Roof’s Guide on Survival : Arizona Edition

There are a lot of reasons that my compel you to get a new roof for your home. Leaks, weather damage, old age and many others. It’s never going to be a good time to replace your roof. And then once you decide that you are going to replace your roof there are suddenly a wealth of options about which way to go. How do you know which system to choose?

Begin by asking yourself some questions:

• What is the age of my roof?
• Is it blistering, ponding, or cracking? These are excessive signs of wear.
• Can you just repair it? Or does it need to be completely replaced?
• How much longer am I going to live in this house?
• Are looks important to me? If so, what type of looks do I want to employ.
• Do I want my home to be closer to the original, or do I want to completely overhaul the design of my roof?
• Am I going to need more insulation or is the insulation under my roof enough.
• How much do I have to spend?

Sometimes repairing your roof is not an option, which would then mean that you will be replacing your old roof. But this brings a whole new set of circumstances to think about. What type of roof do you want? Do you need to add the insulation? Do you want to upgrade to add some skylights or fix up the electrical? What other options do I have while my roof is opened up? Many factors need to be taken into consideration when deciding what type of roofing would be ideal for your home. Some factors include, the weight of the material, the application method, the absence or presence of seams, how waterproof is the material , what is the installation method, cost, and more. Avondale roofers are trying feverishly to invent cost effective ways to be able to add more insulation to the roofs. Right now the most used and abundant insulating material is foam. It can be single ply, applied as a spray coating, installed as sheeting under tar and gravel or bitumen systems. With as little as 2 inches of foam you can bring the heat down indoors by as much as 10 degrees. You may also be wondering about skylights. If your roof repair were to add skylights where there previously was NOT a skylight then choosing to put one in during a re-roofing job would be perfect timing. It would be relatively simple to have your local Arizona roofers, or even an independent skylight company install them for you. In the end the price of the materials and the labor is always a factor. Everything can really add up if your roof needs to be taken of and insulation needs to be added. And if you house already has two roofs installed on top of one another then many times you may be required to remove at least one layer.

But let’s take a quick look at the different types of roofs you can select for your project. One of the mainstays of roofing continues to be the tar-and-gravel system. Sometimes it is referred to as “built-up” because of the multiple layers of material that need to be laid. Basically your Arizona roofer with put down a sheet, nail it in place, can start to layer it with felt mopped with asphalt. After that is applied your Avondale roof repair specialist will lay the final layer down: gravel.

Rigid foam sheeting is very common in everyday homes as an insulator underneath tar and gravel roofs, among other roofing types. But over the years roofers have been utilizing it as a stand alone roofing option in its own right. While more expensive than other options, spray on foam offers many different advantages. Contact your local Arizona roofer for more information.

Lastly let’s talk a little about single ply systems. They are made from sheets of thermal polyvinyl plastic-like membrane that are mechanically attached to the roof itself. The market is full of single ply manufacturers. The reason this is a viable option is due to its waterproofing capabilities, cost and ease of installation. Again, contact your local Arizona roofer at Arizona Native Roofing to learn more, we look forward to helping you.

Written By:
Jason Swim – Owner

Category: Roofing
Genre: Home Repair