All posts by RIslate15

New Asphalt Shingle Roof

Benefits of Replacing Your Roof

Your home’s roof is one of the most important pieces of your home’s exterior, serving a number of principal functions. First of all, your roof keeps your home protected from the elements & pests, which is it’s primary purpose. However, your roof also improves your home’s curb appeal & resale value & provides your home with additional insulation. With so much to gain from having a properly installed roof, it is important to ensure that your’s is kept in good repair. If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of replacing your roof, take a look below to learn more!

Improve Your Property Value

If you’re looking for a way to boost your home’s value, replacing your new roof is a great option. Most homeowners will be deterred by a home that’s in need of a roof replacement, as it is a major undertaking. If you’re at all interested in selling your home within the next 3-5 years, replacing your roof can go a long way in helping to get your home off the market. Furthermore, a roof replacement provides a 65-75% ROI, meaning you will get back a majority of your investment when it comes time to sell the home!

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Many homeowners are unaware of how important a well installed roof is to the energy efficiency of their homes. If your old roof isn’t properly sealed, you could be losing a significant percentage of your home’s heat through the top of your home. Improve the energy efficiency of your home by installing a new roof!

Safety

If your old roof is beginning to mold & mildew, it can affect the integrity of your roof. Ensure you & your family are properly protected by replacing your roof if it is beginning to deteriorate!

Boost Your Home’s Curb Appeal & Resale Value

Another reason that many homeowners choose to replace their roofs is that an old roof detracts from the appeal of a home. If you’re trying to make sure your home stands out in the neighborhood, replacing your roof is one of the best ways to improve your home’s curb appeal, and in turn, resale value. In fact, realtors have estimated that as much as 40% of your home’s curb appeal is linked to your roof!

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in replacing your home’s roof, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is  ready to assist! You can reach out to our team today by calling us at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form!

Slate Roof Red Tiles

Most Durable Roofing Materials

When it comes to roofing materials, not all materials offer the same level of durability and protection. Considering how important your home’s roof is to the health of your home as a whole, it is important to ensure that you choose a roofing material that can keep your home properly protected no matter what Mother Nature has to offer. If you’re interested in learning more about which roofing materials offer the highest durability, keep reading below for more information!

Asphalt Shingles

First let’s take a look at what is the most commonly installed roofing material in North America, asphalt shingles. When it comes to durability, asphalt shingles are one of the better options on the market. They are one of the most economical roofing materials on the market, making them a fantastic option at the price point.

Clay Tiles

Another roofing option that offers almost unbeatable durability is clay tile roofing. Clay Tiles are an uncommon roofing material in the Northeast, but they are very popular in the Southwest & Europe. Clay tiles are highly durable, only being damaged by blunt trauma. Furthermore, clay tiles are designed to last for a century, making them one of the longest-lasting roofing materials on the market!

Metal Roofing

Another durable roofing option that many homeowners in the northeast trust to keep their homes protected is metal roofing. Metal roofing is highly resistant to every form of roofing damage, including blunt damage, fire, and all forms of weather. Furthermore, metal roofing is designed to last for at least a half-century, and with proper maintenance, it could last much longer!

Slate Roofing

Finally, when it comes to durable roofing materials, there’s nothing that can truly compete with slate roofing. Slate roofing is one of the most trusted roofing materials not only in North America but in history. Homeowners have been using slate tiles for centuries, and some historic architecture is constructed with slate roofing. In terms of providing your home with protection from the elements, slate is resistant to every kind of weather and can only really be damaged from heavy hail or damage from someone walking around on your roof.

Slate roofing can last for well over a hundred years with proper maintenance. If you ever have slate shingles that break, it is easy to replace individual shingles, but can sometimes be difficult to find an exact match for your slate shingles.

Contact Us Today

Are you interested in installing a new roof on your Rhode Island home? Our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! We can be reached over the phone by calling us at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roof replacement needs!

Ice Dams on Old House

How To Prevent Ice Dams From Forming

As any homeowner who has lived in New England for a few winters knows, ice dams are one of the most irritating issues to deal with on your home. If you’re interested in learning how you can prevent ice dams from forming, take a look at our blog for more information!

Ventilate Your Attic Properly

One of the easiest ways to prevent your roof from getting ice dams is to properly ventilate your attic and ensure that it is a similar temperature to the outdoors. Ice dams are formed when the heat from your attic and home melts the snow on your roof, so if you improve the ventilation in your attic, you can cool the space down and stop the snow from melting, preventing ice dams before they have a chance to be created.

Insulate Your Home

Another way to reduce the heat in your attic is to ensure that your home is properly insulated. While you can improve the ventilation in your attic to reduce the heat coming from your roof, sometimes it is a better choice to focus on improving your home’s insulation. One reason your home’s roof may be warm enough to melt snow is that your home isn’t properly insulated which is allowing heat to escape out through the top of your ceiling and into your attic, where it melts the snow on your roof. If you’re trying to reduce the ice dams on your home, try improving the insulation in your home!

