Decking/Sheathing: The boards or sheet materials fastened to the roof rafters to cover the house.

Underlayment: The technology of new synthetic felts allows decking to breath better. This is especially critical in vaulted areas and older homes with intake ventilation issues. There are three types of underlayment: synthetic underlayment, asphalt felt and ice and water shield. When choosing underlayment, the goal is to provide the best protection against leaks with quality material that fall within your budget. A high quality synthetic underlayment can extend the life of your roof by an average of 5 to 10 years. With the amount of snow and ice our geographic area receives, it is a wise investment to install an ice shield in combination with synthetic underlayment where appropriate.

Felt: Tar or asphalt saturated paper made with some fiberglass. It is the most widely used and the most affordable roofing underlayment. While felt offers a general level of protection against leaks, it may not be enough if you live in an area that gets heavy snow and/or rainfall.

Ice & Water Shield: A thick asphalt or bitumen based reinforced membrane. This membrane has a sticky surface that glues to the roof deck, and does not tear after installation. It protects the roof from water penetration caused by wind-driven rain and ice dams. It is essential to use an ice shield in critical areas such as eaves, rakes, ridges, valleys, dormers and skylights.

Synthetic: High quality underlayment and higher investment than felt underlayment. It has a number of advantages such as a longer lifetime, more tear proof, and usually does not deteriorate.

Drainage: The features of the roofs design such as slope, shape, layout, etc., that determine its ability to shed water.

Flashings: Sheet metal laid into the various joists and valleys of a roof system to prevent water leaks.

Drip Edge: A roof flashing that is installed at the leading edge of your shingle near the gutter. It is a piece of metal flashing slipped under the roofing material and over the top of the paper felting underneath the roofing shingles that hangs down into the gutter approximately 1?. The primary objective of this drip edge is to keep the rain-water from soaking up under the roofing shingles and causing dry rot of the plywood under the felt paper. It also diverts water into the gutter instead of going behind the gutter, which could also dry rot of the wood behind the gutter. This can cause the gutter to come loose and even make it pull away from the fascia board or rafter tails.

Chimney Flashing: Because leaks can occur at the chimney, flashing called Chimney Flashing prevents water from entering at the point where the chimney and the roof meet. Every chimney is different, so installing chimney flashing is often a custom project. Other times that the chimney flashing will need to be replaced include when it is missing, when it is rusted through, when it is totally covered with roofing tar, or when the shingles are going to be replaced.

Pipe Flashing: Installed as a water-tight seal around plumbing vent pipes or outside wall penetrations as a prevention against leaks. These come in a variety of materials and can be chosen to best match the exterior of your home.

Roof Covering: Shingles, shakes, steel, etc., that protect the decking from weather. This is the first layer of protection for your roof decking.

Ventilation: Attic ventilation is key to the longevity of your roof. Both proper intake and exhaust ventilation are needed. Improper roof ventilation may void your manufacturer’s warranty. In addition, proper ventilation of bath and kitchen fans is need to ensure ice damming and attic damage does not occur.

Lightning: A metal roof will not increase the likelihood of lightning striking your home. However, if your home were hit by lightning, your metal roof would disperse the energy safely throughout the structure. Since metal roofing isn’t combustible or flammable, it’s a low risk and desirable roofing option where severe weather is concerned, especially for lightning.

Noise: A common misconception is that a metal roof will be noisier than other types of roofing. When installed with solid sheathing, a metal roof on your home will actually silence noise from rain, hail and bad weather, many times much better than other roofing materials.

Rust: Steel metal roofing has a ?metallic coating? made of either zinc or a combination of zinc and aluminum. This metallic coating prevents rust from forming and is bonded to the steel at the factory. Paint is then applied over the metallic coating to provide the long-lasting color homeowners desire, preventing rust.

Dents: In most cases, a metal roof can withstand decades of abuse from extreme weather like hail, high winds, and heavy snow. Our metal roofing systems also have a 150-mph wind rating (equal to an F2 tornado), meaning your metal roof is also safe from wind gusts that can accompany hailstorms.