Roofing

“Okay, so the time has come. We know we need to replace our roof. We know we should get several estimates. We know we should compare materials, warranties, etc. But what more should we know? What exactly is the re-roofing process?”

Well, with this article I would like to give you some information on what you can expect once you have made those initial monumental decisions.

Remember, it should be understood that roofing is major construction!

Let’s start with day one. In most cases the re-roofing process begins with the arrival of the roof removal crew. Normally they will need access to your driveway. The tear off generally will start on the back of the structure. The idea is that the torn off materials will be moved on the rooftop across the roof to the front edge of the property, normally the garage, where they will be deposited in either a truck or a dumpster of some kind. They will then be transported to the local landfill.

The roof is then cleaned off and all the original wood, (sheathing, starter boards, fascia, etc.,) is exposed. At this point any and all dry rot or termite damaged wood can be identified and can be repaired.

Once the wood repairs have been completed, the roofing supply yard, using a conveyor or forklift will load the materials onto the rooftop. The next step in the process is for the actual roofers to arrive.They will set up and then start the actual re-roofing process.

They will begin by installing the underlayment. This is the rolled material that provides the moisture barrier between the wood roof deck and the actual shingle, tile, etc. Next the roofer will install the proper starter component around the entire perimeter along with any re-enforcement of valleys, vent flashing, etc. Next comes the installation of any venting components,  followed by the installation of the actual roof itself.

The final process is the cleaning of the gutters, if they exist, and the final cleanup of any of the roofing debris.

At this point, we can let it rain! I know the above sounds a little convoluted but my hope is that it can give you some semblance of the actual re-roofing process. I sincerely hope this information is helpful to anyone who is anticipating embarking on this journey. Call Raneri and Long! You can trust us!

Dave Hancock, President

Raneri and Long Roofing and Windows

Cell: 6192441618

So, your home is twenty or thirty years old and the tile roofing was done decades ago, perhaps the tile specs weren’t followed to the proper installation methods.

Now, as so often has happens, your twenty five year old roof has developed leaks.

You call any number of roofing professionals, and you get different opinions on how you should proceed to take care of the problems;

1) Lift and Relay Method

Lift the existing tile, install new flashing, using not one, but two (a base and a flexible flashing), replace the underlayment with not one, but two layers, install weather blocks to the ridges and hips, then reinstall the existing tile, replacing any broken tiles which have been discovered.

This type of job will usually carry a five to ten year workmanship warranty, with no guarantee at all to the re-used tile.

2) Brand New Tile Method

Remove and dispose of the existing tile, install new flashing, using not one but two (a base and a flexible flashing), replace the underlayment using not one, but two layers, install weather blocks to the ridges and hips, then install new tile to the entire structure.

This job, from my company will carry a fifteen year warranty on the workmanship, and a FIFTY YEAR warranty on the tile!

The jobs actually sound pretty similar; flashing and underlayment are removed, replaced properly, etc. Sure, the warranties are better with the New Tile Method, but is it worth the extra cost?

Absolutely!

Think about not today, but think down the road. Kids are gone, Life changes for whatever reason. Now, it comes time to sell the house.

In this day and age, inspections are increasingly becoming more and more thorough. In the process of selling the property, most likely a professional roofing contractor will be called to assure that all is well with the roof. So, up on the roof he goes.

In the case of a Lift and Relay Method, the first thing he notices is any color variations between the previously replaced broken tiles and the existing old tile. Next, he realizes the the old tile was reused. He thinks to himself “Hmm, this house is thirty five years old. That means that the roof tile is ALSO thirty five years old. The work on this roof looks great, but the tile is approaching the very end of it’s expected life. Man, this roof is of, from a real estate standpoint, almost NO value!”

Now, that same inspector goes on the neighbor’s roof, on which the New Tile Method was employed, takes one look, and says “Wow! This is a brand new roof! This roof fully passes inspection, from both the material, as well as the labor standpoint!”

Now, what is the cost difference between the two methods?

With Lift and Relay, you’re buying new flashing, new underlayment, taking a puzzle apart and putting it back together, replacing any broken tile with non matching product, leaving a sometimes “checkerboard” effect, then, after all the above, still ending up with a used, non-compliant, no value, roof.

The average cost of the above sub standard job, because of all the component replacement, the labor involved in moving the tile several times, the extra time/labor involved in the entire complicated method, for a twenty five hundred square for roof area is in the neighborhood of conservatively $10,000. and up.

The average cost of the truly new roof, of great value and warranted for both labor and material, with the New Tile Method is, for the same square footage, in the neighborhood of $12,500. and up.

