iRESTORE Shares; Because iRESTORE Cares
Where should your roofing contractor apply Ice & Water Shield?
- You must have Ice & Water Shield applied to all eaves and valleys. Not only is it code in Indiana, it will protect your roof from common leak point failures.
- You will also want to have Ice & Water Shield applied around chimneys, vents, and any other penetration of your roof. This is not code, but it will protect you from other potential leak point failures.
Protect your roofing systems wood decking edges with Drip Edge & Gutter Apron metal flashing.
- Drip Edge will protect the exposed decking wood on all rake edges going up the gable sides of your roof.
- Gutter Apron will protect you from ice damning at the gutter areas on your eaves; combined with a 3’ application of ice & water shield on your eaves.
To prevent rain water from deteriorating the wood trim and fascia board where your gutters end at a wall; Kick Out Flashing should be correctly installed for proper water diverting.
If kick out flashing is not installed, the water flowing down the roof will saturate the area between the gutter end cap and the fascia board creating damage and wood rot.
Your contractor should check your roofing Ventilation System to ensure you have a balanced flow of ventilation.
- You should have an approximately equal amount, (Square Footage), of intake and exhaust ventilation to keep your roof from overheating.
- Your total ventilation needed should be 1 square foot for every 150 square feet of attic floor space.
Why is it important for your contractor to check your Blown Attic Insulation levels?
- As part of the roofing system, your insulation will help minimize attic moisture, and the loss of heating and cooling efforts.
- Your attic insulation is also an inspected part of your home; Indiana requires every home to have a minimum of R49 (17”) of blown insulation to meet code.
When you have enough ridge for optimal exhaust ventilation, use SkyRunner Ridge Vent by Owens Corning.
- Provides a true 1” of clearance; does not crush or allow elements to become trapped or cause issues.
- Stay away from Cobra and other mesh style ridge vents. These are easily crushed, clogged, and can even trap moisture.
When you have pipes extending through your roof, it is smart to Double Collar Pipe Boots.
- Pipe boots are made of plastic typically; after a few years of intense exposure to the sun and the elements, the single pipe boot will become brittle and crack.
- Adding the double collar will add 20+ years of peace of mind to this vulnerable leak point.
The Seal Strip is the only thing that keeps your shingle tabs from raising up to let water in during storms.
- Many shingles have a small segmented seal strip.
- Ask for Duration; this is one of the only quality shingle that provides a full ½” solid seal strip across the entire shingle.
- And, Owens Corning created the Nail Strip to keep the installers, who will hurry, from mis-nailing, nailing too low or too high. Remember, it’s hot up on your roof, if anyone says the crew will take their time….think about it.
Why ventilation; especially Bath Vent Termination, is crucial?
- Bath vents are designed to remove moisture from the air in bathrooms, as well as smells.
- If they are not vented out of the attic, that moisture will eventually cause you issues like, ceiling stains, mold and mildew, deteriorated decking wood.
Our last point to consider; You, the homeowner, should never HAVE TO EDUCATE THE CONTRACTOR ON BEST PRACTICES, when you are trusting them to take care of your home.