We tore off all 4 buildings and replaced plywood as needed . Installed ice & water shield around perimeter per code and covered balance of roof with Grace TriFlex. We also removed and replaced copper flashing on walls and chimneys.

Our shingle crew worked ahead of our flat crew and attic insulation team. For this project, the owners opted for Certainteed’s Landmark Plus dimensional shingle with a 40-year limited transferable warranty against manufacturing defects. The shingles not only offer beauty, but highly wind-resistant and can withstand winds up to 80 mph.

This project was steep and high. Extra safety precautions were taken during roof removal. The project smoothly with very few issues.

The West Chicagoland area has its share of high sustained winds and driving rain that leave many homeowners with damaged roofs. The fortunate ones skate by without a single loose shingle. Your first instinct may be to get the damage fixed as soon as possible, which is common sense. But making a hasty decision can lead to a substandard job or substandard materials. Even a homeowner in crisis should to take care to find an honest contractor who will repair your roof with the best materials at the best price.

Affordable Roofing recommends that you start by checking with your insurance company about policy coverage and specific filing requirements. If you need help we have a Residential Consultant who specializes in insurance claims and is available for your questions and concerns.

If you need temporary roofing repairs, make sure to save all receipts. Even if your roof is covered with a blue tarp, take time to shop around for estimates based on the same specifications and materials. Avoid fly-by-night fixers! Check out references that are at least one year-old and verify that businesses are licensed or registered to do work in your area. Affordable Roofing has an unlimited State of Illinois contracting license, is insured and bonded, and has been repairing storm damaged roofs with quality since 1980!

Wind-resistant roofing materials
You should also do your homework to make sure your roofing contractor uses the best materials. Resistance to high wind is one of the major factors to consider. Other considerations are how well the materials weather, which to say is their resistance to the elements such as water, heat, and light.

Affordable Roofing has over thirty years of experience and uses the best materials for the job at hand. Our motto is that we would not put anything on your roof, that we would not put on our own. Call Affordable Roofing today for your roof repair needs with the confidence in knowing that your roof is in good hands.

Harsh winters can cause unforseen roof damage

Why Do I Need Regular Roofing Inspections?

Spring roof inspections are important because your roof can take quite a beating every winter. Snow and ice that sits on top of your home can block precipitation from draining off of your roof.

First, check your ceilings and walls for any new water stains that may have grown during the winter. Ice dams can form on your roof in the winter causing water to back up behind the ice dam and infiltrate under your shingles and into your home. Many leaks will be evident by new water stains or growing water stains on ceilings and walls.

It’s important that every homeowner includes a roofing inspection (handled by a professional roofer) in their Spring cleaning projects. Addressing the smallest of problems now will surely extend the life of your roof and save you huge replacement costs later.

What Happens During a Spring Roof Inspection?

Your roofing contractor will assess the condition of your roof for a variety of potential problems that might have occurred over the winter, including:

• Moisture damage to shingles: curling, cracking and blistering indicate worn shingles
• Wind damage: may result in missing or broken tiles
• Leakage: ice dams can create leaks in your home
• Gutter damage from heavy wind, ice and snow
• Staining and streaking from mold and mildew
• Loose flashing or seals

The roofing professional inspecting your home will walk around the outside of your home to look for visible damage before he ascends the roof. He will then take a closer look at the shingles and structures on your roof, and may ask to inspect the interior of your home as the part of the roof inspection process.

You may have water stains, or paint and wallpaper bubbling on the interior walls and ceiling of your home; these can all indicate a roof leak.

Depending on the size of your home and the condition of your roof, a spring inspections can take as little as 45 minutes for the average home.

Need a Quality Roofer to Handle Your Roof Inspections

Affordable Roofing, Inc. is a licensed and insured business with more than 30 years’ experience in roof inspections and roof repairs . Have your roof inspected and attend to repairs early in the spring to prevent further complications as the temperatures climb and the spring rains arrive.

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They were very hard working and efficient and were able to finish up the work in one day. In addition, they did a great job in cleaning up after completion of the work.

Rumor has it, that during the tear off stage they carried their handicapped son in his wheelchair over the debris to his van parked on the street.

Each member of the crew was courteous during the entire time they were at the house

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They worked through the extreme heat of this past summer. They knew their work and went the extra mile when they saw a problem that needed addressing

They were equally impressed with David Downs who managed the project from start to finish.

[David] stopped out several times during the job to check the progress and to check on our satisfaction. We appreciated the final photos showing all the steps taken on our project.

It is important to maintain your roof in order to maximize the life of the roof. Unmaintained roofs can eventually lead to interior damage that will result in additional costs and headaches.

Fall Roof Inspection Checklist

Here are six areas to check during your Fall roof inspection. You can reasonably do this yourself, or call us for an inspection.

Home Interior:

Check for any damage that may have occurred during the summer. Check all ceilings and walls, including the closets, for water stains, cracking, or other deterioration.

Attic Interior:

Check for moisture along rafters, roof deck, and in the insulation. Check for rotted plywood in the roof deck. Is your attic properly insulated?

Attic Vents:

Check for holes, cracks, and deterioration of attic vents.

Roof Shingles:

Check for missing shingles, bruising, granular loss, defects, and deterioration.

Flashings:

Check particularly the flashing around chimneys and skylights. Also vent collars, valleys, and drip edges.

Gutters & Downspouts:

Check and clean the gutters and downspouts. Remove leaves, shingle granules, dirt and other blockages. You may want to do this a few times during the Fall until the leaves stop falling.

