A Great Roof Installation

More often than you think, run of the mill roof crews are looking to get paid for the job and move onto the next. The roofing industry is littered with complaints about roof installations -- it’s rarely ever about the product or price. It’s important to remember not all roof installations are the same. Roofing is so much more than just some shingles and tar paper. It's important to consider your contractor based on the service of the install and not only the price of the job. Every roof installation has several steps and each step has to be executed with 100% procession. Check out Garvin Exteriors Roofing Installation Steps here.

The technology of roofing materials has also changed quite a bit from years past. Roofers are now having to keep up with all the changes. Many roofing companies however aren’t keeping up because they are stuck in their own ways of installing the same shingle and material they were using 20 years ago.

For example: If you're about to start or actively getting estimates I'm sure you have heard one company use the term, "15 or 30 pound felt paper." Back in the day this meant the underlayment weighed 15 or 30 pounds per 100 square feet or 1 square. Now the names have changed from, "15 pound" to just "15". Meaning you're not actually receiving 15 pounds per square anymore. It's actually more like 7.5 to 12.5 pounds per square. Things are evolving and it's important for homeowners to know what you're actually getting in roofing materials.

5 Things to be on the lookout for:

1. No Tarps: It’s amazing how many roofing installations Garvin Exteriors has seen over the years and crews are performing an install without using tarps. Tarps are 100% essential for any roof install. Crews that don’t use them are lazy.

2. Improper Ladder Safety: Falling off of a ladder isn’t fun for anyone. But did you know that if a crew member was to fall off a ladder and they aren’t insured they can sue you for the damages. Making sure ladders are 3 feet past the roof line and footed correctly are two simple tasks to ensure a ladder is safe to use on a roof.

3. Scattered Roofing Materials: Roofing installs are a messy job. Your yard will look like a bomb went off. However keeping the area free of debris and the materials in one place keeps the installation moving along at a quick and efficient pace. The crew doesn’t have to spend time looking for things and won’t trip over items in the yard.

4. Rogue Nails in Your Yard: How many nails do you think you have on your roof? The average roof has 320 nails per 100 square feet. If your roof is, 3000 square feet that’s 9,600 nails. All those nails are being removed and thrown on the ground -- hopefully on a tarp. And there will be several nails that fall off the tarps. Making sure the crew does a magnetic sweep is critical. After the installation is completed, the crew will look like they are mowing your lawn. In reality they are cleaning up all those nails. Most of the time a crew will get them all but some can slip past the giant magnet.

5. No Hydration or Breaks: To ensure the best installation, a crew should be taking breaks every 2 hours or so. This is common within the industry so don’t be alarmed if you see installers just standing around from time to time. The Houston heat is brutal. The Houston heat on a roof however is insanity. Imagine watching the roof install and it’s 90 degrees outside. On your roof where the installers are it feels like 110 degrees. The sun is reflecting off the roof right onto the installers. No one wants an installer passing out and falling off the roof!