Arizona Roofer » russell

If you see your roofer doing this fire him.

russell — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:59:30 +0000

The Hail storm has come and gone and I’m sure there is a little bit of this kind of work out there. I found this video and everything about what this guy is doing is wrong. first off there’s no felt under layment. And two his nailing is wrong. This is the type of work you typically run into with some storm chasers. If you see your roofer doing this fire him!

Shingle roofs are not maintenance free!

russell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:25:35 +0000

Shingle roofs are not maintenance free. Ok for the most part they are there’s not much you can do for them except check for blown off shingle tabs or shingles, check pipes and penetrations for cracks and or holes. But more importantly if you have had work done by An A/C guy or had a new satellite dish installed you should probably get on the roof (if your able) and look at their work. Remember your A/C guy is not a roofer and they seldom call roofers to fix their work until they have a leak.

Improper A/C jack install

As you can see in this picture this A/C jack is not installed properly. What do you think happened here?

2. You should always have abandoned equipment taken off of the roof they are in many cases sources for leaks. In the case below this T.V. antenna is not used but it became a great roosting spot for pigeon’s and other birds. Their scratching around and poop has started to deteriorate the shingles around it. You can’t just replace those shingles a lot of times they are stuck together. So most of the shingles are in good shape and have lot’s of life left these do not.

Bird damaged shingles

3. Finally you should check for cracks in pipes and other penetrations at least once a year repair them as necessary to prevent leaks. Just put more mastic around the pipes and penetrations.

Failed pipes

Foam Split in Plywood Seam

russell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:30:29 +0000

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to fix a small foam split next to a plywood seam. As a rule of thumb foam that is sprayed directly over plywood will not leak. This is because water cannot travel underneath the foam because it’s fully adhered to the wood. However there are some exceptions to this rule

1. A leaking penetration i.e. pipe , t-top, scupper ect.

2. A split at a plywood seam.

This split is only about 1 1/2 inches long but the damage it did inside was incredible.

foam split next to plywood seam

As you can see this is a very small split that can go unnoticed. Typically something like this would never leak. But what gives it away is the plywood seam right next to it.

1. First cut one side of the split in a V pattern

Split through to seam

2. Next use a polyurethane caulking to fill the crack. (It’s important you V it out don’t just caulk the top it will split again)

Caulk the hole

3. Tool the caulk with you finger or cardboard. Make sure you go past all the edges of the cut.

Tool the caulking

4. Now the repair is finished you can coat the caulking with elastomeric coating.

Complete repair

Failed foam or poor maintenence ?

russell — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:08:25 +0000

good foam

The foam isn’t the problem on this roof. It’s because of improper maintenance. Wrong materials used for repairs, neglect and abuse that has led to a total tear off of this foam roof and and new roof system being installed.

plywood patch

As you can see from the repair done on the picture above. Yes thats a plywood patch.

mastic on foam

In picture above you can see incompatible materials have been used that’s asphalt mastic with elastomeric coating over the top. It’s because of things like this that this roof is being torn off. Poor maintenance and poor repair practices lead to costly and early roof failures. You can see where the roof coating has cracked this is often times because of cheap coatings being applied to much and to often.

elastomeric roof re-coating

russell — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:34:16 +0000

This is a short video showing the elastomeric re-coat process. As you can see they are back rolling as they go, this ensures the coating fills any little cracks or holes. Also this is done when there has been an aggregate added before.

The re-coat process involves more than just putting coating down.

1. Clean roof with a broom, leaf blower, and if necessary a water hose.

2. Fix any blisters or cracks and holes with polyurethane caulking.

3. Apply a roof primer at the rate of about 1/3 gallon per 100sqft.

4. Apply and back roll the roof coating at a rate of at least 2 gallons per 100sqft 2.5 is better but no more than 3 gallons per 100sqft.

Proper Steps for Repairs Following Storm Damage READ, READ, READ!

russell — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:34:30 +0000

If the homeowner thinks they have damage, they should first call their insurance company or agent and ask to file a claim.
The insurance company sends an adjuster to access the damage.
If the adjuster determines damage has occurred, he will issue a report listing the damage and the expected cost of recovery.
The adjuster will then cut a check for the damage minus the depreciation of the home.
The homeowner can choose 2 different ways to hire a contractor. He may bid the work to one or more contractors and accept a bid. If that bid is less than the insurance company estimate, the insurance company will pay only that amount, less deductible. If the bid is more than the insurance estimate, the homeowner can submit the higher bid to the insurance company and attempt to work out the difference. The homeowner can also opt to hire a trusted contractor of their choice. The contractor can then work out their rates with the insurance company.
Under NO circumstances can a homeowner avoid paying their deductible. Any contractor that suggests otherwise to a homeowner is committing insurance fraud.
After the project has been completed, the contractor or homeowner sends an invoice and certificate of completion to the insurance company. Insurance then cuts a check to the homeowner for the depreciated portion of the loss (providing the homeowner has replacement cost insurance, which most do.) In some instances, a mortgage company and/or contractor may be listed on the check as co-payees.

