Roof Ventilaton: Key to a longer lasting roof
It might surprise you that seven out of ten roofs that we inspect on a daily basis for maintenance are under-ventilated. Most of these roofs are of the architectural composition type. Some very popular Portland, Oregon roofing contractors put on the roofs in the last 13-15 years.
Their popularity will prove to be short-lived, as their oversight will cost Portlanders millions of dollars in the lost service life of their roofing material.
The National Roofing Contractors Assoc. stated in 2007 that the number one cause of premature roof failure in America is improper ventilation. Why is this happening? Perhaps one reason is that most low cost, high volume roofers use roofing crews that get paid by the footage. Speed is the key. A supervisor stretched thin can only catch so much. The roofing contractor working on small margins will let things slide. A homeowner getting 15 years out of his 40-yr roof takes a distant second to his immediate needs. You spending 30-40% more in energy to cool and heat your home doesn’t even concern this roofing contractor. Do you see the problem here?
Damage from improper roof ventilation can include:
- Roof granular (tiny rocks on your shingles) will fall off into the gutters
- Spider cracks in the fiberglass mat.
- Plywood underlayment will bow and de-laminate
- Poisonous molds, mildew, and fungus can grow in your attic space.
If an under-ventilated roof is left to run its barrage of problems, the homeowner will have to replace the plywood, spray the attic space for mold and mildew damage, cut in the right amount of ventilation and then re-roof it again. Don’t look to the manufacture of the shingle to help you with the costs of your replacement because their warranty was voided when the contractor under-ventilated the roof.
The first thing that Roof Life of Oregon does as a GAF Master Elite Roofing Contractor when called to your home for a roof replacement proposal is to check the attic. Correct ventilation is a top priority in getting the full service life out of a roofing system. Both intake as well as exiting air is critically important. For every 200 square feet of attic space, a roof needs 64 cubic inches of intake/exhaust. This will keep the roofing cool and create a barrier of active air that will save you 1000’s of dollars. We don’t stop there either; we continue roofing your home by installing complementary roofing components that will last you a lifetime.
A roof engineered to last a lifetime. Roof Life of Oregon has Portland’s only transferable lifetime workmanship warranty for roofing.
We’d be happy to come inspect your roof ventilation.
New Roof Life of Oregon Video
I got a new online video made for Roof Life of Oregon. It will soon replace the video on the home page, but here’s a sneak peak! I did a new video for 1st Oregon Exteriors at the same time. You can have a look at it on our Portland exterior remodeling blog.
I think it came out well. I hope it gives you a feel for my passion about roofing in Portland!
What do you think? Are you ready to let us look at your roof?
Want the best cedar shake shingles in Portland? We got ‘em!
Better quality cedar shakes mean 80% lower maintenance over the life of your roof.
It’s taken us 25 years but we did it! We have worked hard enough and smart enough to get big enough to get the best mills in Canada to make us our own top quality cedar shakes! This is a huge blessing for all involved. A real win-win situation. The standards are nothing short of perfection. What this means to you is that we are skipping all of the middle men! Those middle men markups traditionally add up to $30 to $70 per square for a homeowner. With our new Canadian sourcing, we can bring absolute top-quality cedar shake shingles to Portland and supply them to our customers for just a little more than all the others offer lower grade crappy shakes. It’s a beautiful thing! Continue Reading…
How Roof Maintenance can Save Your Residential Community Thousands in Replacement Costs
Here’s a case study to show how communities can save thousands of dollars by simply maintaining their roofs.
Property: Village at Forest Heights, Portland Oregon
Size of roof on property: 885 squares on a pitch of 8/12.
Current replacement value: $693,000
Degradation schedule if left unmaintained is 15% during the first 5 years, 25% in the second 5 years, 35% in the 3rd 5 years and then between the 15th and 20th year the roof will need to be replaced. If you use simple math you can see what unmaintained degradation costs.
If the roof is treated every 5 years with a environmentally gentle but effective wood preservative treatment (we don’t use harsh chemicals, and we don’t recommend pressure-washing for roof maintenance) the degradation is held to 15% every 5 years. If repairs are made on the roof every 5 years prior to treatment, the repairs will blend in for a uniform appearance.
There are 200 shakes in each square of roofing. The Village has 885 squares.
That’s 177,000 shakes on the property. 15% degradation would mean replacing an average of 2,655 shakes every 5 years.
We replaced 4,706 shakes in 2007 as a 10-12 year old roof with no previous maintenance. This is a very good roof for new construction. (Quality of shakes in new construction varies, but is seldom this good.)
Let’s forecast the expenses to properly maintain this roof……
Treatment in 2012 will be $35,400 (at current prices, unadjusted for inflation)
Repairs will be an average of 2,655 shakes for $18,585.
