You may be quite surprised at the difference roofing can make in your energy management. When you want to save money on your heating and cooling costs and you are also in the position to put a new roof on your home, the savings can start with your roof. Even if the initial cost may seem like quite the investment, the right investment can save you a lot of money in the long-term and also spare your home from the damage that faulty roofing can cause. That’s even more money saved.

Right now, the trend is the “cooling roof” trend. There are two factors that come into play here. The first is proper insulation to keep the warm air in in the winter and a reflective roof to keep the hot air out in the summer. This reflective roofing is white or light-colored in order to reflect sunlight and keep it out of your attic. The growth for this cool roofing is increasing because people want to save money on their energy costs.

Your Energy Management Strategy

When you save energy, you save money, it is as simple as that. This means that you may want to consider the different green roofing problems in order to complete your energy management strategy. As it stands, your strategy may include such things as turning lights off when you are not in the room or unplugging electrical items when not in use. Add roofing to the equation and you can save a lot of money on an annual basis.

You can look into garden top roofing, which is literally planting a garden on your roof that your Minneapolis roofing contractor can properly irrigate. However, in Minneapolis the most common form of roofing being used is cool roofing so that heat is reflected and not absorbed into the home.

You may also want to look for any roofing products that have the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star seal. This means that the EPA has approved the product and certified it as energy saving. Many products on the market today do have the Energy Star logo on them and are much more energy efficient than older products.

Replacing your roofing?

Are you looking at replacing your roofing and wish to make it part of your energy management strategy? If so, you can talk to a Minneapolis roofer about what you can do to make your roof one that saves you money over its life. You can look into such types of roofing as:

• Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, which is single-ply roofing and has a great track record when it comes to long-term performance. These systems started being installed in Germany in the 1960s, so there has been plenty of time to study the effectiveness of this roofing.
• Chlorosulfonated polyethylene, or CSPE, is amongst the earliest white roofing that was used in the United States. Although effective, CSPE has not seen the success of PVC.
• There are more recent developments that include thermoplastic polyolefins (TPOs) and co-polymer alloys (CPAs).

Today, you will find mostly single-ply white roofing systems, but they are helpful in making your energy management plan a success.

When you buy a new roof system in Minnesota, you are buying more than just what you see. There are other parts of the system that you can’t see and they are very important at protecting your home from the weather. It is important that you know the different components of a roof system so that you can ensure you choose the best of everything for your roof.

Here are some of the components and some terms that you should familiarize yourself with when discussing your new roof with your Minnesota roofing contractor:

• Built-up roof – This is a roof that consists of layers of alternating hot-mapped asphalt and roofing felt. The roof is then topped off with a layer of gravel.
• Flashing – This is sheet metal that is used to join the different planes to prevent leakage from the roof.
• Counterflashing – This is the part of the flashing that is overlapped over a single shingle flashing.
• Cornice – The part of the roof you see protruding out from the walls at the side of the house.
• Deck – This is the surface that is usually made of plywood and is the surface in which the roofing materials are applied.
• Drip Edge – This is an L-shaped strip that is installed along the edges of the roof and allows water to drip off of the edges away from the eaves and the siding.
• Fascia – This is the trim board behind the eaves and the gutter.
• Felt – This is also referred to as “tar paper” by roofers in Minnesota and around the U.S. It is usually made of rags, asphalt, or paper.
• Penetrations – Penetrations consists of the chimney, vents, pipes, and stacks that penetrate the deck of the roof.
• Sheathing – The sheathing is the boards that are nailed to the rafters and the outside roofing materials may be secured.
• Rafter – This is a structure that sheathing may be nailed to.
• Shingle flashing – These are the strips that are under each shingle and bent up the edge of the wall or chimney.
• Underlayment – This is the material, usually felt, that is laid upon the sheathing or deck before the shingles are applied.

Other components that you will find are part of the roof include the actual roof covering, which can be shingles, tile, slate, cedar shakes, or another covering; the deck, the roof structure, the flashing, and the drainage system to ensure the water can drain off the roof, which will prevent leaks when done properly.

Talk to your Minnesota roofer about the different components of your roofing system so that you can make sure you have the best all around. You do not want any part of your roof to be of a low quality because this can compromise the rest of your roof. You certainly don’t want this to happen because of the fact your roof is a very large investment. Every part of it works together, so you need to make sure the entire thing is what it should be.

It is recommended by roofing associations and Minnesota roofers themselves that you have your asphalt roofing inspected bi-annually or annually. This is because the seasons certainly take a toll on your roof. And the time of year that is best to have a Minnesota roof inspection is the late spring and the early fall and there are reasons behind this.

So what can be found during a roof inspection?

Well, a Minnesota roofing inspector will take a look at your roof and look for telltale signs of damage. These signs can include granules missing from your shingles, weak spots, blisters, cracks, and missing shingles. An inspector can evaluate your eaves and valleys to ensure that they are not leaking or will not be leaking in the near future.

A Minnesota inspector can also take a look at skylights, fans, and other hardware to make sure everything is in check and nothing is leaking. These areas can be trouble spots, so they need to be checked every time your roof is inspected.

So when should inspections take place?

There are several times in which you need to make the call to a Minnesota roofer to inspect your roof. You want to make the call any time that there is a storm that produced hail, high winds, and flying debris. You never know when the hail or flying debris caused cracks, blisters, or holes in your shingles. You also never know when the wind may have blown shingles off of your roof or loosened them. You must address the problems immediately so that they do not become worse and cause leaks that can cause further damage to your home that could be expensive.

