Delaware Roofing Info & Tips

Archive for January, 2010

Vinyl house siding will keep your home’s exterior looking clean with a minimal amount of maintenance and stress. Aside from an attractive appearance, vinyl house siding ensures a weatherproof covering that will stand the test of time and complete protection from the elements.  Many professionals can assist you with the installation of vinyl house siding and quickly give your home an attractive look for a reasonable price.

When you picture vinyl house siding, the color that comes to mind is usually white or a light color.  This isn’t the case anymore; there are now many color options available to suit all tastes and preferences from blue to maple to black.  Although most purchasers of vinyl house siding still go with lighter color options such as white, cream, or tan, darker colors are becoming popular on more modern homes.  Homeowners have the option of combining different vinyl house siding colors with brick and stone to achieve a contemporary feel.  Blue, light blue, and brown are the new popular shades.

When choosing vinyl house siding, consider all color options to personalize your home’s exterior.  Granite, gray, maple, cream, yellow, tan, mahogany, green, and blue are among your color options.  New designs are available as well that feature different colors, styles, and textures.  Stone, cedar, brick, and log cabin are among the options for vinyl house siding designs.

Select your vinyl house siding based on your own home, preferences, and location.  Vinyl offers great protective benefits and many style and color options to personalize and enhance your home’s appearance!

Popularity: 72% [?]

You want the outside of your home to look great, but what if it could lower your heating and cooling expenses as well? Insulated vinyl siding can do just that.  Regular vinyl siding is popular because it requires minimal maintenance and lasts a long time.  Similarly, insulated vinyl siding offers those benefits but also has the ability to regulate the temperature of your house.  How is that possible?  Insulated vinyl siding is backed with sheets of stiff foam.  This foam effectively insulates a house, keeping temperatures stable.  In addition to changes of temperature, the insulated backing has other added benefits—it blocks out unwanted noise and has flame retardant properties to prevent fires.

What about upkeep?  Similar to regular vinyl siding, insulated vinyl siding requires minimal maintenance.  Insulated vinyl siding also holds up better then regular siding and is resistant to dents and high winds.  If your siding becomes dirty, simply wash off the siding sheets with a hose to keep them clean.

Just like the windows we’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, insulated vinyl siding has an ENERGY STAR rating and can last up to 50 years, making it an environmentally sound choice for siding.

Popularity: 47% [?]

We want you to have the best windows possible—and ENERGY STAR replacement windows, doors, and skylights are great. After installing ENERGY STAR single-pane or double-pane replacement windows, you’ll save money and enjoy lowered energy bills.  We estimate that in a year, the typical home can save $126-$465 a year by choosing single-pane replacement windows and up to $111 a year for double-pane replacement windows.

Naturally your savings will vary depending on where you live, but ENERGY STAR can make a difference if you experience very hot summers and very cold winters, keeping cool air in during the summer and warm air in during the winter.  These replacement windows have further benefits, such as less condensation so you can avoid mold growth and cracking.

Replacement windows allow in light—but not heat, keeping you comfortable in the summer.  Ultraviolet rays are blocked, so you wont have to worry about sun damage or fading of furniture or papers.

Get your replacement windows installed by trained professionals and according to manufacturer instructions to get the most out of your ENERGY STAR windows—and find out if you qualify for President Obama’s federal tax credit.

Popularity: 56% [?]

When was the last time you’ve been on your roof? Getting up on the roof to inspect it for repairs isn’t the easiest task and there are many common factors that result in roof repairs being necessary:  bad weather, temperature, debris, and the passage of time.  If you’ve got a large or sloped roof or you just don’t feel comfortable getting up there, let a roofing expert handle roof inspection and roof repairs.

Your roofing professional will look for cracked, bent, or missing shingles and make sure all valleys and crevices are free of debris—this includes dirt and leaves.  He or she will also inspect the roof jacks around all plumbing vents for possible rusting and damage.

If you’ve experienced any roof leakage, it may be because the valleys in your roof have accumulated a large amount of debris.  Your roofing expert will sweep the valleys clean and remove all dams of water before they cause further leaks and roof repairs.

Another common roof repair is damaged shingles.  Shingles become damaged when exposed to harsh weather conditions, trees, winds, and snow.  When your roofing expert performs the roof repair, they will quickly remove damaged shingles and replace them with new ones to prevent moisture from penetrating the area.

Let a roofing expert handle all your small roof repairs before they become big ones!

Popularity: 41% [?]

Exterior vinyl siding is a fragile material; when exposed to high temperatures it can melt or freeze and become brittle in cold weather.  The warping or cracking of vinyl siding will then result, and you’re in a position where you’ll need replacement vinyl siding.

The easiest (or possibly hardest part) of the exterior vinyl siding replacement process might just be matching the existing color. If your exterior vinyl siding is old, a color not typically found in stores, or has been discontinued, you may have trouble finding a matching replacement.  If you’re lucky enough to have vinyl siding left over from the first installment, then you’re in luck.  If not, many contractors or stores may require you to bring in a sample before selling you a match.

Replacing vinyl siding can be a tricky assignment.  The number one error made when replacing vinyl siding is driving nails too tightly against the vinyl siding during installation. As your exterior vinyl siding experiences different temperatures changes due to change of seasons, they need space to adjust and move.  If they’re hammered in too tightly, they’ll break and buckle.  It’s best to allow for a slight gap between the nail head and the vinyl siding—approximately the size of a dime will do just fine.

Avoid all these complications!  Let Delaware roofing and siding experts replace your vinyl siding to avoid installation errors and match your vinyl siding replacement color exactly.

