trough. On older homes, the eaves troughing may pull away from the roof edge somewhat over time, due to the house settling and snow and ice buildup weighing down the troughing in the winter. Because of these factors, water has a greater chance of travelling in behind the eaves trough and dripping along the roof edge. Drip edge is often installed on older homes to combat this problem.
Q. Do I need to be worried about wood shakes?
A. Depending on the type of wood roof you have or are considering, you should find out as much information as possible. Pine shakes that were installed in the early to mid 1990’s will need to be replaced as soon as possible. Because pine is a very soft and untreated wood, it tended to break down much quicker than cedar roofing. Cedar is a naturally treated wood and has been known to last for up to 50 years on a roof, depending on the thickness and quality of the wood.
Q. I have a wood roof, what should I look for?
A. Stand in front of your house on a brighter day. (Binoculars will help) Making sure that you can see as much of the roof as possible, look for any black spots or areas. If you have pine shakes that have been on the roof for a number of years, you may notice many areas where the wood is darker. These dark areas are where the pine is rotting away and leaving holes. You should have your roof replaced very soon if this is the case. If you have a cedar roof, you will need to get closer to it, to better examine it for deficiencies. When cedar becomes overly mossy or dry for long periods of time, it will break down quicker. Look for wood pieces that are splitting to where you can see paper underneath. You may also start noticing pieces of wood on the ground after a windy day. This will indicate that the cedar is becoming worn out and needs to be changed.
Q. Are there different types of metal roofs?
A. Yes. As you drive around your neighborhood, you may notice a vertical ribbed type of metal on many of the commercial and industrial buildings. This is what most people associate metal roofing with because of the length of time that it has been around. Today, there are many other types and styles of metal roofing gaining popularity. In our opinion, stone coated steel panels are among the strongest products and offer some of the best warranties, as well. Additionally, because they are also offered in different colors and profiles, we believe that they give homeowners an excellent option to compliment the style of their home. In addition to being very strong, steel panels are also very lightweight and can be installed on just about any roof.
Q. Do I need to worry about weight with concrete tiles?
A. Yes and No. If you are building a new home and you would like to have the option of installing any type of heavier concrete material, you will need to have your trusses engineered to take the extra weight. However, if you don’t want to increase the strength of your trusses, or you have an older home that was built for lighter roofing materials, there is an option to choose a lightweight version of concrete tile that can be installed on most roofs. It also carries the same warranty as the regular weight concrete tile for peace of mind.
Q. I have a flat roof, what are my options?
A. Currently with flat roof replacements, there are two popular options. Built-up Roofing (or BUR) is the most popular choice of roofing used on commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. BUR is used on flat or low-sloped roofs and consists of multiple layers of bitumen and roofing felt sheets. The other popular choice, Modified Bitumen Membranes (MBS) combine the features of a built-up roof with the added tensile strength from its polymer modification. Using a reinforced sheet that is prefabricated in the plant, modified bitumen systems require a less labor-intensive application and can be applied cross-platform in both commercial and certain residential applications. Other choices are becoming increasingly popular in the commercial and industrial construction industry. You can contact our commercial company, West Point Roofing Inc. for additional information.
Tips:
Have your roof inspected twice a year.
Once in the spring before the heat of summer arrives and once in the fall before the snow flies. This will help you learn of any deficiencies or damage that may have occurred, that may be hidden from sight, and have them repaired before something more significant happens. The inspector will also clean any loose debris off of your roof.
Regularly clean out debris from your eaves troughs.
Over the course of a year, debris from trees and garbage can fall or be blown onto your roof and into your eaves troughs. Over time, this debris can not only clog up your drain pipes, but can also weigh down the troughs, causing them to separate from the roof edge.
Have damaged shingles replaced as soon as possible.
After very windy days you may notice one or more shingles lying on the ground, or lifted or missing from your roof. If you’ve had a roof inspection recently, the inspector may also inform you of any missing or damaged shingles. If those open areas are not fixed as soon as possible, you risk water leakage into the house, as well as rotting roof decking over time.
Try to avoid walking on your roof as much as possible.
The more traffic that occurs on the roof, the quicker a roof system can wear out. For shingles, foot traffic assists in removing some of the protective granules. It is also possible to crack a shingle, or trip on one, causing it to break off. For wood shakes or concrete tile, foot traffic can also crack the pieces, creating holes. And for metal, it is possible to step wrong and bend a metal shingle or panel.