Roofing association and Minnesota roofing contractors will tell you that a late spring inspection is a good idea. This is because the snow storms and the harsh cold of the winter takes its toll on your roofing. Many times the weather does not start to warm up and stay consistently warm until the late spring. A late spring inspection ensures that the cold weather is over and that it is safe to go ahead and make any repairs heading into the summer.

By making sure repairs are made before the weather gets too hot, any damage will not become worse because it simply won’t be there anymore. The summer will then provide its own punishment on the roof. That is why it is good to have an inspection on the roof in the fall. You can then have a Minnesota inspector evaluate what the summer months did to your roof so that you can prepare for winter.

By having these regular inspections, you can extend the life of your roof. You will not have to make extremely premature replacements, which can save you a lot of money in the long-term. You certainly do not want to replace a thirty year roof in fifteen. If that happened, you would be replacing every fifteen years and spending more money than you ever intended.

One of a roof’s most vile enemies is the hail storm. Hail can range in size from pea sized to the size of golf balls. On rare occasions, hail can be even larger than that. When it is, roofs in Minnesota see quite a bit of damage. That damage can range from the granules being removed from asphalt shingles to actual penetration of the shingles, exposing everything underneath. This can then lead to leaks that cause even more damage to the home.

Hail is certainly a force to be reckoned with and one that costs millions each year to homeowners, vehicle owners, and various other individuals who have different belongings damaged by hail. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about it. If the hail is going to fall, it is going to fall. You can protect your outside belongings if the storm is predicted, but you can’t protect your roof. There is not a garage or barrier that you can put over your roof before a hail storm strikes.

After the hail storm

After a hail storm, a wise thing to do is contact a Minneapolis Hail Damage expert to see if any damage was done. Even if you can’t see damage from the ground, it doesn’t mean that damage has not been done. There are several things that hail can do to your roof that you may not be able to see but an inspector can. Those things include:

• Missing granules, which eliminates some of the protection shingles have and can lead to faster wear and tear. Another hail storm will make this worse and speed up the demise of your roof even faster.
• Cracks in your shingles that can then let water through when it rains. This water will eventually break the barrier that is your underlayment and cause leaks in your roof that you may not find until it is too late.
• Blistering, which is the thinning of areas on your shingles. This thinning can then lead to cracks, holes, and other types of damage that will eventually lead to leaks.
• Penetration, which is very major damage. Penetration is when the hail actually penetrates the shingle. Depending on the size of the hail, penetration can result in holes in your roofing that goes through rather deep. The underlayment can also be damaged, leading to instant leaking that needs to be repaired as soon as possible.

When a roofing inspector sees these types of damage, they will tell you and inform you of what your options are as far as having these issues repaired. If your roof is heavily damaged, the roofer may suggest that the entire roof be replaced. This is usually true when 1 in 5 or even as few as 1 in 10 shingles are damaged.

The Solution – Hire A MN Roofing Contractor

If you find that you are consistently having damage during hail storms or that you have experienced a lot of damage according to your inspection, you may want to consider high impact shingles. These are shingles that can deal with the impact of hail much better than your traditional shingle. These are frequently referred to as “Class 4 shingles.” You will want to talk to your Minnesota roofing contractor about these shingles so that you can give hail a run for its money. Class 4 shingles aren’t immune to the largest types of hail, but they offer much more protection and can save you a lot more money in the long run.

You know that there is damage to your roof, but the question is whether or not you need to replace your roof? You could go for a simple repair, but what if you find yourself constantly repairing your roof? By the time you have called the Minnesota roofing company the fifth or sixth time, or even fewer times, you’ve already paid the same amount of money that you would pay for a brand new roof that would stand up better to the very elements that are damaging it.

So what are some signs to look for so that you know whether replacing your roof is the right decision?

• Ask yourself, “How old is my roof?” The average lifespan of a roof is around 15 years, depending on how well it is maintained. If you want to extend its life, then having regular roof inspections by a Minnesota roofing inspector can help you locate the small issues that are easy to fix so that you can extend the life of your roof. If a roof is not properly maintained, then torn flashings and minor leaks can turn into something more serious that causes extensive damage to your home.
• Look for shingles that are missing or torn. If the number of missing or torn shingles far exceeds the number of good shingles, then it is time for roof replacement.
• Look at the condition of the interior walls that touch the roof. If there are moisture marks or missing paint, then the roof is faulty and needs replaced.
• Minnesota is known for extreme weather conditions and those weather conditions can expose part of the house from the top in the form of roof damage. This exposure to direct sunlight, wind, hail, rain, and snow can cause significant damage to the home.
• Faulty design can also result in roof replacement. When a design is not done properly, it is just a matter of time, usually short, when a roof will not be able to do its job. Sometimes the defect is obvious from the beginning. Faulty design also includes not using the right materials or using low quality materials to construct the roof.

The decision to replace your roof can be a difficult one because there are so many factors that you must consider. Those factors include: Budget, weather conditions, the type of roofing that you need, the amount of time in which you need the issue rectified, etc. You certainly have a lot that you need to consider when making the decision to replace your roof. But most importantly, you need to take a look at the extent of the damage. Talk to your Minneapolis roofing contractor about your options. If your roof needs replaced due to the weather, then you may wish to consult with your insurance company to see what your insurance will cover so that you can determine your true budget.

So when damage has been done, contact a roofing contractor in Minnesota to take a look and tell you what kind of damage has been done and what it will take to fix it. The final decision is up to you.