Satellite Dishes allow great service to reach your home.a If you are in a rural area this is especially true as it is often the only high speed communication service available.a In order for your satellite signal to travel over such great distances, they need a clear line of sight to the signal source or satellite.a Typically, the best position is on your roof or as high up as possible.aa Satellite service providers will mount the satellite directly to your roof.a New punctures when not sealed properly can cause unknown leaks leading to thousands of dollars in repair or replacement costs.a A professional Bryan roofer can certainly help prevent this issue by working with satellite dish providers.

Satellite Dish Mounting

After your service agreement has been arranged, your installer will come to your location and climb on your roof.a Armed with a drill, the installer will drill holes directly into your roof in order to bolt on the satellite dish mount.a These holes pierce all layers or protection that your Bryan roofer installed, including the waterproof underlayment and seals.a The holes newly created large enough to fit a half inch bolt and are about 3 inches long.a Usually, four to six holes are drilled through the roof to complete the install.

The real issue with drilling directly into the roof is whether or not the installer uses the proper materials to prevent leaks.a Bolts should be stainless steel or made of some kind of anticorrosive properties. lnasmuch gaps should be closed with water resistant tar and sealant.a This step is often overlooked.

Running Wires

After the dish is mounted securely to your roofer, the installer must run the signal wire down to the receiver in your house.a This wire is attached with a staple gun.a This staple gun punctures typical asphalt shingles causing cracks in the shingles.a These cracks will expand when water and ice falls within.

How Damage Occurs

The damaged to the roof caused by the satellite installation is actually superficial at first.a The real damage actually happens later because the roof is already in a weakened state.a Without proper sealant water will follow the three inch bolts down their lengths and into the roof.a The same water also falls into cracks in the shingles.a Additionally, wires that are left on the roof can obstruct the flow of rain runoff.a This can lead to more water being retained on the roof.a Water can also be diverted to miss natural flows to gutters and their drain pipes.

When Leaks Form

When a leak forms in a roof the leak must be repaired quickly to prevent further damage to the roofing system.a In many cases, depending on the roofing materials used, an entire roof replacement may be needed.

If you experience a leak, the best thing to do is to have a professional Bryan roofer evaluate the damage to the roof.a This way if you do have to file an insurance claim, you will have proper documentation and evidence as to the underlying cause of the leak.

If you find that you have a leak formed after any installation to your roof, contact Schulte Roofing for a professional Bryan roofer evaluation.a They will provide you with the necessary documentation for your insurance claim, work with the satellite providers to provide the best installation techniques, and solve your leak issue.

It?s natural that fire is one of the last things we think about when selecting a roofing system. Durability, protection against the elements and toughness often take priority. But when it comes to fire prevention, purchasing the wrong roofing material can be a life-or-death decision.

A flame-resistant roofing system is particularly important for buildings protecting something irreplaceable?people. When covering schools, hospitals, factories, hotels and other buildings bustling with human activity, a roofing membrane with flame-resistant properties will help protect lives.

Materials Matter

Low-slope roofs face a number of incidents, including electrical shorts from mechanics on the roof, lightning strikes, accidental fires caused by individuals working on the roof and even embers from wildfires, fireworks or other sources. How a roof membrane reacts in the face of those challenges is all about what it?s made of.

This video illustrates the difference between four common roofing systems. Notice that FiberTite self-extinguishes due to the optimal chemical composition.

All buildings must meet fire codes. Choosing a roofing system with far superior fire-resistant characteristics is important in all buildings.

Long-Term Effectiveness

When material that hasn?t been exposed to the environment is lab tested for fire-resistant properties, it still contains 100% of the fire-resistant properties. Over time, roofing systems face UV rays, weather and other environmental factors that make them less effective. FiberTite?s DuPont Elvaloy Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE) ensures the product retains its quality and stability decades longer than other roofing membranes and delivers lasting fire protection.

Real-World Protection

For many decades, FiberTite has been tested repeatedly in the field. Its proven performance standing up to fire helped influence some demanding customers to choose it:

• A Fortune 500 customer replaced a relatively new roof with FiberTite after fireworks caused a roof fire on their distribution center.
• After an electrical short on some rooftop solar panels caused a small fire, a building owner selected FiberTite for the replacement roof.
• The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville specified FiberTite for its appearance and durability to protect its building and artifacts from roofing damage.
• A large theme park in Orlando specified FiberTite specifically to mitigate fires that may be sparked by their nightly fireworks displays.

The difference between meeting building code and exceeding it with an inherently flame-resistant roofing material can be the difference between a non-event and significant damage.

Learn More
For a deeper look at how some of the commonly used roofing materials perform when faced with fire, view this comparison.

Fire-resistant materials can play a crucial role in both preventing fires and limiting their damage, making proper fire testing and certification critical if you want your roof to be safe, protective and long-lasting. This whitepaper provides an in-depth look at the comprehensive FM and UL testing processes that expose roofing systems to incredibly challenging environments and threats, and how these major testing agencies assign roofing system classifications based on performance. Download your copy of this whitepaper below for a deeper dive into fire ratings and how we prepare for the worst-case scenarios.

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In order to determine the best attachment method for your roofing project, its crucial to first understand the positives and negatives of each method. Below, you will find an overview of five roofing system attachment methods and the associated pros and cons.

1. Ballast

Ballast, as defined by Wikipedia, is a ?material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure.? The use of ballast is the original method of waterproofing, and utilizes dirt, sod, palm leaves and other natural materials to shed water. These items, along with gravel and stones, are subsequently used to ballast rags, paper, felts and membranes on a roof.a

Today?s ballast remains primarily gravel and stone, but also includes concrete and polymer paver blocks, garden roofs and other multi-purpose components.