After having surveyed a cross section of contractors and distributors, Certainteed announced on February 3rd that they decided to demonstrate the strong confidence they have in the quality of their products. All CertainTeed laminated shingles installed since 1/1/11 will bear a Lifetime Limited Warranty. In addition all ten of CertainTeed’s Luxury shingles still benefit from extra warranty features unique in the industry, such as tear-off and disposal reimbursement during the SureStart™ period. Also unique to CertainTeed, their warranty provides coverage against all manufacturing defects, which include aesthetic defects.

Certainteed believes strongly in the superiority of their roofing products and cited a few concrete reasons for the enhanced warranty:

• Raw material selection: our internal requirements on glass mat, granules and shingles are among the toughest in the industry. Often we will refuse a raw material which is used by other roofing manufacturers.
• Zero compromise on quality: redesigning shingles to take cost out is always tempting. We refuse to do that when the data suggests it could put long term quality at risk. Compared to competition, our shingles weight and composition has remained exceptionally stable.
• Third party tests: CertainTeed shingles pass the most difficult third party tests. Underwriters Laboratory independently verifies that ALL CertainTeed fiberglass shingles meet the quality standard of ASTM D3462 (tear strength, nail pull resistance, and wind uplift), and meet ASTM D7158 Class H 150 MPH wind resistance.
• Quality organization: we apply statistical analysis and Six Sigma principles in all of our plants to ensure that we achieve targeted product design parameters. Our claims rate on fiberglass shingles are at world class quality levels, which reflects the consistency of our manufacturing process.

As a result of the above, our products are regularly recognized by third parties, for example a leading Consumer Magazine rated Landmark™ with their top rating, “Best Buy” for the second consecutive time.

An updated 2011 product warranty can be found at http://www.certainteed.com/products/roofing. In addition, a warranty certificate is posted to cover products installed since January 1st and existing inventory in the market.

If you have any questions in regard to the enhanced Certainteed warranty, call Affordable Roofing and we look forward to reviewing the warranty with you further.

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Paul and Nancy of St.Charles did some searching on the Internet when they decided to choose Affordable Roofing for their roof replacement in July 2010. Their experience was a very happy one.

…Tom came out to gather the information he needed to prepare an estimate for us. He listened to what we needed done, the questions I had and answered them to my satisfaction and without hesitation.

And one the nicest things from Nancy’s letter delighted us no end.

The crew was here bright and early and within 2 days they had removed our old roof, installed new roof fans per our request, replaced an aging skylight, repaired a problem spot over the garage, installed the new roof, and did a (thorough) clean up. The 3-man crew was nonstop, here on schedule and almost musical as they worked together in harmony

Moisture on the Rise

A well known law of physics is that warm air rises. As this air travels upward, it carries moisture along with it. Sources of moisture in the average home can include humidifiers, bathrooms, laundries, cooking and even the people themselves.

An improperly sealed attic will simply allow upward traveling moisture to enter into it. Once the moisture is inside of your attic it will condense on the cooler surfaces. This condensation can cause a variety of moisture-related problems.

Poor home renovation workmanship can often make problems worse by allowing more moisture into the attic. Examples include non-vented exhaust fans, unsealed attic floors, recessed lighting fixtures and other humidity increasing improvements.

Weathering the War

Attic condensation, buckled shingles, mold and mildew occur when attics get wet in the winter from warm air rising through the ceiling and condensing on cooler surfaces. More than often the cooler surface is wood and when it gets wet, it expands. In the spring, the attic gets warm and the wood dries and contracts. This constant process loosens nails and causes shingles to buckle.

Ice damming may also occur when warm air rises into the attic, or if ducts in the attic are poorly insulated and/or not sealed. Heat from these sources causes snow on the roof to thaw. As the melted snow reaches the colder soffit area, it may refreeze, creating a dam which causes the water underneath to back up under the shingles.

Mold and mildew leads to rotten wood and ultimate roof failure. More importantly however, it can cause serious health problems for pregnant women, infants, the elderly and those with allergies or respiratory diseases such as asthma or weakened immune systems.

Your Mission

There is a common misconception that moisture can be eliminated by adding more ventilation in the attic. This is simply not true. An imbalanced ventilation system can pull more moisture into the attic and make conditions worse. If you want to keep your attic dry, then you need to stop the source of the moisture in the first place — your home interior.

The goal is to stop warm moist air from getting into the attic and keeping the heat that you pay for inside your house where it belongs. While this may seem to be a simple enough task in theory, you might want to hire a reliable contractor with experience in the sealing & insulation of attics.

Areas that a contractor will seal/insulate include attic hatches, HVAC ducts, chimneys, top plates, penetrations from wiring conduits & plumbing, dropped ceilings, bulkheads, electrical fixtures such as lighting and ceiling fans, penetrations from exhaust fans & range hoods, knee wall areas, party walls and skylights. This is not an extensive list, but it covers a majority of your target areas.

If you are the die-hard DIY type, you can see that this will not be a simple weekend project. Exercise care while crawling around inside of your attic, remember that the attic floor is actually your interior ceiling. Breathing masks should be used, airborne dust can contain all sorts of little nasties including fiberglass from the attic insulation. Older homes may contain asbestos, in which case it is highly recommended that you hire a highly trained professional contractor.

No matter how you proceed with the project, the benefits far outweigh the time and money put into it; extended roof life, prevention of mold growth, improved comfort and lower energy bills.