Eldridge Roofing & Restorations, Inc.

After a severe storm, the first thing you want to do is make sure that all members of your family are safe. The next thing you want to do is check your home to find out if it suffered damage (if there was no immediately obvious damage that you saw happen during the storm). Whether it’s a big or small repair that you need, it’s important to hire honest and trustworthy contractors in Houston, TX, to repair your home while avoiding the would-be scammers out there. Here are three questions you can ask to help you separate the two.

 

1: What’s Your Local Address and Phone Number?

A local company is far more likely to be invested in the community and probably won’t try to cheat you (although it’s not a guarantee). A company that is sending “storm chasers” from outside of the state or from another county to drum up a little extra business is less likely to care about their long-term reputation, which could mean anything from poor customer service to outright fraud. Ask for a local (physical) address and a phone number and verify them before you hire a company.

 

2: Are You Insured?

Insurance coverage is perhaps the most important way to protect a homeowner against the potential for damage or other costs if something goes wrong during the roof repairs in Houston. Check that your contractor carries both general liability and worker’s compensation insurance, and that they are insufficient amounts that you won’t be stuck with a bill when the insurance money runs out.

 

3: What Do Your Past Customers Say About You?

Word-of-mouth advertising has long been one of the most accurate ways to measure the quality of a roofing contractor. Even if you don’t know someone who has personally worked with the contractor(s) you are considering, you can ask for a list of referrals or past customers. You can also go online and read reviews, keeping in mind that competitors might be trying to get the upper hand by leaving overly negative reviews, or dishonest contractors might be trying to boost their own reputation by leaving overly positive reviews. It’s best to talk to customers yourself in person to find out about their experience working with this company.

Start with these questions to ensure that you get the highest quality contractor and can hire them at a fair price to repair your Roofing In Houston following a big storm.

The process of installing a new roof for your home in Katy, TX is something that most homeowners probably don’t do very often. After all, the majority of roofing materials that you might have installed on your home are designed to last anywhere from 15 to 50 years or more, depending on what type of roof you get. When you do need to get new roofing installed, though, you should definitely brush up on industry terminology so you can understand what your contractor is saying and get the exact roof you need.

Roof Deck: The surface of the roof under your shingles, usually made of plywood or board. It’s important to make sure your roof deck is in good repair before installing shingles over it since the shingles are only as good as their support.

Eaves: This is the area under your roof, usually either a sloped or flat surface, that connects to your home and extends out to the edge of the roofing in Katy, TX.

Fire Ratings: In a hot climate like Texas, you want to make sure your roofing has an appropriate rating to keep your home safe from a fire that originates outside of the house (i.e. a spark that lands on the roof). Class A ratings have the highest fire resistance, Class C the lowest.

Protrusions/Penetrations: These terms are used to describe anything that sticks out of your roof and that you must build around when installing shingles. Common examples of protrusions are skylights, vents, and chimneys.

Flashings: These small metal fixtures are critical in keeping water out of your attic. Flashings are fastened around any protrusions or penetrations in order to prevent water from seeping in around these areas, which are the weakest part of the roof.

Rake: An inclined area where two Katy, TX roofing slopes meet and extend over an exterior wall of the house.

Ridge/Valley: The ridges of the roof are at the top of two sloped roof sections that meet, while valleys are the bottom part of two sloped roof sections.

Slope: A measure of how steep the roof is, expressed as “rise over run”, which means how many inches the roof increased in height for every 12 inches of horizontal length. For example, a 4-in-12 slope means the roof rises four inches for each foot of horizontal roof distance.

If you have additional questions about anything during the roofing process, make sure you ask your contractor for a clear explanation before you continue. Roofing shouldn’t be a mystery and with a little basic knowledge, it doesn’t have to be.

Hiring a roofing contractor is not something that you should take lightly. After all, your roofing in Conroe is one of the most valuable and important parts of your home. Fortunately, most homeowners don’t have to replace their roof very often, but when you do need roof repairs or replacement, it’s important to know how to spot the quality contractors and avoid the bad ones. Here are four signs you are working with the best.

1: They Carry Insurance

Quality roofing companies will have insurance that protects your home and their employees from any damage or harm during a roofing job. That includes both general liability and worker’s compensation insurance policies. It might surprise a homeowner to find out that if you hire a roofer in Conroe that doesn’t carry these insurance policies and the roofer damages your home or a neighbor’s home, or one of the workers is injured on your property, you could be on the hook to pay all the medical or repair bills.

2: Past Customers Love The Work

Another way to determine that you are working with a good roofer is to talk to someone who has worked with them before. Read reviews online, and ask for a list of references directly from the company. If they cannot produce a list of satisfied clients, it might be a red flag.

3: They are Local

Sometimes when an area is hit hard by storms or other severe weather, out-of-state or out-of-town roofers swoop in and take advantage of desperate homeowners. Unfortunately, many homeowners are left with poor quality work, or no work is done at all, even after paying the contractor, but by then the contractor is long gone. Working with a local company (that has a local address) ensures that you will be able to get in touch with them to fix any problems or address any issues that come up after installation or roof repairs in Conroe.

4: They Stand Behind Their Work

Before you hire a roofing contractor, ask about warranties and quality or satisfaction guarantees. If a roofer provides great work and uses high-quality materials, they are more likely to offer these guarantees. In the absence of a warranty or guarantee, you might be stuck paying for additional repairs for low-quality roofing materials or improper installation.