Bottomline, for $2500 I think it should become patently obvious as to which job is the better choice.

Having said the above, and having disclosed both the positive as well as the negatives, my company is always happy to provide options for both methods.

I think though, that when all is considered and digested, the New Tile Method will normally be the choice, once the differences are displayed side by side, as I have attempted to outline above.

Whatever you choose, you can be assured that Raneri and Long will ALWAYS provide the best available solution. Your satisfaction truly is our goal!

How many times I’ve heard a customer say, “Well, I’ve had my tile roof repaired, but now it’s leaking again.”

There is one fact which cant be denied: had the roof been fixed right the first time, it is impossible for the same leak to come back!

The fact is, the leak, which was thought to have been repaired, has NOT “come back”. It was never fixed in the first place.

Usually, the repaired area goes through the first quarter, or half inch of rain, doesn’t leak, and the homeowner sighs a big sigh of relief. Same thing happens in the next storm.

Then, the big two, or three inch “gully-washer” hits, and the identical leak shows up again!

The reasons are several:

1) A “band aid” was improperly placed on the leaking area.

2) Oftentimes it takes a lot of rainfall, accompanied by high wind, to make the leak obvious, or to make a prior leak show up again.

3) The leak was misidentified as a simple seal around a pipe, or skylight, or chimney flashing, with no consideration given to the possibility of deteriorated paper underlayment, or improper roof flashings.

The truth is, water travels!

Take a hose then, pour water on the sidewalk and watch the action of the water. It travels. Imagine how water can travel down the slope of your roof, under the tile, then finally show up, sometimes from a great distance away, around a pipe, skylight, or some other penetration.

So, what is the solution?

The answer is simple;

Fix it right!

First, the tile must be removed from the ENTIRE section, (hip, gable, valley, flashing, etc.).

Next, not one, but two layers of appropriate felt, (usually 40#) tile underlayment must be installed from eave to ridge, covering the entire section. Remember, water travels, and to assure that all

potential water intrusion areas are addressed, the entire section must receive treatment.

The final step, flashing the penetrations, must be accomplished using a both a base, and a secondary flashing, to assure that no water can enter under the tile from anywhere. This flashing must be

accompanied by an approved weather block at the peaks, as well as at the hip angles, so that wind driven water cannot blow under the tile.

Because the tile is permanent, if installed correctly, your tile roof should indeed last for the life of the structure!

Remember, when you want it fixed right, call Raneri & Long, we won’t disappoint you!

Several months ago, we got called to look at a couple of leaks in a tile roof. This was a two story house which had a room addition which had been built some years earlier. The roof leaked when it rained heavily, and especially when the rain became wind driven. The leaks showed up in two areas, one in the old part of the house, the other close to where the newer addition had been “tied in” to the original roof.

We agreed to repair the leaks, and proceeded to do so. I should mention at this point that, unbeknownst to me at the time, the leak at the tie in had actually reared its’ ugly head long before the addition had been built, and had continued on and off for over ten years. Had that occurred to me, or had the homeowner let us know, it may have gone easier, but who knows?

Anyway, our assumption was that it shouldn’t be too difficult to repair the problems, so we went ahead with our standard tile repair, which involves raising the tile in the leak sections, replacing the paper, double flashing penetrations, etc. By the time we were done, both my employees, as well as the customer, were sure that all was good.

A couple of weeks later, the rain came, and I talked with the happy customer, who informed me that all was dry. I felt real good about that, because, as I have indicated, we had found out that this problem had been recurring over many years, and getting it finally fixed was very satisfying.

Then, a couple more weeks went by, it rained heavily, and I received the dreaded call; it leaked! Not in both places, mind you, but in the one at the tie in to the addition. At least one of the two had been fixed. Well, because we guarantee all our work, we rushed out to try to find the problem.

Nothing! There was no indication of any kind of flaw or defect in the work which we had performed. Even so, I sent the guys back, and on the very edge of the upper roof, they thought they found an opening, and went ahead and fixed it, this time sure that the problem was solved for good.

Next rain came, the homeowner called again. Still leaking!

Of course, by this time I was getting frustrated, and a little annoyed at my guys. After all, we’re roofers, and these people paid us to fix this thing. Nevertheless, I sent then back again, and short of threatening them with bodily harm, told them that this time was it, we had to get this thing figured out!

So, they proceeded to pull the tile, allowing them to check everything yet again. I finally received a call from my foreman, who relayed that everything was exposed, where the tile was removed, and… nothing!

So, back to the drawing board. I started thinking, and in my experience, I have learned that not all water intrusion at the roof area is necessarily due to a roof leak.

