We’ re constantly preaching to our clients the importance of roof ventilation. Energy costs and the degradation of your roof can vary based on your roof ventilation. Some homeowners have a roof ventilation overload and some homeowners have an under-ventilated roof.
Installing a power fan is a great way to add the necessary roof ventilation you need. However, the power fan needs to be installed properly and the photo below is a great example of an incorrect power fan installation.
When home communities are built, the builder has a vision and theme he is trying to display through each individual house and the overall community. We typically find faulty roof and gutter installations due to the builder’s desire to complete the project as fast as possible. If every builder created a bullet proof house, it would cost you less to maintain your home, but the job would take longer and the builder would make less profit. Instead, you find roof’s like the one below with a very ‘artistic’ looking roof ventilation system.
At Roof Life of Oregon, we’re constantly observing roof ventilation issues that eventually lead to premature roof failure. Some of the problems and results we’ve examined here on the blog include curling roof shingles and too many can vents. On a recent day out in the field, we saw a home with a roof ventilation overload that we have not recently discussed on the blog.
We see some interesting and artistic looking roof ventilation systems in the Portland, Oregon area. You can vents, the black looking squares on your roof, may be placed creatively or symmetrically, but is that really the best thing for your roof? Poor roof ventilation is causes 9 out of 10 roofs in the United States to age prematurely.
Daniel White answers that question for us in the following video clip.
It might surprise you that seven out of ten roofs we inspect on a daily basis for maintenance are under-ventilated. Most of these roofs are of the architectural shingle type. Some very popular Portland Oregon roofing contractors put these roofs on in the last 13-15 years. Their popularity will prove to be short lived, as their oversight will cost Portlanders millions of dollars in the lost service life of their roofing material.
Proper roof ventilation can fix and prevent many common house problems. However, using the proper number of intake and can (outtake) vents is key to accomplishing this task. Bigger isn’t always better and more of one thing can’t always compensate for inadequacies of another thing.
HGTV normally gives out some pretty good advice for homeowners on their blog. However, when a reader asked about building a second roof on top of an existing one, we believe their expert is just plain wrong.
Here’s the original question from HGTV’s web site:
Q: We recently had a roof put on our house. When the contractors got started, one of them fell through the roof and into our kitchen. The contractor said our roof was too far gone to save, so he suggested the best way to fix the problem was to build another roof right over the top of the existing one. Is it OK to do that? We wanted him to just tear the whole thing off and put in new trusses, but he said this way would do the same thing and it would be cheaper.
The HGTV author, listed as a certified home inspector, answered:
A: As long as there is room for ventilation between the old and new roofs, the reroof should be OK….
It’s not OK to do this! More than likely the reason someone fell through was from rot and decay. All of the rot and decay should be removed and a new structure built in its place, not over it or around it. If the trusses are rotten they should be replaced. They are a structural part of the building and cannot be ignored. When in doubt, get a second opinion from someone who actually examines the roof on site.
If you find yourself in a similar situation (anywhere near Portland, Oregon), contact us for a free inspection!
Have you ever looked up at your roof or your neighbor’s roof and noticed strange looking bumps or see 4 x 8 sections that look as if they are rising from below? Have you asked yourself “How can it look like that?” Your roof may only be 5 to 7 years old. Unfortunately, time and time again in the Portland metro area, we see this sort of thing. Would you believe your roof moves? This movement is called expansion and contraction. As the temperature heats up and cools down from day to night and from summer to winter, so does your roof. As your roof heats up, it expands. As your roof cools down, it contracts, and so does the plywood under the roofing. If the plywood and rafters were put on with NO space between the sheets then what will happen to the plywood when it needs to expand? This is a picture of what happens to your plywood when it can’t move.
The roof in this picture is only 6 years old, and the contractor pushed the plywood together with no space. This is the kind of work done by a roofing contractor that puts on roofs as fast as they can, for as cheap as they can, and who knows as little as they can. Oh yes, it happens, more than what is talked about. Why isn’t it talked about? You now know the down side of cheap!
At Roof Life of Oregon, we take the time to put your roof on correctly. Sure, it may take us a fraction longer to finish your roof than most contractors, but wouldn’t you want us to take the time to put on your roof correctly the first time? We think so also. That is why we offer Portland’s only Lifetime Workmanship Warranty; to give you peace of mind that your roof will last and work as it should.
