Poorly Installed Roof to Wall flashing
Most common roofing problems that we (American Roofing & Renovations Inc.) run across on home in Leawood or southern Johnson County is that the flashing was not properly installed when the roof was put on and there were not enough soffit vents installed originally.
What is flashing? Flashing is what helps divert and keep out water, ice, and snow from getting into your house. It is metal so it will not crack in cold conditions but if the flashing was not installed properly then you will experience roof leaks forever until you decide to repair the problem areas. However, some problem areas might be all of the flashing around the whole house which in that case would require tearing the roof off and installing a properly installed roof. Obviously that is a worst case scenario but I have seen some crazy things throughout the years and almost nothing surprises me anymore. If your roof to wall areas, chimney areas, your ventilation areas, and even your drip edge throughout your roofline is installed properly you should not experience any problems unless you decided not to install an Ice/Water shield protective barrier along with your flashings. This is common because most builders or roofers do not use this product because it drives up the job cost instead of offering a final solution. For example, if your roof to wall area is flashed right but is shaded throughout the day and we get a 1′ of snow then that snow is going to try and work its way up the shingles and into your house but if you have the ice/water shield protection along with your flashing you are going to be sealed up tight.
The other common problem we see roofing in Leawood is that there is not enough soffit vents installed along the eaves. What does this mean? A soffit vent acts as an intake which pulls in the fresh air from outside and into your attic area which then helps me the stagnant air and heat in the attic, which is then exhausted through your roof ventilation system. In short if you lack soffit vents then you lack the ventilation that is needed to properly ventilate your roof. This lack of ventilation can lead to humidity build up which can cause mold issues and the lack of airflow will prematurely damage your shingles, cutting the life expectancy of that shingle by at least half.
If you are having any issues with leaking or ventilation on your roof in Leawood or Johnson County area then your problem can be remedied with some repairs.
Decra stone coated steel roofing systems is a perfect fit for homes in Leawood and surrounding cities because it is a maintenance free roofing system that withstand hail and has a Class A fire rating. Why should that matter if it is maintenance free? Well, more than likely you went through the whole roofing fiasco this summer with hail damage, insurance companies, storm chasing roofing companies, etc. What if you never had to worry about having to replace your roof again or having to do roof repairs every year to your existing roof? That is what the Decra roofing system brings to the table when I say maintenance free. This past year has a huge hail storm for Kansas City and Johnson County area and I did not go to one house that had hail damage on a Decra stone coated steel roofing system because it is made out of 26 gauge steel and can withstand the hail. Now I am not going to sit here and tell you that hail the size of a basketball will not go through it because it is possible but I will tell you this; if you had a Decra roof vs. a standard Timberline roof with basketball size hail then it is like getting into an accident with a Semi Truck and you can either be in a full size SUV or a motorcycle, which one would you rather be driving. Exactly!
Decra stone coated steel roofing systems are mechanically fastened down vs. the industry standard of nailing traditional shingles, so it can withstand a lot more from Mother Nature than your traditional shingles. Your whole goal as a homeowner should be to get your house to be as close to maintenance free as possible so that you can spend your weekends out playing golf, going to the lake or kids ball games, and not to be working on the house doing repairs. The Decra roofing system helps you get to that point and it truly is the last roof you will have to put on your house.
Leawood, KS Decra Shake XD roof installation
If you are tired of storm chasing roofing companies, hail damage, and dealing with insurance companies for your house in Leawood then make the switch to a Decra stone coated steel roof and enjoy life.
Overland Park Roof Needs Repair
Hail Damaged Roof in Overland Park
Does your roof need repair? Does your wood shake roof look like this? This Overland Park roof got damaged by hail this past April and has been totaled out by the insurance company. This specific home had the wood shake roof removed and we replaced it with a DECRA stone coated steel roofing system that can withstand hail. This Overland Park homeowner did not want to mess with hail damaging their roof ever again and went with the DECRA Shake XD profile.
Now if you did not see pieces of your wood shake roof laying in the metal valley areas you would have probably thought that your roof was o.k. just by glancing up there. See you really need to have a professional come out and inspect the roof for damage because 9 times out of 10 you will not be able to see any roof damage from the ground. Now if you are experiencing some roof leaks everytime it rains then you have another issue besides hail damage. As the picture shows above this is a pipe flashing on a home that needs to be replaced. This is a direct pathway for water to get into your house and cause interior damage. There is nothing stopping the flow of water coming into your home with a damage pipe flashing like the above. So what do you do? You can call your local Overland Park roofing company American Roofing & Renovations Inc. to come out and inspect your roof, repair your roof, and prevent any major interior damage to be done to your home.