Total maintenance expense in 2012 is estimated to be $53,985. And remember, the value of your shake roof is increasing as it ages, due to replacement costs. In 2007, shake prices went up $100 a square. On this property alone, that’s an increase in value of $88,500.
Because of proper maintenance, this 17-year-old roof is at 30% of its expected service life while un-maintained cedar roofs of the same age are being totally replaced all over Portland.
How old is your cedar roof? Ready to talk about maintaining it?
The Day I Moved Mrs. Helen Geiger into her Living Room
It was just a “leak in my ceiling” call. At her door, Helen began to tell me of her concern that her roof was not working right. As I came to the door, I had noticed an unusually large amount of tree debris had been building up on her roof. She took me to a room near the front of her home that looked as if someone was currently using it as a sleeping room.
I was concerned that anyone would sleep here because less than 6 feet from the bed was an immense area of black, moldy, smelly drywall. I asked if anyone was sleeping in this room. It turns out that this was her temporary bedroom. Helen had lost her husband 2 years prior and couldn’t bring herself to sleep in the master bedroom yet. I ask her how long has the wall been like that? She told me at least a couple months, but from my experience, the mold had been there a lot longer than that.
Mold doesn’t just “happen” in your walls. It means that water is getting in or moisture is being trapped.
Helen was still mourning the loss of her husband of 52 years. He had taken care of all the maintenance of their home and she was at a loss for what to do. All I could think was, “I have to get her out of this room”. She was not ready to move back into the master bedroom as it held too many memories. So, with her permission, I moved the entire bedroom suite to the living room of the house, and counseled her to stay out of the other room completely and leave the door shut until we could clean up the problem. I shared with her that the kind of mold and mildew in that room causes a lot of health issues for others and I knew that an 8o-year-old didn’t need the exposure.
Helen’s roof needed to be replaced. Tree debris left on the roof through too many of Oregon’s winter-spring combinations had caused irreversible damage. The felt paper under the shakes had rotted from the retained moisture caused by the debris. The next step was to get that rotted sheetrock out of the room and dry the interior wall out, re-insulate, sheet rock, and paint.
We served her, and in the end, I came back over and moved her bedroom set back into her newly finished bedroom. Helen smiled, gave me a hug and said, “Thank you Patrick.”
5 Most Commonly Asked Questions to our Roof Maintenance Crews
Q. How long until the treatment starts to work (WPC-R5)??
A. 3-4 months of rain will thoroughly clean the moss and fungal growth off of the wood.
Q. What kind of shakes do you use: good, best, better?
A. We use the absolute best I can find. 80% twin pack, 100% vertical grain premium shakes.
Q. Will this treatment hurt my dog, cat or plants?
A. All of our treatments are non-toxic and will not harm you, your animals, or your plants.
Q. Is this treatment toxic?
A. NO! Sodium silicate is a PH changer, and by changing the PH, the moss growth must exit.
Q. What is the best way to maintain my roof…clean it with pressure washing or use the WPC-R5?
A. The absolute best way to maintain your shake roof is to use an air compressor blower to rid the roof of tree debris, and then to use a self cleaning 5yr preservative that is non-toxic. That’s WPC-R5
What about Composition Roofs?
We get this question a lot: Do you guys take care of composition roofs too?
And this one: Do you guys put on nice composition roofs?
One more: Do you guys do roofing?
The truth is we do…and we are the best at it. We established our reputation with years of quality cedar roof maintenance service. As a full-service roofing company, we’ve established our service record by gaining the top credentials offered in our industry. So, I’m not just bragging when I tell you that you won’t find better roofers in Portland. And considering the type of climate we have, I believe that we have more challenges in Portland than you’ll find just about anywhere else in the world.
In Portland, no matter what type of roof you have, tree debris, moss, fungus, wind and rain demand that you pay attention to your roof yearly. Allowing heavy tree debris or moss to remain on the roof not only looks really bad but it blocks the water drainage off of the roof and causes the water to travel horizontally which allows water into your home. We even experience a bit of snow and ice each year which also aggravate the condition of your roof.
So, what do our customers really want out of their roofs? Based on their requests, the order of importance to our clients is as follows.
- They want their roof to look good (as it represents 30-50% of the frontal appearance of their home).
- They want it to work right.
- They want it to last longer.
The only time this changes is when they have a leak and then it becomes the most important topic for a short duration. It’s been like this for the entire 25 years I’ve been in this business.
So, our reputation is built on giving our customers what they want; a good-looking roof which is designed to work correctly and last a long time.
Isn’t that what you want?
How Does the Portland Rain Find Its Way Into Your House?
Earlier this week we talked about a few of the things you should do if the rains are getting into your house. Let’s dig a little deeper!
A 10-year storm creates over 3 inches of rain in a 24-hour period of time. The storm that Portland experienced on December 2nd and 3rd had 3.85 inches of rain in a 24-hour period of time.
