In Roofing, Quality is Never an Accident
The lowest bidder put the roof on your home when it was built. That’s how they do it in production homes. The guy who can do it the fastest and the cheapest wins.
Unfortunately for home owners who need to replace their roof, a lot of replacement roofing contractors follow the same line of thought. Sell the re-roof for a cheap price and then cut every corner in the book. Fast is the standard rule for these guys, and most times, important details are overlooked for the sake of the almighty dollar. Quality is a choice. We don’t even bid on new construction, because we won’t compromise the amount of quality required as a trade-off in speed, skill and durability.
“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.“
Good Roofing Materials - Lousy Installation
Here is another low bid re-roof project where the homeowner got the short end of the stick. Of course, they thought they were getting a smoking hot deal. This 1st picture is of a roof on the weather side dormer on the front of a home valued at over $900,000. It was recently completed in the Alameda District of Portland, Oregon. The weather side of a home in Portland means it faces southwest. All of our serious wet weather comes from that direction. This is not a wall to cut corners on!
We had reroofed a neighbor to this home and also got a chance to make a presentation on this project. We ended up not getting the chance to serve them. They did get a short educational presentation made by the one and only Tony St. Pierre. They chose to use another well-known roofing company in Portland, known for being one of the cheapest Roofing Contractors in town. The contractor decided that it would be too much effort to flash this front dormer sidewall.
Instead, they decided to shove the high-end shingles (Camelot by GAF/ELK…top quality) under the siding trim board without any flashings! (GAF/ELK, the manufacturer, would “pass a brick” if they saw this type and kind of installation.)
Snakebit! How an expensive Portland roof was ruined on the day it was installed…SIX years ago!
Almost looks like snakebite doesn’t it? This picture shows the staple holes from beneath a cedar shake. The felt underlayment material should not be rotted away. It’s one of many such holes we found on a 6-year-old roof in West Linn, Oregon. The homeowner called us because this roof was leaking in at least 20 places! When we took the roof apart, we found what you’re seeing in the picture. When you’ve seen as many roofs as we have, solving this mystery was a piece of cake.
We asked the homeowner if he knew who roofed his home. He confirmed that it was a local roofing contractor, still in business in Portland. This should have been a super roof! It was installed with ¾ inch, 50-year CCA, treated cedar shakes. Other than routine maintenance, this roof should have outlived the homeowner! We advised the homeowner to contact the roofing contractor to get his roof replaced under a workmanship warranty.
Top Quality Cedar Shakes, direct from Canada to Portland
It may have gone unnoticed by most, but this morning another super sized load of freshly milled and preserved shakes rolled into Portland from Canada. These were not your run of the mill cedar shakes, the kind you can buy anywhere. These are not the kind of shakes the builders used on your home that end up needing constant attention and care. At Roof Life of Oregon, we think a custom ordered shake is the best way to start a re-roofing project. You get the best wood designed just for you.
These shakes are milled for you per the request of Patrick D. Morin at Roof Life of Oregon. All of them are 100% clear vertical grain and edge trimmed, all of the highest caliber. Then they are pressure treated and put through a “fixing process” that sets the preservative and gives you one of the lowest maintenance roofs in Portland.
The tree that provided the raw material took 100-200 years to grow, and then 50 years to harvest. Loggers bring the cedar down when harvesting spruce, hemlock, and fir - species of lumber mostly used in the building of homes. When these big giants are found as “downed” or “dead”, they are cut into mill/usable sizes. Only then, can you have a chance to purchase what is truly considered the best roofing material in the industry. If the loggers didn’t bring the dead fall down, the cedar would just rot in the woods. That would be a shame!
Just look at all the good that happens when you choose to use cedar roofing. You increase your insulation by 50%. It’s gorgeous and makes your home and buildings look better; a renewable resource with vast reserves. Cedar’s carbon footprint is the smallest of all roofing material. It’s affordable and if put together with the right components, it will last 30-50 years. (The right components include decades of experience plus Feltex underlayment, stainless steel fasteners, lead pipe flashings, and correct ventilation)
Let us know if we can help you with your new roof. Call Roof Life of Oregon at 503-925-0125.
Can I finance my roof replacement?
Let’s face it, replacing your roof can be an expensive venture.
You may or may not have planned the expense for this calendar year. Most of us try to plan for big expenses. Others have their money out working for them or just want to retain their cash for other purposes. And then there are those who can do home projects if the costs are spread out a bit.
That’s why Rooflife of Oregon offers to its clients the best financing in Portland. Smart Money Financing is underwritten by EnerBank USA, located in Salt lake City, Utah.
With a short 10-15 minute phone call, qualified homeowners can get approved for a standard unsecured loan of up to $30,000. They have rates that reflect your good credit too!
Rooflife of Oregon also offers 180 days same as cash financing at no charge, on approved credit.
“We install now, you don’t pay for 6 months!” ASK US HOW.
Every project we estimate for you comes with this special offering. Just think, it all starts with you and your dreams of what your home will look and function like. There are a lot of really neat and fun things to do to the exterior of your home. We are excited to help you to begin, give us a call 503-925-0125.
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?
Was Your Roof Damaged in the Portland Storms on December 2-3?
If you’ve got a leaking roof, please call us to get on our schedule for emergency temporary repairs. We are working as fast as possible to help our customers stop the leaking and protect their assets. The sooner you call, the sooner we can get there to assess and remedy your situation.
Here are a few of the important actions you can take to help yourself and your neighbors before your damaged roof allows water to enter your home:
If a leak is coming through your ceiling, DON’T TOUCH THE DRYWALL! You’ll very likely get a big batch of nasty water in your face. Simply take an ice-pick or other small pointy tool and poke a single hole into the middle of the leaking area. You’ll allow the water to drain out with minimal damage to your drywall and save yourself a large repair bill.- After the storm, take a look around your property for roofing or siding materials which may have blown off your house or your neighbors’ houses. Look for cedar shakes, asphalt shingles, metal flashing or even pieced of siding. If they aren’t yours, try to figure out which house they came from, so you can let them know that they should have their roof or home inspected.
- Walk around your house paying close attention to your siding and windows. You’re looking for anything that seems out of place (or missing!).
- Step back far enough that you can see your roof. (grab your binoculars) Visually scan your roof, paying special attention to where water changes directions, such as along valleys, chimneys, peaks and dormers. Look for any missing shingles or loose and blowing shingles. A missing shingle may not be causing a leak…yet. But, it will open up the possibility for wind-driven rains to get inside your house in the next storm. It’s much easier to fix BEFORE it leaks.
We’ve been maintaining Portland roofs since 1983 and we’ve seen it all.
Give us a call and we’ll be there as quickly as we can.