In this article we're going to talk about long-term roofing solutions and gutter integration.
My first question: What should homeowners know about roofing warranties and their coverage?
I think a critical thing for most homeowners is to understand who is servicing the warranties and how are they registered. There's a lot that goes into warranties. Again, companies should really be providing kind of an absurd amount of information regarding that to you. when you're talking to them.
But one thing that people miss is okay, who registers that? Is that my responsibility or is the company doing that on my behalf? And then who services it? There are situations where people realize that kind of in the fine print that they have to call the manufacturer for a manufacturer claim on a warranty. That can be annoying um and also confusing if you've never done that before. Knowing who services the warranty and then who registers the warranty are very important.
And how do labor warranties differ from manufacturer warranties?
Critically different. Labor warranties are provided by the company that does the installs and cover either mistakes or omissions during the actual installation process. Whereas manufacturer warranties cover the materials. They last the time frame they were guaranteed to? Do they suffer too much granular loss? Do they sustain the that they are rated to sustain. Those things would be a manufacturer coverage. Whereas things like were they adhered properly? Were all the components put on? Were things addressed that should have been addressed at the point of install um incorrectly. Those things are all covered by a labor warranty. Knowing those differences and then what specifically you're getting because you can get manufacturer warranties that are up to 50 years on a roof, you can get a labor warranty that's one to five years down the road you have a problem, and you find that you're not covered.
What role do gutters play in roof help and why are they essential?
Gutters are critical in roof health. And primarily it comes down to the proper flow of water off the roof and then also important away from the foundation.
Having gutters that are pitched properly are installed properly with the additional roof components. Things like drip edge lining up with the gutters properly are going to lead to a much longer and less issue prone roof over the long term.
How can clogged or damaged gutters impact the lifespan of a roof?
When gutters back up and they so they don't sustain the water flow from the roof um or they're damaged, so they're not pitched correctly, so water is not flowing to the corner where it drains but pooling in the middle of the run of gutter. What can happen is that water flows up and gets under the first layer of shingle and puts stress. There's the additional water coming from underneath the roof decking. The additional stress on the materials that are made to be watertight towards the edge of a roof, but you don't want to stress them. And then also in different temperatures. In the winter if that water is pooling and then it freezes. Now you have an ice dam created by the eve of the roof. That's not a great position to be in.
What should homeowners consider when choosing gutter systems to match their roofing?
I think the biggest consideration, and it's the least fun because it's not about colors or designs. Gutters are very functional.
But considering the actual amount of water that's coming off their roof and do their gutters currently handle it is the biggest consideration. It's all water management. If you have again a multifaceted roof where water is coming off of one roof onto another roof and into a gutter that can often times in heavy rains just be far too much volume of water for a 5-in gutter to handle. I would then consider upgrading to a 6-in gutter and potentially adding leaf protection if that's another factor that that affects their gutter health.
And then finally, I love this question because I've heard you get it before in person. Are gutter guards worth the investment and what are their benefits and drawbacks?
If you live in a certain environment where you have a lot of tree coverage with certain types of foliage, and I'll explain more about this in a second, but the short answer is Yes. They can be a very, very good investment if you think about what you pay. Even though it's not a ton of money twice a year to have the gutters cleaned, do that over 15, 20, 30 years, all of a sudden, the investment can pay off very, very quickly. And by the way, remove an annoyance off of your plate and something that you could forget and then leads to problems where the gutters back up. So very easily could be worth the investment. Now, they're not necessarily the perfect solution to everybody who lives in a heavily tree covered area because there are certain leaves that a gutter system will not really solve the problem.
Considering that and then having again a remodeling company like Eclipse Remodeling that can consider the water flow, the effectiveness of a leaf protection system, all of those things that go into a gutter system and give you good feedback as to what will be worth it for to you is just invaluable.
Okay, great. Well, I think we learned a lot about roofing and roofing contractors. I think this is a good run through of just all the information that generally you could get asked.
Like I said, these are questions that I both get a lot and then there are some in here that I don't get enough. It doesn't answer all of the questions. It's obviously not enough to know, you know, how much is my roof going to cost and should I have my roof done today? But it's enough that if you knew the answers to all these questions, I feel like you would go into the process knowing exactly what you should expect and not having the concerns for missing something huge.
Comments