Mistakes That Newbie Roofers Should Avoid During Roof Restoring
Posted on: 22 March 2019
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For homeowners, the roof is no longer just a functional piece — it has become an integral part of the house as far as aesthetics go. Therefore, the moment homeowners notice that something is off with their roof, they call a roofer immediately for roof restoration. As a rookie roofer, you need to make sure that your client's roof gets back to its original shape, if not better. However, there are a couple of mistakes that newbie roofers sometimes make during roof restoration. The mistakes are enough to impact on the bottom-line negatively; therefore, it is best to avoid the errors at all costs. Read on to find out the three most common mistakes that rookies make during roof restoration.
Mismatching Roofing Material
It is vital for roofers to source roofing materials from a single supplier. However, there are instances when suppliers run out of roofing materials, thereby forcing some roofers to order the balance from a different supplier. While this might help to speed up the roof restoration process, it is very likely that you will end up with mismatched shingles or tiles. Such an anomaly will stick out like a sore thumb, and your client will not be happy. You can avoid such mismatches by taking measurements of existing tiles or shingles before purchase and installation. However, this might be impractical considering the number of tiles you have to work with. Ultimately, you should never order roofing materials for one project from more than one supplier.
Reusing Flashing
If your client's roof needs restoration, then chances are that most of the roofing materials can still be salvaged. However, some parts should not be reused during roof restoration, and the roof flashing is one such part. Although it might seem like you are saving your client money by reusing roof flashing, it will, in the long run, cause more harm than good. It is especially the case if the flashing shows some level of deterioration but still works well. For example, if you reuse a flashing near a newer section, then the old component will stand out and wear faster and expose the restored part to the weather elements. Most importantly, you should only reuse roof flashings if they are in excellent condition.
Restoring With too Many Layers
It is common practice within the roofing industry to overlay roofing materials over each other, with the maximum allowable number of layers being two. However, the fact that it is standard practice doesn't mean you should do it with every roof restoration project. The reason is that the roof sheathing might not be strong enough to support two layers of new tiles. If a particular spot doesn't have the structural integrity, then more than one layer might accelerate damage, and that will require a complete and expensive roof replacement. Besides, before restoring a roof with a double layer of roofing material, inspect it for structural integrity.