After the first major storm of the season, suddenly everybody with a white van and a hammer is calling himself a roofer, offering his services to repair or replace any Charleston roofing that needs it. Some will even offer to pay the deductible on the insurance, so how can a homeowner choose the right contractor? By using a few simple criteria, homeowners can distinguish the reliable professionals from the wannabes.
When property owners spend money on new roofing, they naturally want the most reliable, experienced craftsmen to perform the job of installing it. The manufacturers of roofing materials feel the exact same way. Offering warranties of up to 25 years, no shingle-maker wants to see homeowners coming back 10 years later complaining that his product wasn’t up to scratch if the failure was due to faulty installation on the part of the roofing contractor.
The most common reason for a roof to fail before the warranty on the materials runs out is because there was no gap between the panels of plywood decking. International building codes dictate that there should be a one-eighth inch gap between the sheets of plywood on a roof. This is because wood expands in the warm, moist conditions of a southern summer.
If the carpenter who puts down the plywood forgets to leave enough room for expansion, the panels will buckle.