American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
Your Locally Owned Exterior Improvement Source
Was your house damaged by the hail storm that blew through Overland Park, Leawood, and Kansas City this past April? Are you tired of storm chasing companies banging on your door evertime you turn around? If so, then call us American Roofing & Renovations Inc. a local company that operates on the power of referrals. We offer free estimates and insight on for all of your exterior improvement projects such as roof replacements, roof repairs, wood rot repair, painting, siding and siding repairs, and more. At American Roofing & Renovations Inc. we offer our services of free estimates not only so you have an idea of what your project is going to cost but more importantly these estimates are designed to help educate you on the products being used and the proper installation process. There has been a lot of improper installations on homes throughout the Johnson County area for years and you want to make sure that you are getting what you pay for. Feel free to visit our website at www.CountOnAmerican.com to see some videos and services that we offer. We are your local source for free roofing estimates in Overland Park, KS.
American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
Hail Damage to shingles on Overland Park home
How do you know if your Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Olathe, or Kansas City home has hail damage? Above is a picture of shingles on an Overland Park home that was totaled out due to hail damage this past year 2011. People say, I don’t think I have any hail damage because I can’t see it from down here. That is true, you cannot see hail damage from the ground. You will have to have a local and credable roofing contractor come out to inspect your roof for you (i.e. American Roofing & Renovations Inc.). If and when you do have hail damage on your roof and you have had a roofing contractor come out to inspect then the best thing to do is contact your insurance company, they will ask you a few simple questions, and then they will issue you an adjuster to come out to look at your property and a claim # that helps identify your property. Most roofing contractors will be able to assist you through this process. We at American Roofing & Renovations Inc. are experienced professionals in dealing with the insurance companies and the property damage. More than likely it will be your first claim that you have filed and most people expect that the first price that the insurance company is all that you get in the way of funding and that is not true at all. There are times when the insurance companies leave out key components to a roof installation (they have multiple claims a day and sometimes they overlook some things) and/or certain building codes are required in certain cities and the adjusters don’t know that. That is why it is very helpful to the homeowner to let your local roofing contractor deal with the insurance company. They do that day in and day out. Our job is to rebuild your home back to the prestorm condition without causing you too much stress and problems. If you would like help with your insurance claim due to hail damage or would like a roof inspection because you think that you might have hail damage then feel free to call us American Roofing & Renovations Inc. 913-706-8710 and we will take care of your hail damaged home in Kansas City and surrounding areas such as Overland Park, Leawood, Shawnee, Lenexa, Olathe, etc.
American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
Hail Damage to Overland Park roof
Let’s say a hail storm comes through Overland Park and hits your house, how do you determine if you have hail damage or not? Do you walk outside and look up at your roof to see if anything looks out of place? How do you know what to look for on your roof? What does hail damage look like? Above is a picture of what hail damage did to an Overland Park, KS home this past spring. As you can see it looks like someone hit a bunch of golfs at your roof. What will happen to your roof over the next couple of years is that the granuals of your shingles will start to come off which will allow your shingle to breakdown and deteriorate over time. Leaving your roof exposed. What do you do? Here are a couple of steps to take when you think that you have hail damage on your home.
1) Call your insurance company. They will probably suggest having a roofing company come out to inspect your roof before filing an insurance claim. If it is a no brainer hail storm then they will have you skip the inspection process and go directly into filing a claim.
2) File an insurance claim. The insurance company will issue a claim # and issue you a property adjustor to come out and take a look at your property. Here it pays to have a local roofing contractor that is experienced in insurance claims be at your property at the same time so that they can have 2 pairs of eyes on your claim.
3) Hire a LOCAL roofing company. I shouldn’t have to elaborate on this but I have seen this too many times. People will hire an out of town company and once they are done and collected you will never see them again. So what do you do if you roof leaks or was installed wrong? That is when you are stuck. Just hire LOCAL.
4) Let you local roofing contractor look at your insurance scope to verify that your insurance company caught all of the damaged areas. What do I mean by this? Adjusters do a good job but they see multiple claims a day and sometimes they might not get everything that they would have at the beginning of the day. By having you contractor look at the scope of work they can go back to the insurance company and work with them on any items missed. Let’s be honest, do you have the time or experience to deal with the insurance companies? A reptutable local company will take care of you like American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
Once you have everything worked out with the insurance company then it is time to begin repairing your home and getting it back to pre-storm condition.
These are just some steps in determining if your Overland Park home has hail damage.
American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
Leawood home in need of Roof Repair
With the hail storm that came through Leawood and southern Johnson County this passed spring your roof probably needs to be repaired or even replaced. Why do you ask? If you are noticing a lot of granuals coming out of your gutters during or after a rain or if you notice any wood shake shingles blown off or on the ground then your roof needs some help. If you are noticing granuals coming out of your gutter downspouts that means that your roof has been beat up by the hail and the integrity of the shingle will start to decrease in performance. What I mean by that is that your roof will not immediately show the effects of the hail damage but it will over the next couple years show signs of deteriotation and the life expectancy of the shingle could be cut in half. What we recommend is that you have an experienced Local contractor come out to inspect your roof and inform you of the steps you should take to get your roof back into shape. Once you get your direction the rest is down hill if you have a local contractor that you can trust and usually a word of mouth referral is a good place to start.