Positive

• Non-penetrating
• Can be decorative
• Can be ?green?
• Time tested
• Non-combustible (may exclude Garden Roofs)

Negative

• Wind scour
• Heavy
• Dirty
• Repairs are difficulta
• Sharp corners and roof traffic can cause damage to the roof surface

Learn more about Ballast roofing systems here.

2. Mechanically Attached Roofing Systems

Simply stated, mechanical attachment refers to the use of galvanized steel, stainless steel, polymer, or aluminum nails or screws to attach the paper, felts, or membrane directly to or through the structural decking. A steel or plastic plate is used to distribute the strength of the fastener over a broader area.

Positive

• Easily engineered for higher upliftsa
• Surface exposed to allow for ease of repair and cleaning

Negative

• Penetration of the structural component
• Potential for ?flutter? in the roof system

Learn more about Mechanically Attached roofing systems here.

3. Adhered Roofing Systems

Adhered roofing systems use adhesives to ?completely? bond the felt or membrane to suitable substrata which have been bonded or attached to the structural component. Adhesives are applied as either contact (single-side) or bonding (double-side) applications using water, solvent, urethane or asphaltic based compounds.a

Positive

• May not require penetration of the structural componenta
• Flat, smooth appearance

Negative

• Vulnerable to ?peel? during high windsa
• Weather and applicator sensitive during application

Learn more about adhered roofing systems here.

4. Partially Adhered Roofing Systems.

Partially Adhered roofing systems use urethane adhesives in a ribbon attachment to membrane to suitable substrata which have been bonded or attached to the structural component.a

Positive

• May not require penetration of the structural componenta
• Uses less adhesive than full coverage

Negative

• Vulnerable during high winds
• Weather and applicator sensitive during application

Learn more about Partially Adhered roofing systems here.

5. Induction Welded Roofing Systems

Induction Welded roofing systems are similar to mechanically attached application in that a nail, screw or fasteners and a coated metal plate are used to distribute the strength of the fastener over a broader area. This plate includes a coating to allow for the induction welding of the top surface of the plate to the bottom of the membrane.

Positive

• Easily engineered for higher upliftsa
• Surface exposed to allow for ease of repair and cleaning

Negative

• Penetration of the structural componenta
• ?Pillow-top? appearance

Learn more about Induction Welded roofing systems here.

Which roofing system do you prefer to specify/install? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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For many customers, the process of restoring their roof can be a complicated process. Which company to use? Whether or not to contact the insurance company first? How much damage is truly there? These are only a few of the many questions to be answered.

Just recently, another big question has come to the forefront of roofing, and this one pertains to when the house is to be sold. That is, should a roof be inspected or certified?

The following article should help answer the question.

Separate from a home inspection, roof inspections typically are not performed in a home inspection. Instead, roofing inspectors climb up on the roof and issue reports on:

* Possible movement
* Condition of roofing materials
* Ridges, caps and drip edges
* Soundness of drains, downspouts, and gutters
* Flashing around roof pipes, chimneys, vents, valleys and mounting of HVAC units

Should the roof does not require repairs, an estimate of the years of life the roof has left can be given by the roofing company, and the inspection certified. The certification period is usually 1-2 years and sometimes as many as 5, however the period requested can vary.

On the other hand, if the roof requires repairs, it is not until after the repairs are performed, that the roofing company will issue the roof certification.

FYI: A number of buyers have stipulated this as part of the contingencies of their contracts (e.g. Subject To: appraisal, inspection, engineer?s report, roof certification, mortgage, etc. ). There are a lot of stipulations a buyer and seller can insist upon to include in a binder and real estate sales contract to close a deal. Contracts should always be reviewed carefully before they are signed.

Roof Certifications are typically requested by; Lenders, Municipalities, and Buyers. Lenders want a roof independently inspected to mitigate risk, municipalities want roofs inspected to maintain a quality housing stock and tax base. Buyers will often request a roof certification after a home inspection.

If a buyer requests a certification after a home inspection, it is likely that the inspector found defects and therefore requested that a roofer inspect and verify the condition of the roof.

You should contact several roofing contractors who work with your type of roof. Ask them if they will repair and then certify a roof what they charge for the roof certification (after it is repaired). A quality roofing company should not charge an additional fee to certify a roof they have restored.

a

By Nick Dorotik

nick@asaproofing.com

Massive storms rolled through North Texas last night, bringing with them lots of lightning and damaging hail. These extreme weather conditions cause millions of dollars in damage each year to Texas homes, specifically to roofs. Last night?s storm was no exception.

The most damaging hail moved east across Plano shortly after 10:15 p.m. Hail was reported as large as 2 inches in diameter. A severe lightning storm also set some roofs on fire. Take a look at the interactive map to see how the storm affected your area.

What to Do After a Hail Storm:

• Walk around your house and check for any damage. Record any issues and take photos.
• Inspect your roof for damage. Keep an eye out for bruising, granule loss, missing shingles, underlayment fracturing and wood splitting. However, many damages are not visible so it?s always best to call a professional right away for a free roof inspection.
• After the inspection, the roofing professional will tell you if your roof has sustained any damage. At this point you?ll need to get your insurance involved. This can be a frustrating process, but don?t worry: Peak Roofing & Construction is an expert on navigating insurance claims and we?ll be there every step of the way.

Things to Remember:

• Always choose a roofing company that offers free roof inspections, is insured and bonded, and has years of experience in the area.
• Having many roofers come out and get on your roof could cause more damage, so try to limit how many people are walking on your roof.
• Don?t wait to call a professional roofer about potential hail damage. The longer you wait the worse off it could be.