I called my foreman back, and asked him to look carefully in the entire area. He indicated that all was normal. Looking at the house, the two story roof was above the lower roof, separated by a stucco wall. I asked if there were any cracks or defects in the stucco, and he said no, only a gutter and a downspout, which drained the water from above, down the wall to the ground.

I could almost hear the light clicking on in his head. He told me to wait a minute. He decided to water test the wall, where the downspout was attached by a metal strap, which was held in place by a screw, which penetrated the stucco.

Sure enough, in just a minute or two of running the water on the wall, that same pesky leak appeared!

Hallelujah! He had found the leak!

Water, driven by heavy rain, and pulled into the hole in the stucco, by gravity, had gotten into the wall, found a stud, and finally showed up inside. With some caulking and sealing, we were able to fix it, permanently!

My customer offered to pay us extra for our detective work, but honestly, we felt a responsibility to stick with the problem till it was solved. Needless to say, he was happy, and actually, I was proud that my company was able to finally solve the problem for him.

Bottom line, this leak proved, once again, that not all water intrusion is necessarily caused by a roof leak.

Water is indeed very, very, tricky.

I think we can all sleep well, and dry, for a long time to come. This one is solved!

Dave Hancock, President

Raneri and Long Roofing and Windows

Cell: 619-244-1618

Sometimes, I get a call from someone who says they have noticed many pieces of deteriorated roofing on the ground, or around their home.

Well, usually the first thing I tell a homeowner is not to panic, that the cause may not be catastrophic.

The fact is, I have arrived at many of these types of situations to find that the actual roof is ok, but that the ridgecaps, at the very peak of the roof, or in the case of a hip roof, the trim pieces that form the angles, have simply rotted away. How can this happen

Well, it shouldn’t! The reason for such failures was mainly due to a product, which was decorative, used extensively pretty much all over, and even though it carried a long warranty, failed miserably. The name of the product was Dura Ridge. It was manufactured by a company by the name of Ridge Manufacturing Co., and was wildly popular for years. It’s purpose was to add a decorative, woodsy look to what, back in the day, were rather plain, drab looking asphalt shingles. It was very successfully sold as having the same warranty as the shingles themselves, and really did add substantially to the appearance of the roof on which it was used.

Then disaster! One by one, the product failed, until finally litigation forced the closing of it’s manufacturer. Because the product failure was exactly that, a product failure, and not a workmanship issue, the homeowner was left holding the bag, although a lot of contractors, my company included, replaced the faulty caps at a reasonable cost to the consumer.

The good news is that often times, the shingles upon which the ridgecaps were installed were still in good shape, thereby allowing just the caps themselves, rather than the entire roof, to be replaced. My company has performed many of these types of repairs.

So, how does one avoid this issue going forward? The simplest way is to insist that your new roof be installed as a system, supplied by one specific manufacturer, who will guarantee the entire system, not excluding any components manufactured by others. In this way you can be assured that you will be protected.

If signs of this type of problem ever do rear their ugly heads, remember, don’t panic!

Call Raneri and Long, we’ll solve the problem professionally and honorably.

Too Flat For Shingles?

Q: I currently have a low sloped roof that has a rolled roofing surface. Can I re-roof it with composition shingles?

A: You have touched on a question which is near and dear to many homeowners.

Thousands of homes were built over the years with low sloped roofs. They were covered either by rolled roofing, or gravel surfaces.

Because lots of homeowners did not like the appearance of these products, manufacturers of composition shingles wrote specifications to allow their use, within certain, strict, guidelines, the first of which is the degree of slope.

The normal minimum slope for a shingle application is described as being 4 in 12. This means that for every 12 inches of run, a 4″ rise is required, to assure proper drainage. (The steeper the pitch, the faster the runoff will occur).

This is important to understand, because on a lower slope, water will run off more slowly, giving it a greater chance to blow backward or sideways, finally finding an entry point (leak).

The manufacturers, to combat this problem, came up with a brilliant solution. Instead of a single layer of felt underlayment, which would be found on a normal slope, they require a second layer of underlayment, which is staggered, thereby preventing the intrusion of water, even when it is slowed down by lack of slope. Remember 1 layer of 30# astm felt is not the same as 2 layers of 15# felt. The important thing is the number of layers not the weight of felt.

The limit however, is an absolute minimum of 2 in 12, or 2″ of rise for every 12″ of run.

For slopes below the minimum, shingles may not be used, under any circumstances.

In addition to the slope requirement, the shingles must also be installed to a “double coverage” application.

Although it can seem confusing, the manufacturers specs have been the product of experience and evolution. It is crucial to follow them to protect both your home, and your warranty.