For the wood shake roofs that have the damaged shingles that have blown off, these roofs are a little more time sensitive because the shakes provides most of the protection from leaks into your home so you would want to repeat the above steps and contact your local contractor to help you. We are a local company and do offer inspections and roof repairs for homes in Leawood so give American Roofing & Renovations Inc. a call.
913-706-8710 www.CountOnAmerican.com
Kansas City roof damaged from hail
Your home in Overland Park, Leawood, Shawnee, or Kansas City just got hail damaged from a hail storm, what do you do know? The first thing would be to call your insurance company and they will issue you an adjuster for the property and a claim #. That is the easy part. Next, you will need to find a LOCAL roofing contractor to help you with the claim. This blog is to help you navigate through the insurance process because more than likely you have never filed an insurance claim before and you probably wouldn’t have any idea if the amount that the insurance company has given you is the right amount or not. This is my recommendation from past experiences.
Once you have chosen your local contractor then set up a time to meet and go over the insurance scope together. Then you both have an understanding of what the insurance company is covering and what it is not. Did they miss something or did they get it all right the first time. Most insurance companies use the same software estimation program that your local contractors use so the pricing is going to be almost exactly the same. What that means to you is that your local contractor already has a firm idea of what the job is going to cost to restore your home back to pre-storm condition so there is no need in hiding the insurance scope and amounts from anyone. Now I say this because of a couple reasons.
It is our job to make sure that you are getting everything you are deserved from the insurance company and if they left out a few items for your roof that needs to be added to ensure a proper roof install then your contractor will need to go back to the insurance company and get those items and your additional money.
Secondly, there is a thing called recoverable depreciation which most homeowners overlook. This is a predetermined amount of money that is only recovered once the work is completed and invoiced out for the agreed upon amount from the insurance company. For example, if your insurance says that your claim is $9000 and your first check is only $5000, leaving $4000 to recover. $1000 of that is your deductible so you will receive the remaining $3000 for a total claim amount of $8000. More than likely depending upon your policy you have more money to invoice out for, so don’t pick the cheapest bid to do your roof because you will end up with poor installation and problems down the road.
Also, if you do not spend the full insurance amount you do not get to keep the extra money! The insurance company will adjust the final monies as needed.
If you follow these guidelines for help with repairing hail damage on your home in Overland Park, Leawood, Kansas City, Shawnee, then you will have your home back to normal in no time at all.
Your Home Exterior Improvement Company
DECRA Stone Coated Steel Roof
There was and there still is a number of homes that had their roofs damaged by hail in Overland Park, KS.
How did we at American Roofing & Renovations Inc. help get homeowner’s houses back to normal or even improved? There were a few steps that had to be taken first before we could put back the pieces of the puzzle that the hail destroyed this past spring. First we needed to make sure that the insurance companies had everything right on their assessment. Once that was established we worked with the insurance company to see what kind of discounts would be applied to the homeowners if they went with certain roofing products that could withstand or protect against future hail damage. DECRA stone coated roofing systems is by far the best option that you could go with as a homeowner because it will by outlast any other impact resistant shingles on the market. The reason why is that it is made out of 26 gauge steel and it is mechanically fastened to your roofs decking vs. nailed like the shingle installations. This protects against high wind blow offs and offers superior durability that lasts for years to come. DECRA stone coated steel roofing systems is the last roof that you will ever have to put on your home. American Roofing & Renovations Inc. is one of the Local companies that helped fix the hail damaged houses throughout Overland Park, KS.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
Do you find it hard to find a dependable quality roofing contractor in Kansas City. Or even a quality contractor in general? Well, here are some tips to help you narrow down your search in finding quality roofing contractor or contractor in Kansas City.
Look at their appearance, are they dirty, grungy, show up in a beat up truck, what are their communication skills like, etc.
When they give you a proposal is it on a piece of notebook paper or is it printed out on company letterhead.
Do they provide you with a copy of their insurance.
Some people ask for references but more than likely if a someone has referred them then you shouldn’t have to worry about it because why would someone refer someone that is bad to you.
Price is not always the driving force when making a decision to replace your roof or have any work done on your home. Of course price is an important part of the decision making process but making sure that the products used on your house and the installation process is the most important factor. This is your roof and you do not want to skimp on it. It is what keeps you and your belongings safe and dry from Mother Nature.
Clean up after the days work is huge. If there is trash throughout the yard or working area at days end then that could be a sign of laziness on the job site.
Then timeliness is the other key factor. If someone tells you it is going to be done in a week then it should be done it a week unless something crazy has happened.
These are just some helpful tips in helping you choose the best Kansas City roofing contractor and General Contractor around.
American Roofing & Renovations Inc.
913-706-8710
www.CountOnAmerican.com
