Rich Duerop, a home inspector in Wisconsin, talked about some of the strangest home “problems” he recently encountered in his area. One of them was a multi-layered roofing system that consisted of about five decks of shingles and shakes, a project that should have required a special permit. The total weight could have been enough to cause the entire structure to collapse, but luckily for those inside, it did not. Still, Duerop considered it more of a roof problem than a special home feature that needs to be fixed immediately.
This story reminds homeowners in North Carolina that not all roof problems are limited to leaks, cracks, or missing shingles. The roofing system itself could be the problem, no matter how sturdy or reliable it may seem. The only way to discover such problems is to conduct a thorough roof inspection, which is usually provided by most roofers in the state. ABC roofing, which offers services for roofing in Winston-Salem, NC, provides their roof inspections free. The offer is even extended to siding and rain gutter inspections.
Inspections are necessary because they determine the exact nature of any roof problem, which in turn determines the proper way of fixing them. This is especially important for homeowners who have roof leaks as their problem, because they can be fixed by either a simple patch-up job or a costly roof replacement.
If the leaks were caused by a few, defective shingles then they can simply be replaced with new ones. If they’re caused by more serious problems, like a badly deteriorated underlayment, than the entire roofing system needs to be replaced.
An inspection also proves useful in detecting any faults or defects in the system that can’t be seen by the naked eye. For example, dirt or debris found in rain gutters may actually be granules from the adjacent roofing shingle.
While these tend to accumulate naturally, granules can also be a sign of advanced wear and tear due to excess rain and sunlight, especially if the shingles are new. Due to the ambiguity involved, it would help that the people hired for the inspection, such as some of the best Winston Salem roofers, have partnerships with the leading roofing brands like GAF so that they can gain an expert, secondhand opinion on the matter.
(Article Information and Image from Ask the Inspector: Persistent problems, Leader Telegram, January 4, 2014)