Don’t be in a hurry- you have a whole year!

You have 1 year to replace your hail damaged roof or siding!

Storm chasers will often use a high-pressure tactic of informing homeowners that they have to act fast since insurance companies will only pay for your home repair if you file the claim within 2 weeks, one month, or 6 months of a storm. That is absolutely not true. According to most policies, homeowners have up until 1 year following a storm to file a claim for hail damage to their home!

Storm chasers will also tell homeowners that they need to sign the contract fast so that the homeowner doesn’t get stuck behind many other people needing a new roof. This is another tactic to get homeowners to sign quickly, since the storm chasers will be moving to the next storm area as rapidly as possible.

Think of it this way, would you sign a contract this quickly if you were replacing your roof simply because of age or normal wear and tear? No! You’d take your time, get several different estimates, and carefully choose style and color. So why rush now? Slow down and make sure you are working with someone you trust to get the type of roof you desire.

HAIL DAMAGE! DON’T HIRE ANY CONTRACTOR UNTIL

russell — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:32:26 +0000

HAIL DAMAGE! DON’T HIRE ANY CONTRACTOR UNTIL YOU HAVE READ

THIS POST.

There are roofers from just about every state in Arizona right now taking advantage of the Hail Storm. Some of them are just trying to make a buck and have landed jobs with reputable contractors. And then there are those who are what we call “storm chasers” and they will do whatever it takes to get your insurance check. They come here and use local contractors licences to install new roofs they pay the local contractor a fee for the use of their licence. And then give you the homeowner a new roof. So whats the big deal you say.

#1 Your probably not getting the best value for your money.

#2 Some of them are cutting corners and will be long gone by the time you find out and you’ll be left with the bill.

#3 Some of them are not paying any taxes that are used in your community, so most of that money is leaving Arizona.

#4 Some of them Are just plain out not roofers!

The list can go on and on. Don’t be a victim let the ArizonaRoofer recommend a trusted local licensed roofing contractor please contact us .The ArizonaRoofer is the homeowners information source we are always on the homeowners side. We don’t play favorites, we play who can best serve you for your roofing needs.

Hail Damaged Foam Roof

russell — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:50:30 +0000

Due to the big Hail storm we had in Arizona there are tens of thousands of destroyed roofs All roof types were affected except tile roofs. The picture below is what a hail damaged foam roof will look like. There will be thousands of divits and impacts on the roof.

Hail damaged foam Roof

It is recommended to tear the roof off and install a new roof. There are alot of contractors out there just recoating them this is not recommended.

Hail Damage

russell — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 04:00:31 +0000

Hello all I would like to inform you all of what hail damage to your roof may look like. But first off we had a really big hail storm in Arizona that has created so much damage that it has brought people from all over the country here and you need to be aware of some of these people. Alot of them are nothing more than con men trying to get your insurance money. Things you should be asking

1. Are you licenced in Arizona?

2. How Long?

3. Are you in good standing with the BBB and the Registar of Contractors?

Follow up yourself with this. E-mail me via our contact form if you need help with this.

I have already seen these guys cutting corrners that will cost you alot more in the future.

To help if you live in these zip codes you may have hail damage. Not everybody in these zip codes are affected but alot of people are.

85051,85301,85303,85302,85017,85015,85033

85035,85009,85006,85021,85029,85304,85306

85053,85023.

The main area is from north to south McDowell rd. to the loop 101 and east to west from I-17 to around 67th ave.

Your damaged shingle roof will look something like this

Hail Damaged Shingle Roof

I have’nt seen any damage to any concrete tile roofs. But if you have a patio roof that is not tile you can still have damage to that roof as well.

As far as foam roofs go they NEED TO BE REPLACED don’t let anyone just coat it it will fail later.

If you are unsure If you have hail damage and need an inspection but cannot get a roofer out to inspect contact me via the contact form and I will inspect it for you and give you good recommendations.

Polyester fabric Roof?

russell — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:53:06 +0000

Polyester fabric membrane

I came across this roof.. if you can call it a roof system. This roof system consists of polyester fabric embed in elastomeric coating directly over the top of plywood, The overall thickness is around 20 mils thick. The coating should have been at least 30 mils thick and the membrane should have been 60 mils. This is a prime example of buyer beware. The home owner paid $2300 for this. I replaced this roof with a 1 inch foam roof with 3 coats of elastomeric coating @ 1.25 gallons per 100 sqft. for the same price. I’ve talked about polyester fabric before and it’s use for repairing foam splits and for the use on top of stucco parapet walls to stop cracks. But this is NOT a roofing system and anytime someones says their going to put polyester fabric on your roof ask these questions.

1. are you putting over the exsisting roof system? (this is ok for a band-aid)
2. are you going to tear off the exsisting roof and put this in place of it? (this is not ok)

I’ve seen this used as a roof system before (and I’m not to fond of it) But it’s applied totally different then this roof. When this is used as a roof system the polyester fabric is layered in asphalt emulssion and the final coat is a 4 gallon per 100 sqft elastomeric coating achieving an overall mil. thickness of around 140 mils thick.