Hiring Raneri and Long, of course will assure that all is done properly, and that you can rest comfortably during any inclement weather.

I once received a frantic call from a lady who actually was crying. Seems she had contracted with a major Big Box Store to have her roof re-done. This operation, who uses Sub-Contractors, charged this lady $11,000. for her new roof. By the time her roofing job had been completed, this unscrupulous business added an additional $12,000., bringing the total cost of her job to a whopping $23,000!

The lady obviously was upset and told the company that she thought the amount was ridiculous and vehemently protested the additional charge. The company smugly referred her to the “fine print” of her contract and sure enough, she read the clause carefully and found that she had fully agreed to the replacement of the rotted wood, with absolutely no opportunity to verify footage, sheets of plywood, fascia boards, etc. She contemplated not paying the bill, but ultimately decided that the challenge of hiring lawyers, etc. would simply drain her, both emotionally, as well as financially.

So, how do you prevent this type of unscrupulous contractor abuse? Simple; As President

Reagan taught all America, “Trust But Verify!” The question then becomes “Sure, but how do I do that?”

With Raneri and Long, It’s simple! First, it’s absolutely impossible to determine the full extent of rotted wood until the roof is completely removed, which will then expose any problem areas. Any rotted wood absolutely needs to be replaced. You cannot install new roofing on old, rotted wood. The solution? Raneri and Long, in the course of the job, will remove any dry rotted/termite damaged wood, replacing it properly so as not to leave the premises open to the weather. R&L will then neatly stack any plywood, fascia boards,. eave starter boards, etc. on the ground, out of the way. This will allow our customer to verify, measure footage, etc., removing all doubt as to the veracity of the wood replacement. The subject wood will then, by job completion, be hauled away with any other debris, leaving the premises clean.

Does this procedure take us a little more time? Certainly! Do we care? Not at all! At Raneri and Long, we want you to be fully satisfied, with the peace of mind that comes with verification.

Twice in all of my years of business, while my men were nailing from above, without warning, a nail would penetrate through the underlying substrate, and actually cut in to a hidden electrical wire.

How can this happen?

Well, it shouldn’t. The fact is, there are building codes for pretty much every aspect of building; plumbing, roofing, electrical, etc. If all work is performed to comply with the various codes, the likelihood of a problem such as the electrical one described above, is greatly reduced.

In both cases in which a problem occurred, the electric lines were installed high up, through the rafters, and touching the underside of the roof sheeting. When a shingle or length of rolled roofing is nailed, from the top, of course, the code requires that the nail be driven a minimum of 3/4″ into the sheeting, or to actually penetrate it, if the sheeting is not thick enough to accommodate the 3/4″. Because, in both instances, the wiring was run too high, the nail, having to penetrate the sheeting, actually cut the wire, causing it to short out.

Because this happened while the roof was being installed, the homeowner naturally assumed that the roofer made a dumb mistake. It is important to recognize though, that the roof is installed from the topside, and the roofer, assuming, out of necessity, that any prior work has been done to comply with building codes, went ahead with his normal installation method, the same method he has used on countless jobs, and the result was less than desirable.

My advice? Use licensed, bonded, and insured contractors for work to be performed. When you follow that guideline, and if a problem should occur, at least recourse will be available to you.

Operable skylights:

What a joy! A skylight which is operable, either remotely, or by the use of a manual crank, can offer a multitude of benefits. They allow fresh air to circulate, they can contribute to cooling, they can allow bad air to escape into the outdoors, and even, under the right circumstances, allow stargazing. Truly a great invention!

But, be cautious! Please remember, that along with all the benefits listed above, , one of the primary purposes in installing a skylight, is to provide water proofing!

Remember, if you leave the property, for pretty much any time increment, the rains can come. Be sure that all operable skylights are closed, to prevent water intrusion during storms! You don’t want to return and find that a major leak, or even a small leak, has occurred because a skylight was left open accidentally.

Sounds silly and obvious, right? Well, at least 6, or maybe 8 times in my career, I’ve received calls from angry customers reporting roof leaks, only to find the true culprit… you guessed it, open skylights!

Although I have never charged a customer for helping to track down such a problem, it should be remembered that most roofing contracts can contain a clause allowing a charge for such an investigative search for leaks, stating that, in the event it is found that a leak is caused by other than some sort of workmanship issue, or a manufacturing defect, that the contractor will be compensated for his time, material and his expertise.

Bottom line, just as you would close and lock your windows and doors, please, please, don’t forget your skylights.

Call Raneri and Long Roofing and Windows for all your roofing and window needs. We’re here to help!

Dave Hancock, President

Raneri and Long Roofing and Windows

Cell: 6192441618