Leaks & Service Repairs

757-399-3066 ext 3 (Leaks & Service Repairs)

Reroof Estimates & Inspections

757-399-3066 ext 1 (Reroof Estimates & Inspections)

Tag: rapid rain system

Common Roofing Storm Damage

If you watch the local news or even just tune in for the weather forecast, you know that we’ve reached peak hurricane season and that the tropics have been very active thus far.

Fortunately, the Mid-Atlantic coast including Southeast Virginia and Hampton Roads have been spared from any direct hits. But there are still two more months of hurricane season, and now is the time to be prepared for anything that may come our way. Not to mention that as soon as hurricane season is over, nor’easter and winter storm season will be upon us.

When it comes to your home and your home’s roof, there are plenty of things you can do in advance to avoid certain types of damage during storm season. But there are some things you simply can’t prevent from happening, and being responsive after the fact is the best you can do. Here are a few common types of roof damage to keep an eye out for as we weather hurricane season this fall.

Tree Damage

Tree damage isn’t always as obvious as an entire tree crashing through your roof and into your home. Some tree damage can go unnoticed until it causes interior damage – days, weeks or even months later. A stray limb with enough wind and force behind it can cause shingles to fly off, roof sheathing and decking to be pierced and make your roof vulnerable to leaks.

Tree damage can even come from overhanging branches that simply rub along shingles and cause unwanted wear and tear. It’s always a good idea to keep low hanging or potentially destructive branches trimmed back from the roofline where possible.

After a storm, visually inspect your roof as well as you can from the ground to see if any limbs, branches or even leaf buildups can be seen. If so, they should be removed immediately and the roof should be inspected to ensure no damage was caused. If damage was caused, a roofing contractor will typically be able to do a repair confined to that area without a major overhaul of your roof.

Loose or Missing Shingles

Perhaps the most common damage after a storm is loose or missing shingles. While it may not seem like a big deal if one or two shingles come off, their absence makes the shingles all around that area more susceptible to blowing off, and jeopardizes the roof sheathing beneath. Depending on when and how your roof was installed, the material manufacturer or installer may have specific warranties to cover shingle replacement. In any case, the shingles should be replaced as soon as possible to prevent further damage.

Loose or Missing Flashing

Flashing is the metal sheets that are used in roofing around joints in a roofline and around other roof penetrations such as pipes, chimneys and vents. They play an important role in protecting your roof decking and if jeopardized, major interior damage can occur. Loose flashing can actually cause quite a bit of damage to the rest of your roof, tearing up or removing shingles around it, especially in a wind event.

Missing flashing can allow water intrusion and will also make it easier for nearby shingles to be blown away. Some flashing you may be able to visually inspect from the ground, but if you have reason to believe that flashing may be loose in spots that you’re not able to inspect from the ground, call in a qualified roofing contractor to inspect for you – don’t risk causing damage to yourself to find damage on your roof.

Clogged or Broken Gutters

Particularly if you live near a lot of trees, storms can cause debris to fly off of nearby vegetation that can eventually land right into your gutters. This debris will cause your gutters to work less effectively, which means water will build up and potentially seep up underneath your shingles and sheathing, causing damage to the roof decking below, often seen as dark water spots in the corners and along the top of the walls in your home. Ideally, have your gutters cleaned before storm season so that they are cleared and ready to carry all that stormwater away from your home. But it’s also a good idea to check on them after a storm and make sure nothing has caused any clogs or damage to the gutter itself.

Broken or loose gutters are also common after a storm, and if you see evidence of that, call in a licensed contractor to fix the problem before the next rain event occurs. Broken gutters can funnel water into places it should not go including near your home’s foundation and onto walls and windows, causing even more damage. If you don’t have gutters, or your home’s gutters need to be replaced, you may also want to consider installing a Rapid Rain ™ gutter system which is designed for high capacity that comes with living in a storm prone area.

Contact a Local Roofing Contractor

This hurricane season, if your roof sustains any damage during a storm, contact Andrews Roofing. We are locally owned and operated and we are highly experienced in the issues that are unique to the Tidewater region. We know what to look out for and how to best fix and repair an issue to withstand future weather events.

read more

Are Rain Diverters or Gutters Right for Your House?

Did you know that Virginia Beach gets an average of 47” of rain per year? That’s 9” more than the national average.

Add to that the dampness and moisture issues that are common across all the cities of Hampton Roads due to low lying areas that have been developed, and wet weather can become a real problem for your home.

Because of this, most homes built in the Tidewater region should have gutters. Without gutters, rain sheets off of your roof straight onto the ground around your home’s foundation. This in turn can cause structural issues such as causing your foundation to sink or shift. It can also cause moisture damage to the foundation and crawl space of your house such as mold, mildew, and termites.

If you’re having these types of issues at your home, you may be looking into whether installing or replacing your gutters is the right thing to do or whether rain diverters can take care of the problem instead. The answer isn’t as cut and dry as you might think.