Popularity: 41% [?]

If you live in Delaware and are looking for Delaware roofers, roof repair service in Delaware, or roofing contractors in Delaware, the following information may be helpful.

Choose your contractor based on referenced, estimate cost, and location. Next set the date for the work.  It can take a few days to a few weeks, depending on the size of the roof to complete the project, and you should plan on having someone at home while the work is being done.  If possible try not to schedule roof replacement in winter.

Clear away anything under your house that might get in the way of the roofers.  Remember that they will be placing ladders around your house, and ripping off the old shingles so you will want to remove anything that might be damaged.

The process the roofers go through is to rip out all the old roofing shingles.  Then they replace any rotted or damaged wood in the roof. Next they put down a new roof base using felt, and then they lay the shingles. After the old shingles have been removed, your roof is vulnerable, so roofers will cover it with a tarp to protect your home rain.  Expect a lot of noise as roofers walk on your roof and hammer on shingles.

When the new roof is installed, the roofers will clean up all the debris, and haul it away in a dump truck.   At that point, you can pay your roofers for a job well-done.

There are roofers in Wilmington and roofing services in Delaware county for all your roof replacement needs.

Popularity: 23% [?]

If you live in Pennsylvania or Delaware and are planning on getting a new roof, the following information may be helpful.

There are several different types of roofs you can have installed. These include metal, tile, slate, cedar or asphalt / fiberglass.  Asphalt and fiberglass roof shingles are the most common because they are maintenance free and low in cost.  They also come in a variety of color options and are usually guaranteed to last between 20 to 30 years. Metal roofs are beautiful and we give them a lifetime guarantee so that you will never have to re-roof.  Slate and synthetic slate roofs differ in style, shape, thickness, color and quality, so you will need an expert roofer to help you understand the differences and the ratings and warranties.   Tile roofs can be clay or concrete, with many styles, such as French, Roman or Spanish.  These roofs also differ in quality, size, shape and color.

Roof shingles can range in price from $1 to $40 or more per square foot. Cedar shake shingles usually costs $6 to $9 a square foot and will last 12 to 25 years.  The downside to cedar is that it requires constant maintenance. Metal roofing usually cost between $15-$20 a square foot and can be guaranteed for life. Tile roofs cost $6 to $9 a square foot, but are not recommended in areas with a lot of rain because they tend to leak.  Slate roofs costs about $40 a square foot but it can last 200 years or more.

Delaware roofers and roofers in PA can provide excellent roof repair and roof replacement services.  Learn more about what we can do for your roof, old or new!

Popularity: 35% [?]

A lot of factors can influence the cost of a new roof. Materials, labor, size, slope, difficulty of the job, location, and even season can be factors in pricing out a new roof.  Obviously a roof that is steep, high and particularly inaccessible will cost more to replace than a similar size roof without these considerations.

Estimates for replacing asphalt-shingled roofs can range from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on a host of factors.

Replacing a roof costs more if you live in areas where the cost of living is higher.  It can be more expensive, the more damage you have too.  For instance, under the shingles, your roof could be rotted or have insect damage. If this is the case, you may have to replace the roof support system as well, which can add thousands of dollars. This is a good incentive to keep your roof properly maintained and have it replaced on time.

Replacing your roof doesn’t always have to be expensive and a hassle.  Roofing contractors in Delaware and roofing experts in Delaware county are available to provide answers to all your questions.

Popularity: 77% [?]

If you’ve made the decision to replace your roof, now you may want to know what to expect. It is best to get a contractor through referral and have him start with an estimate of the project.   Make sure your contractor is licensed in your state and has a good reputation. Since roof repair can be a “big ticket” home repair item, most people get more than one estimate before deciding on the contractor. Try to get three estimates in writing.  These estimates should detail all the work that will be done, including gutters, flashing and clean up.

In order to do this type of estimate, the roofer will probably want to come out to your home and inspect the existing roof thoroughly. Sometimes they may be able to put the new roofing material directly over the old roofing.  This will lower the cost because they don’t have to remove and dispose of the old shingles.

Next you have to choose your new roofing material, and this will change the price of estimates too.  When choosing your roofing material, consider its warranty, fire-resistance ratings and aesthetics.

Contact a roofing contractor in Delaware to find out more information on roof estimates!

Popularity: 26% [?]

Roof durability varies depending on materials, exposure and ventilation.

There are several different common roofing materials, including Asphalt Roofing, Fiberglass Roofing, Metal, Slate, Synthetic Slate Roofing, and Tile Roofing.  Metal roofs never need to be replaced, tile roofs last longer, but if you are like most people and have an asphalt shingle roof, you can expect to replace your roof every 12-20 years.  It is a smart investment that can save you thousands of dollars in potential damage to your home.  Lane Roofing makes metal roofing in Wilmington is available.

There are other factors that determine the life expectancy of your roof.  Keep in mind that a lighter colored roof will last longer than a dark color.  If the roof faces north and south, rather than east and west, it will wear out faster because of the exposure to the sun.  If the roof is not properly ventilated it will overheat, and this shortens the life-expectation of your roof too.  Roofs that have steeper slopes also last longer than roofs with low slopes.

So if you have asphalt, steeply sloped, light-colored east-west facing roof you can expect it to last 25 years or more. If you have dark colored, asphalt roof that has a low pitch and faces north and south, your roof could need roof replacing in 12 years.

If you have specific roof replacement or roof repair questions, Delaware roofers are available to answer any questions.

If you have specific questions about your roof type, please comment!

Popularity: 27% [?]