To get rid of roof leaks your best bet is to nip it in the bud and stop it before it becomes a bigger problem. Having a roof that’s in tip top shape is essential to a long-lasting home. Making sure that what you have is in good stance will help you in the long haul. Take some time and read through todays post to see what your missing or lacking on doing to prevent harm to your roof. Some homeowners don’t know what they need until it’s too late, take this opportunity and learn a thing or two about keeping your roof in the right state of health.

No one ever wants to see a leak in their home, especially if it’s coming from the roof. Many times, a leak will occur due to improper installation methods, or human error. Then there are times where damages from bad weather occur, like hail storms or hurricanes. Our roofing contractors in Schenectady have seen a lot of different situations where leaks sprout. Our roofing inspectors in Schenectady have seen shingles getting damaged due to high winds, lifting shingles and shifting them from their original positions. After close inspection of the shingles, a conclusion was made that the previous roofing contractors did a bad nailing job when installing the shingles. Either the nails were too deep penetrating all the way through the shingle and into the decking, also the position was varied with angled nailing were very wrong. These things can harm the roof providing a perfect environment for damages and leaks.

When it comes to leaks and your roof, make sure you check the flashing. From step flashing to chimney flashing make sure that it’s not damaged or shriveled. Often damaged flashing will lead to leaks penetrating the decking, further adding to the cost of repair work. At times when a roof gets replaced shady contractors will reuse old flashing to save a couple bucks. This is okay as long as there aren’t any damages to its structure. Some will reuse the old flashing and add caulk or silicone to seal it and prevent leaks, this is fine but if the flashing was damaged then it’s very wrong.

Lack of materials in your roof can also be a variable in a leak. Schenectady roofing contractors who are in the business of trying to do everything fast and easy will not add all the needed material, just to save themselves money. A story our roofing crews keep hearing and seeing is previous roofing installations not adding in the underlayment. This leaves the roof vulnerable to leaks and water getting into the decking. The underlayment prevents water from reaching the decking and rotting it. Two types are often used, felt and synthetic. Felt is the old traditional type, its prone to buckling and cracking not always the best option but is still used and is okay to implement in an installation. The synthetic underlayment is the better option but a bit pricier. Synthetic weights a lot less and doesn’t buckle or crack and has a better gripping power to help the roofing contractors install the shingles with assurance.

Lazy contractors who don’t follow the right steps to replace a roof can often make a roof look great but not solve the problem. There have been times where our schenectedy roofing contractors get to a jobsite only to find two layers of shingles. The new shingles are resting on top of the old damaged shingles. This is often a result of a lazy contractor who wants to save money, the roof won’t be secure and is essentially still going to leak and become more of a problem. Prevent these things from happening by getting a hold of a reliable contractor, check the contractor online to see the review they receive. That will be the difference in the types of contractors you get.

There is always the underlying question when getting your leaky roof assessed, will I need to replace or just repair my roof? First things first, figuring out where the leak is coming from is the main step before figuring out what to do. The easiest place to start is outside, check to see if any shingles are out of place or if any debris can be spotted on the top of the roof. If you can’t see anything that’s out of place on top of the roof, then it’s time to check inside the attic. Inside the attic, you will be able to see exactly where the leak is coming from. Once in the attic, a musty smell is sometimes lingering within, look around the plywood decking. Look for black streaks on the decking and mold, more times than not there will be rot and mold on the affected areas. Once found check the position its coming from to asses if it’s an easy fix or a hard one. If the ply wood Is rotting everywhere it’s safe to say a new roof will be needed. Usually if the damages are all over the roof then a replacement is needed and can’t be over looked, repairs would cost a lot more than just replacing.

So, if there isn’t a reason for a replacement, a repair could be issued. A repair can be helpful, for example a reasonable leak repair will result in a small amount of drywall work along with fixing the small section were the leak emerged. The usual spots for leaks will be around skylights, flashing, and boots. Theses spots usually have poor installation and leak because of that, the best way to fix a leak is to redo the work.

When it comes to picking the right contractor its best to pick one with a lot of experience and skill. One that is well known and has many reviews. Reviews can be found on google, yelp, BBB, and Home Advisor, with that you will know exactly who your hiring and what they bring to the table. Contractors that don’t have any reviews or a lot of negative ones shouldn’t be picked, think of the headache you’ll get when the contractor doesn’t answer your phone calls but has your deposit. These things happen and it’s hard to get back your money, these guys are bad news, limiting this from happening by reading online review left by people is essential to a job well done.

When you pick the cheapest option, you get what you pay for. We had people call our Schenectady roofing contractors before to replace bad jobs that were replaced by the cheapest options. These guys don’t strip the roof but overlap the old shingles with new ones to save money and time, make sure you check their credibility online and the shingles on the roof. There have been times when the roof isn’t straight but wavy leaving the shingles looking horrible, when confronting some of these bad contractors they always have an excuse, best option is calling another roofing company to review their work to make sure their doing their job. You can never be to careful with these things, getting into these kinds of predicaments isn’t fun or easy, save yourself the hassle and look online for the right contractor who will leave your home in great shape.