Please do your due diligence when shopping for a new roof system. Twice this week I got calls from people who have been getting bad advise on what should be done, to get a quality roof system. Both callers lived in central Coquitlam Austin Como Lake area. BE CAREFULL

Make sure your drains, and gutters are clean, rain and snow are hard on your residence

Just did a residential house of a gentleman that I met at Scouts Canada, when our kids where members, years ago.

Anyway we got talking and he mentioned to me that out of the 4 estimates he got two of the company's where not in good standing with WCB (Work Safe B.C.) This could  be big trouble for the home owner. Work Safe is allowed to come after owner for any WCB payments on Labor for your re-roof project. And God forbid if someone got hurt that could cause home owner big problems. You can confirm if your contractor is in good standing by going to WORK SAFE BC.COM and follow links to get a clearance letter.

I'm talking about diverters at gable ends, you know where the water drips off the board, where the gutters end.Just did a job to replace these gable boards and it's expensive. For a minimual fee we can install custom made diverters at gable ends to protect the ends of your gable boards.

You might want to check your skylight, especially if the are domed acrylic. we have had a lot of hot weather and old skylight seal tend to dry out and leak. If you are going to replace your skylight order a double glazed glass with Low-E upgrade.

suppliers are doing it again, any petroleum based products are going up about 8 %. I been told to get your order in by the middle of the month to beat the increase.

A good roofing system is all in the detail. Insure that things like, your roofer is using 30 Lb. felt 44 inches wide at eaves line and also in all valleys. The rest of the roofing field is covered with 15 Lb felt. Your ventilation meets manufacturer's specification and B.C. building code. Your Roofer is in good standing with WCB, carries liability insurance, remember roofing is DANGEROUS.

I Will get into detail about different roofing systems at a later date.

Where back, the weather has been pretty good so it's been awhile. Anyway the other day I had a customer who had his roof done about 4 years ago. He install a 30 year laminate shingle, unfortunately they installed it over a vaulted ceiling area. He now has a bad condensation problem, and it,s so bad that his ceiling is staining. The old roof was cedar shakes, he did not have a problem till he changed the roof system to laminate shingles.

When roofing over a vaulted ceiling area you must have a 2 1/2 inch air space between underside of roof deck and top of insulation. more time that not when we re-roof over vaulted ceiling area you are removing cedar shakes. This type of roof system is more that likely venting itself, and owner's don't have problems. But when you change you roof system from shakes to adding new plywood deck and underlayment complete with fiberglass laminate shingles problems can arise.

What should be done? You remove strapping, set aside to be reinstalled. Cut fiberboard the width of the rafter space, and set between each rafter space. Reinstall strapping. Now push down on fiberboard to compress insulation 2 1/2 inches then nail 3 1/2 inch nails through strapping enough to keep fiberboard down. At ridges install continuous ridge venting. Important make sure that your fiberboard is compressed at out side wall or you will not have any intake. ridge vent acts as exhaust for air circulation.

HOPE THIS HELPS

I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THAT YOUR ATTIC NEEDS TO BE VENTED PROPERLY. IF YOU HAVE AN ATTIC SPACE, YOU MUST INSURE THAT YOU HAVE 1 SQ.FT. OF VENTILATION PER EVERY 300 SQ.FT. OF ATTIC AREA. PERSONALLY IF PREFER 1 SQ.FT. OF VENTILATION FOR EVERY 150 SQ.FT. OF ATTIC AREA.

ALSO REMBER THAT IF YOUR SOFFIT VENTING IS BLOCK YOU ARE NOT GETTING ANY CIRCULATION AND ALL THE VENTINGING THE WORLD WON'T HELP. YOU MUST INSPECT YOUR ATTIC. LOOK AT WHERE RAFTER SIT ON OUTSIDE WALL PLATES. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE UNOBSTRUCTED LIGHT COMING FROM YOUR SOFFIT VENTS. IF NOT IN MOST CASES YOU NEED TO INSTALL INSULATION STOPS.

YOUR ROOF VENTS ACT AS EXHAUST VENTING, AND YOU SOFFIT VENTS ACT AS INTAKE VENTILATION. IF EVERYTHING IS WORKING AS IT SHOULD BE YOU WILL HAVE AIR MOVEMENT IN YOUR ATTIC. THIS WILL HELP COOL YOU HOUSE IN SUMMER AND HELP WITH HEATING BILLS IN THE WINTER.

NEXT POST HOW TO VENT VAULTED CEILING AREAS.

I CAN'T STRESS THIS POINT ENOUGH, YOU MUST FOLLOW MANUFACTURES SPECIFICATIONS TO THE LETTER TO PREVENT YOUR SHINGLE WARRANTY FROM BECOMING VOID. THINGS TO LOOK FOR ARE AS FOLLOWS.

PROPER VENTILATION MINIMUM IS FOR EVERY 300 sq.ft. OF ATTIC YOU NEED 1 SQ.FT OF VENTILATION EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN ROOF VENTING AND SOFFIT VENTING. I WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL REGARDING VENTILATION IN THE FUTURE.

ANOTHER MAJOR REASON TO VOID SHINGLE WARRANTY IS THAT YOU CAN'T NAIL SELF-SEALING SHINGLES TO A SHIP LAP BOARD DECK. SOME ROOFERS SAY YOU CAN, BUT TRY AND GET VERIFICATION FROM ANY MANUFACTURE, I COULD NOT GET ANY. THIS INCLUDES FIBERGLASS LAMINATE SHINGLES. YOU USE TO BE ABLE TO INSTALL INTER-LOCKING SHINGLES BUT THEY ARE NOT MANUFACTURED ANY MORE. WARRANTY'S ARE ALL THE SAME FOR ANY TYPE OF SHINGLES, ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE LENGTH OF WARRANTY 30 YR, 40YR, 50 YR, AND LIFE TIME WARRANTY'S