A roof replacement is inevitable, especially when your home has had the same roof for over a decade. With the proper care and maintenance, you might only need to replace your housetop once in the whole time you live there.
While many people might want to do repairs themselves, a rooftop replacement is a different process altogether. It is more complicated and requires the expertise of experienced Lehigh Valley roofers.
However, it is important to know the process even without active participation. Being informed prepares you for what will happen and gives you an overview of the costs and time needed to replace the roof.
Below is a breakdown of the roof replacement steps followed by Lehigh Valley roofing companies.
1. Property Protection
Lehigh Valley roofers understand the importance of protecting the owner's property when replacing a housetop. They will use tarps and plywood to cover the plants, walls, bushes, and siding. A roof replacement is inevitable, especially when your home has had the same roof for over a decade. With the proper care and maintenance, you might only need to replace your rooftop once in the whole time you live there. That ensures that nothing is damaged by falling objects during the installation.
2. Removing the Old Roof
Once everything is covered, the next step is to remove the old, damaged roof to create room for the new roof. Working with a good Lehigh Valley roofing company makes this step seamless. The team will remove every piece of the rooftop carefully.
3. Inspecting the Frame and Fix Rotting Decking
In some cases, the roofing materials are the only parts of the rooftop that need replacing. That means that the frame and the rest of the housetop foundation will remain intact.
However, sometimes even the frame needs replacing. Experienced roofers in Lehigh Valley can tell when the frame needs changing by doing a quick inspection.
An inspection of rotted decking will also be done. Any reputable Lehigh Valley roofing company would not roof overtop of any decking that is rotted or decaying. Replacing rotted decking is the foundation of the roofing system.
4. Ice and Water Shield
The new housetop will also need a shield to keep it intact when it snows or rains. The shield is applied on all roof penetration points to prevent water leakage into your attic.
5. Preparing the Roof Surface
If the frame is intact and the wood decking has been installed, it is time to prepare the rooftop for the new roofing materials. A drip edge is required at the edges of the housetop to stop rain from seeping.
6. New Roofing Materials Installation
The housetop material installation varies depending on the type of roof. This process starts from the bottom going up. Your Lehigh Valley roofing contractors will also install ridge vents and capping.
7. The Cleanup
Once everything is in place, your roofers in Lehigh Valley will clean up the site and leave it looking neat and tidy. They will remove any objects that fell from the roof and any granules that flaked off when removing the old housetop materials. Magnets should be used to clean up any nails that may not have been caught by a tarping system and roofing buggy machine. Areas surrounding the property should be blown off from debris as well.
8. The Inspection
The final step involves doing one last inspection to see whether the housetop was installed correctly. If something is in the wrong place or has a problem, further adjustments will be needed until everything functions perfectly. Any Lehigh Valley roofing company with integrity will have a final inspection as part of the roof replacement process.
In Conclusion
Professional roofers in Lehigh Valley do an excellent job when it comes to roof replacement. Schedule regular inspections to avoid the complicated and tedious rooftop replacement process before your roof has passed its prime.