When Gutters Are Necessary

Gutters are really your home’s best first line of defense against water damage. We can’t recommend that anyone in Hampton Roads bypass this feature on their home. Some people avoid gutters because they don’t want to do the upkeep of cleaning and clearing them regularly. The problem with that logic is that the damage caused by sheeting water that isn’t managed with a gutter system will be much more severe and costly than putting a leaf guard on your gutter or paying a professional to clean them once a year. While gutters aren’t necessary in all parts of the country, we do believe that they are necessary for a healthy home in our region.

When Diverters are Necessary

Not every part of your home’s roofline may be compatible with a gutter system. It can be tricky to install gutters on areas such as a porticoed entryway or dormers. In these cases, a diverter may be used instead. Diverters essentially direct rainwater away from certain areas so that water isn’t sheeting off the roofline and onto the ground. They keep the water flowing and, ideally, redirect the water to a proper drainage site – a connected downspout or another area of the roofline that does have gutters. In this instance, rain diverters can be beneficial and sometimes necessary.

We would be remiss in not mentioning, however, that rain diverters can sometimes cause water to back up underneath shingles in the case of really heavy rain and downpours – something that isn’t uncommon in our area. It’s critical to monitor the area of your roof where diverters are being used to check for any signs of water damage or a failing structure, especially after a particularly heavy rain or storm. That being said, the reality is that both diverters and gutters require a certain amount of maintenance and monitoring.

Always Use a Professional Roofing Company

If you’re considering replacing or installing gutters or rain diverters on your home’s roof, talk to a licensed and experienced roofing contractor with knowledge of your specific area. If you live in the Hampton Roads region, Andrews Roofing would be happy to provide a quote for a replacement and installation of our Rapid Rain Gutter System™. This product uses technology that provides a large capacity system without being bulky or unsightly on your home. It’s available in a wide range of scratch resistant, designer colors to match your home’s style, and it comes with a limited lifetime guarantee. Contact us today to learn more.

read more

Are Gutters Necessary for Your Home?

Gutters do much more than create a nice, neat visual frame for your home’s roof.

Gutters play an important role in diverting water away from your home. Why does this matter? Because when gutters are not in place, and those typical southeastern Virginia pop-up storms happen, rain is sheeting off your roof and directly down to your home’s foundation. Of course, moisture and foundations are not a great combination. Over time, moisture pooling around your home’s foundation can cause serious issues. For homes built on a slab, the constant flux of moisture then dryness causes the concrete to expand and compress, which over time can cause cracks and shifting. That in turn can lead to plumbing issues, wall cracks, bowed floors and more. For homes with a crawl space, that area may become damp if not properly ventilated, which invites mold, rot and termites. For the rare homes in the Tidewater region with basements, not having gutters can cause flooding and moisture damage there as well.

Perhaps if you lived in a dry, arid environment where rain only happened occasionally, foregoing gutters may be OK. But in the cities of Hampton Roads, the rainfall average is just over 47 inches – that’s almost 10 inches over the national average. Homes in this area without functional gutters are bound to have costly issues over time.

However, just having gutters in place doesn’t automatically mean you’ve avoided this issue. If your gutters are not functioning properly, you could wind up in the same boat. Gutters can stop functioning because of dents, structural damage, and of course – clogs. In this region, gutters should be cleaned out at least twice a year – the spring and fall. But it’s also good practice to check on them and do any necessary cleaning after any big storm systems that may have caused additional debris to land in them.

It’s also important to remember that not all gutter systems are created equal. While it’s better to have some sort of gutter than none at all, if you’re building a home or replacing your gutter system, it may be time to look into a high-quality brand that can stand up to the storms and heavy rain in Coastal Virginia. Rapid Rain™  Gutter Systems is a new product that functions unlike any other previous gutter product. That’s because it provides a higher capacity, but without the bulky look. It’s designed with architectural styling in mind and is available in a wide variety of colors.

The Rapid Rain™ system is made from 18.5% heavier metal than standard gutters, and is therefore erected with heavy duty hangers for stability and durability. It is coated with a patented ScratchGuard™ paint finish, and is backed by a lifetime warranty. It has also received the Good Housekeeping® Seal of approval.

For homeowners who prefer not to climb up on a ladder to clean their gutters every year, the RapidRain™ system can also be fitted with a patented MicroGuard. This cover has over 48 perforations per square inch so that it keeps out even the smallest debris, while still allowing water to flow through at a high volume. MicroGuard is also virtually invisible from the curb, so the entire system helps beautify your home inside and out.

If you’re considering installing or replacing your gutters, contact Andrews Roofing. Our team of licensed and insured professionals will install your gutter system, and we stand behind it with our workmanship guarantee. We have a long-standing reputation in the Hampton Roads region for quality work and customer service. Don’t let rain destroy your house from the ground up – contact us today.

read more