Check for these signs to make sure your Conroe roofing contractor is the best.

The roof over your head is a vital part of keeping your home and belongings safe, but it’s also something that is easy to put out of your mind—that is until something goes seriously wrong and you have to spend time and money to get it repaired. Instead of waiting for a disaster to strike, check out your roof every now and then (either on your own or with the help of a roofing contractor in The Woodlands, TX), and if you see any of these three things, be sure to repair them right away.

 

1: Roof Leaks

Sometimes it can be easy to ignore a small roof leak, and justify it by thinking that such a small leak isn’t causing much harm. What you may not know is that with every passing day that damage is probably getting worse, and leaks can go from a small thing to major damage very quickly. Water that makes its way into the house through the attic can lead to mold and mildew growth, damaged and rotting wood on the roof support structure, and damage to drywall and electrical areas inside the home below. It can also render any insulation you have in the attic completely useless.

 

2: Damaged Flashing

Flashing is the metal that is installed between your roof shingles in The Woodlands and anything that protrudes from the roof—skylights, vents, chimneys, and more. Since these areas have spaces and cracks in the shingles, they are the spots most susceptible to leaks. Flashing protects against leaks by sealing off the area, but if it becomes rusted or dented following severe storms or just weathered over time, it probably won’t be doing its job properly. Inspect and repair damaged flashing right away.

 

3: Clogged or Damaged Gutters

They might not seem like an integral part of your overall roofing in The Woodlands, TX, but your gutters are important for keeping rain, hail, and moisture flowing away from your home. If you notice spots where they have rusted or come loose, or you notice that they are overflowing with debris, it’s important to fix them right away to prevent water from coming off the roof and pooling around your home’s foundation.

Even small damages can quickly add up to big problems for your roofing in The Woodlands, TX. Repair small things today to get a healthy roof in the long run.

Spring is the perfect time to start thinking about doing repairs, and adding a few roofing items to your spring cleaning/to-do list can help make sure that your home is prepared for the hot Texas weather to come. Here are four things you should do in the coming months for your Tomball TX roofing.

 

Clean Out the Gutters

They might not seem like an integral part of your roofing in Houston, but gutters are critical to protecting the shingles on your home. Without proper drainage, water backs up and sits on the shingles, leading to leaks in your attic. The runoff from the overflowing water in areas besides the downspout can also damage your landscaping and lead to pooling water around the foundation, which is a huge problem. Check for gutters that are clean and in good repair, and make sure to clean out the downspouts as well.

 

Inspect Areas Around the Shingles

A preventive maintenance plan can ensure that even small roof repairs are addressed immediately so they never turn into major roof leaks. While shingle inspection is important (more on that in a minute), it’s also important that you check the areas around shingles, such as the vents, chimney, and metal flashing that surrounds items protruding from your Houston TX roof.

 

Check and Repair Shingles

Winter and spring in Texas can be tough on your Cypress TX roofing, which is why spring inspection and repairs are so critical. Check for signs of damage on the shingles, such as torn, cracked, missing, loose, or curling shingles. If you see these things, get them repaired by a professional roofing contractor right away.

 

Check for Animal Damage

Animals can cause significant problems for your roofing in many different ways. During your inspection, check for:

• Nests or other homes in chimneys or in ventilation areas
• Insect nests under or around the shingles
• Burrowing insects or animals that have managed to get into the attic through the eaves

If you find any of these things, it’s important to remove the animal(s) or insect(s) right away and call a roofing contractor to assess the damage and help take care of it for you.

A “storm” doesn’t necessarily always mean a major weather event like a tornado, and in Texas, there are plenty of ways that storms can damage your home and your Spring roofing. Tornadoes always pose a significant threat to the structure and safety of your home if it is hit, but in addition to that your roofing can also be damaged by heavy rains, high winds, lightning, hail, and more. Here are some tips to help you discover and repair any damage that occurs.

Spotting Damage on the Roof

Often one of the biggest challenges to getting timely repairs done on your Spring TX roofing is actually knowing that there was damage in the first place. After the storm is over and it’s safe to go outside and inspect the area, here are a few things you can be looking for:

• Leaking or other signs of water damage in the attic; the best time to do this is actually while it is still raining since you will be able to see the water leaking
• Signs of water leaks inside your home, such as bubbling or yellowing paint on the ceilings or walls
• Missing shingles or missing pieces of metal flashing on your Houston roofing
• Broken tree branches or other debris that landed on the roof
• Bruising, dents, or other signs of hail damage on the shingles

Repairing Storm Damage

Once you identify the need for repairs, the next step is to get it fixed. Some people might consider performing roofing repairs on their own, but in many cases, it pays to hire a professional Cypress roofing contractor to do the work. This ensures that you won’t miss any important repairs that need to be made, cause additional damage, or do the repairs incorrectly. All of these things can lead to higher costs for future repairs and potential damage to your home. You should also always consider your safety first and avoid doing anything that might put you at risk.

Insurance Claims

Some repairs to your roofing in Cypress TX might be covered under your homeowner’s insurance policy. If you know the damage was the result of high winds, falling tree branches, hail, or other similar weather events, it’s important that you document all the damage with photos and videos and call your insurance right away before you make any repairs.