It’s not a thrill to notice water coming down an interior wall or finding it dripping into a light fixture or off a beam. It’s frustrating (even scary) to look up and see a dark stain on the sheet rock ceiling or worse yet a bulging, ever growing area that looks ready to explode at any minute.
What is a homeowner to do?
Here are some steps you can take to take to minimize the damage and save you some heartache, money, and a mess.
- Protect the floor from getting wet. Have yourself a 10×10 tarp in the garage that you can grab quickly and put it under the wet zone. You never know what coming, it’s like a flash flood, you should expect the worse and appreciate the best. After you have put the tarp down then put a bucket or a large pan to directly catch the water.
- You should grab a flashlight and a large bowl or pan and head for the attic. Some homes have two-attic accesses or more. It depends on style and size of the home. Smaller homes usually have just one garage access. When you go into your attic make sure you only stand on the wood rafters and not the sheet rock that makes up your ceiling. A narrow 4 ft by 2 ft piece of plywood can help you traverse your rafters. Either way what you’re looking for is where the water is coming from. Sometimes you will find that a leak is uphill from the actual drip. Put a drip catch in place and give us a call so we can come out to find where the hole is in the roof. It’s a good idea to watch the leak for a few minutes so you can describe the size of the leak. In very severe storms, we try and get to the biggest volume leaks first which of course are creating the most damage.
What if I have a open beam or vaulted ceiling with no attic access? And what about a skylight leaking?
- Tarp the floor
- Set out a water basin and give us a call.
What if I have a bulge in my sheet rock, what do I do?
- You really don’t want to touch the sheet rock or you could get a face full of some very nasty water.
- You should prep the floor with a tarp and get the bucket or pan ready. Then find an ice pick or a sharp pencil and put a very small hole in the center of the bulge.
- Turn the pick or pencil as you push it into the sheetrock so it will penetrate and release the pressure. By doing this you will minimize the damage and expense of the leak.
Why is my roof leaking now when it’s never leaked before? (This is my attempt to help you feel better, because everybody asks that exact same question).
- If a builder put on your roof as the home was built and you live in the greater Portland area, your roof was not engineered or installed for extreme weather conditions. Anytime, depending on the circumstances, when we get severe weather, the water will find its way in. Your only true defense is a custom-engineered and installed roof will that handle good and bad weather. (Even with a builder-installed roof, you may never have a leak it all. It depends on the direction of the storm surge and the design of your home. Some of you may never have a leak issue even though your roof is considered a standard install. That is one of those things you end up giving thanks for when the storms arrive and your home stays dry.
- Over a year’s period of time, a roof can collect enough tree debris in the drain areas of the roof, that when a moderate to heavy rain comes, water is diverted horizontally and in doing so, it finds a way into your home. This happens no matter what kind of roof you have. On tile roofs with closed valleys, silt and decaying matter builds up under the tile in the metal valleys causing a diversion. It seems like the leak comes out of nowhere.
- In high wind situations, a piece of diversion metal can be blown off the roof. If this happens in a vital area, water can find its way into your home.
- Cracked pipe flashings and air vents can also be responsible for a water intrusion. Just as Les Schwab Tire Stores try to explain to you why and how your tire blew, these flashing sometimes fail at the worst time. (Have your roof checked every five years to minimize what might fail at the wrong time).
- Your home has weather walls (the walls facing south and west) that take most of the beating as the weather storms come to Portland. These walls wear out 2-3 x’s faster than the other 2 or 3 walls. Before they fail, the siding will show signs of wear. (Cupping and curling, horizontal cracks in the paint, and the caulking is no longer in place in the mid field joints or the corners of windows and doors).
How do I get rid of my newly acquired stain in my sheet rock?
- After getting your roof leak fixed, it’s time to get rid of the stain in your sheet rock. If the water leak hasn’t caused repairable sheetrock damage and only left a stain, the fix can be simple.
- After the sheet rock has dried get a spray bottle and some bleach, cover the carpet and furniture with a sheet and lightly spray the sheetrock’ about 6-9 inches away.
- Do not try to touch the sheetrock or wipe it as that will really mess up the finish. If the stain doesn’t come out in five minutes reapply till the dark stain disappears.
Who do I call to repair my sheetrock?
- In Portland, Oswego Drywall is the only company I would use for sheetrock repair.
What about the insulation getting wet behind the sheetrock? What about harmful mold and mildew forming in my attic or walls from my roof or siding leak?
- Most small leaks caused by storms will not affect the insulation or cause mold and mildew to form in the ceilings or walls.
- Leaks left to leak again create an environment where a lot damage is a sure thing.
- You as a homeowner should have the exterior of your home, roof, siding, gutters, and windows inspected often to lessen the likely hood of undetected leaks causing very costly issues.