Putting a Roof Over Your Head

Whether you are renovating your house and need to re-roof the house or whether you’re putting up a new roof, there are a number of critical points you should pay very careful attention to. This job is worth the time, money and trouble you’re going to invest in it because your whole house depends on it. There is no room for half-measures. If the job is being taken care of by a contractor then he too must treat this with the utmost care.

Let’s take a look at the bill of materials.

Make a list of the quantity required of each material. You will be able to prepare a reliable cost and time estimate from the quantity estimate. There’s nothing worse than running short of materials or money in the middle of a roofing project. Emergency funding means you get to pay a heavy interest penalty. The downtime will be a wasteful and unnecessary addition to the schedule and cost of the project. Consult the supply store about your requirements. Many online stores have a facility to assist you in this work. Typical roofing materials are shingles of asphalt or wood, tiles, and stone. Modern roofing material includes metals, plastics and composites.

If you are re-roofing the house, you may have to select the roofing material in consonance with the existing structure. A roof built to carry asphalt shingles will not be able to bear the load of clay or slate tiles. There is a possibility of the roof collapsing if overloaded beyond its designed structural strength. Reinforcing the roof, a costly affair, is the only solution here.

In any case asphalt shingles are very good. They are durable and economical in the long run. There is a small problem in using asphalt shingles. They tend to crack when exposed to extremes of heat and cold.

In case you are not working on an existing roof means that you are at liberty to do almost pretty much what you please. The greater liberty brings with it a commensurately greater responsibility. The decisions you make now will affect the structure and longevity of the house.

Every house owner aspires to an aesthetically pleasing house. Remember that structural considerations far outweigh appearance in the selection of roofing materials. Don’t build a pretty Mediterranean villa in a harsh, cold climatic area, prone to blizzards and deep sub-zero temperatures! It’s not going to be very pleasant spending New Year’s Eve in a roofless house, because the pretty tiles have all been blown off by a blizzard straight from the North Pole!

Newer construction materials like metal, plastic, and composites give you the advantage of lighter weight and greater durability than traditional roofing materials. It is worth exploring the applicability of these materials in your roofing project.

To summarize, the prime roofing commandment is: Thou shalt use only top quality material for the roof! Neglect of the prime roofing commandment will lead to frequent roof repair jobs. Seepage from the roof can affect the integrity of the supporting walls, indicating more repairs, more expenses. A damp house is also responsible for the health problems of its inmates. So take care to select and use only the best quality material for the roof of your house!