Cory Swanson

Tear Off vs. Shingle Over

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When contemplating a new roof, many people hope to simply do a shingle over and avoid the extra cost and mess of tearing off the existing roof and starting from scratch. Although it sounds like a good idea, we can assure you the cons heavily outweigh the pros. In fact, the ONLY pro to a shingle over is it’s cheaper and cleaner. The problem is, what if there is an unknown leak or bad roof flashing? Will it be fixed? Will the damaged wood be replaced during a shingle over? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Just the other week, we came across a leak around a dormer the homeowner never knew about. Obviously, during the tear-off, we spotted the leak and were able to change out the rotted wood and re-flash the area. In a shingle over, if some of the decking has buckled and warped over the years, it likely isn’t going to be noticed and fixed. This can lead to increased rot, mold, and decrease the structural integrity of your home.

Leak around a dormer which the homeowner never knew about”

Long-Term Effects of Shingling Over Shingles

Apart from the problems going unnoticed during the actual shingle over, there are long term effects to consider as well. For instance, instead of just one roof on your home, you now basically have two. That’s a lot of extra weight, putting added stress on the roof decking. Also, two layers of shingles are going to attract a lot more heat than just one layer, which can lead to the shingles prematurely deteriorating. Also, what about all the algae growth and bacteria on the original layer of shingles? Now everything is trapped under the 2nd layer of shingles, again having the potential to shorten the lifespan of the top layer of shingles.

Roofing Over Your Existing Roof Is Not Worth It

If you haven’t noticed yet, we are not fans of shingle overs – not at all. We don’t recommend them nor do we do them. Over the years, we’ve seen problems caused by shingle overs. Does it cost more to tear off? Yes. However, by spending a little more now, you can save yourself thousands in the long run.

Gifford, IL Tornado

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On Sunday, November 17th, a tornado damaged and destroyed several Central IL homes. Among the worst impacted towns, was Gifford, IL. Since our company and several employees are located in Rantoul, we all had family and friends that were directly affected by this tornado. Apart from the destruction, it is truly a blessing that no one was seriously injured or killed.

In these trying times, it was amazing to see the outpour of volunteers and donations to help start the rebuilding process and care for those affected by the storm. To see so many people pull together from surrounding communities to help the town of 1,000 is a very humbling sight. Apart from those directly aiding Gifford, I would like to take this opportunity to also thank our end of the year customers who selflessly allowed us to postpone their jobs until Spring of 2014 in order to help as many people in Gifford as possible. With their support, and hopefully decent weather, we are going to be able to put several roofs on homes in Gifford and help a lot of people get one step closer to life returning to normal. Again, we thank you.

To make a donation to the Red Cross, you can click here

Below, are several pictures taken within an hour of the tornado impacting Gifford.

Recent April Storms

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This past week, we saw several strong storms with heavy rains and high winds roll through Central Illinois. Most areas received well over 4″ of rain, causing flash floods, closed roads, and property damage. When we receive that much rain for a prolonged period of time, it is not uncommon to see water spots and leaking on your ceiling drywall. However, what appears to be a roof leak may not always be caused by a problem with the roof.

 

Susceptible Areas on a Roof

Over the years, we’ve looked at hundreds of leaking roofs. Surprisingly, a lot of roof leaks are not in fact leaky roofs at all. Some of the most common non roof related leaks are attributed to the following:

  • Chimneys
  • Siding
  • Furnace and gas vents

CHIMNEYS

Over time, brick and mortar chimneys become weathered and aged. This aging causes bricks and mortar to crack and fail. Each crack in the mortar or bricks, is an area for water to permeate through and then run down the chimney. Alot of times a mason can replace damaged bricks and tuckpoint mortar joints and the problems will be resolved.

We also see several leaking chimneys that are your standard chimney box with vinyl siding around it. If the chimney is not properly wrapped in a waterproof barrier, wind-driven rain can get behind the siding, run down the chimney and behind the flashing. The fix is to simply just remove the siding from the entire chimney, install the waterproof barrier from top to bottom, covering the flashing at the base of the chimney where it meets the roof.

SIDING

Similar to a vinyl sided chimney, we often run into areas on a roof where the roof meets the side of the house. Again, if there is not a proper waterproof barrier installed behind the siding, wind-driven rain and snow build-up, can get behind the siding and the flashing where it meets the roof. The process to fix this problem is identical to that of the chimney repair listed above.

FURNACE & GAS VENTS

Many homes that don’t have a traditional chimney on the roof, often have just a metal furnace or gas vent coming through the roof. Over time, these fixtures receive a lot of abuse from wind and rain, which can cause the “collars” around the pipes to become loose and break their seal. When this happens, water can get behind the rain collar and travel down the outside of the furnace pipe, which will then drip and damage or stain drywall ceilings. Most of the time these issues can simply be fixed with roof sealant, or a new furnace pipe with new flashing and rain collar can be installed.

 

 

Bathroom Ventilation

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Checking for Proper Bathroom Ventilation

Most home bathrooms are equipped with a ventilation fan that can be used during showers to expel hot moist air from building up in the bathroom. Have you ever wondered where all that moist air goes? If not, then you’re not alone. Alot of times we find that bathroom exhaust fans simply dump that air into the attic. Now, you’ve got an attic full of moisture and a prime environment for mold growth. Mold growth on plywood and OSB will actually delaminate and weaken the strength and integrity of the wood.

Below, is a picture of what years of unproperly vented bathroom fans can do to the underside of a roof decking. In a case such as the one below, the best thing to do is remove the moldy roof decking and replace with new. (After correcting the source of the moisture first!)

How to Vent Bathroom Exhaust Fans

Now that we’ve established our main source of moisture contributing to the mold in the attic, we need to correct the situation. It is a pretty simple process which involves cutting a small hole in the roof decking, extending the insulated exhaust tubing to the hole, and attaching it to an exhaust vent on the roof. (Pictures below)

Proper ventilation of bathroom exhaust fans can save homeowners thousands of dollars in costly roof repairs and mold remediation. Not to mention, help keep your entire family safe. For more roof related information, feel free to browse our site or check out our Roofing 101 page!