Ensure Your Attic Doesn’t Have Any Heat Sources

If you’ve improved your attic ventilation and improved the insulation in your home and you’re still finding that your home is accumulating large ice dams, it is possible that there is a source of heat coming from your attic.

One of the most common sources of heat in your attic is if you have any older recessed lighting installed in the ceiling below your attic. These lights can radiate a large amount of heat up into your attic. Other potential sources of heat include HVAC ducts, dryer vents, or kitchen & bathroom exhaust vents. If you find that after improving your attic ventilation and insulation that your home is still experiencing ice dams, check your attic for unexpected heat sources.

Contact Us Today

If you need to replace or repair your roof this winter, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! Reach out to our team today by calling us at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your home improvement needs!

Flat Roofing with Skylights

Benefits of Flat Roofing

While generally reserved for business, flat rubber roofing is a relatively, niche roofing material that is rarely used in residential applications. However, it is a fantastic roofing option for both residential & commercial buildings! If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of flat, rubber roofing, keep reading below for more information!

Long-Lasting

While most homeowners think that asphalt shingles are an extremely durable roofing material, in comparison to flat roofing it’s not quite as long-lasting. A well-installed and properly maintained flat roof can easily last for 50 years, if not longer. If you’re in search of a roofing material that will keep your home or business protected for decades to come, flat roofing is a fantastic option!

Easy Maintenance

Another major advantage of flat roofing is that in the event that it does begin to leak, it is easy to repair. If your roof does begin to leak, all you will need is a tube of liquid rubber or roofing tape to address the leak. If you’ve been searching for a roofing material that you can repair yourself when it becomes damaged, flat roofing is a fantastic choice!

In addition to repairs being easy to make, flat roofing almost never needs any maintenance to keep it in good condition. At most, you will need to paint the material with a fresh coat of acrylic paint every few years.

Environmentally Friendly Material

Rubber roofing is also more environmentally friendly than asphalt shingles. Not only is rubber roofing less harmful to create, but it is also fully recyclable at the end of its lifespan, which means it is a far friendlier option than most other roofing materials.

Fire-Resistant

Another reason rubber roofing is a great choice is that it is fire-resistant. It actively resists all forms of fire, which means it can help stagnate a fire long enough for help to arrive and put the fire out.

Energy Efficient

One of the reasons rubber roofing is great for commercial applications is that it is a very energy-efficient roofing material. While asphalt shingles tend to absorb the sun’s heat, EPDM roofs reflect it while also insulating the home, helping to keep it more temperate whether your home is being exposed to sweltering summer heat or frigid winters.

Contact Us Today

If you need to install a new rubber roof on your home or business, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! We can be reached over the phone by calling us at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roof replacement needs!

Architect examining roof

Questions You Should Ask Your Roofer

When it comes to roofing contractors, not all companies are made equal, and it is important to make sure you work with a company you can trust. If you’re trying to choose the perfect contractor from a few different potential options, take a look at this blog to learn which questions you should ask your contractors!

Ask for Their Name & Address

While this may seem self-explanatory and unnecessary, you should always double-check that the contractor has a physical address. If they don’t, it can be a sign that they are either a disreputable company, or potentially storm chasers which are roofers that follow around storms and complete work in a specific location that was effected by storm damage before moving on. These contractors will do a poor job replacing your roof as their goal is to replace as many roofs as quickly as possible.

Ask For Their Contracting License

Another piece of information that you should ask your contractor for is their contracting license. You want to ensure that your contractor is licensed in your state if it’s required. You can check with your local permit office to ensure that their license is up to date and they don’t have any outstanding violations. Just make sure you’re looking at their contracting license and not their business license, which is strictly for taxation purposes.

Ask for Their Insurance Information

In addition to their license, make sure they have active insurance. Your roofer needs to have workers compensation as well as liability insurance. Liability insurance protects you from any damage that the company causes, and worker’s compensation protects the employees of the business. If your contractor doesn’t have worker’s compensation, it is possible that you will be liable for any compensation in the event that the crew gets hurt on the job.

Do You Offer Any Kind Of Warranty

Finally, one of the most important questions you can ask any roofing contractor is whether they offer any kind of warranty. A contractor who believes in their workmanship will offer at least a few years of warranty to make any repairs. If they tell you that they don’t offer a warranty of any kind, take that as a red flag that the contractor doesn’t have faith in the quality of their work.

Contact Us Today

If you need to replace your home’s roof, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! We can be reached over the phone at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! Reach out to our team today! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roofing needs!

Asphalt Shingle Installation

Do I Need To Replace My Asphalt Shingle Roof

Your roof is one of the most important piece of your home’s exterior. It serves a number of benefits for your home, including keep your home protected from the elements, as well as providing your home with curb appeal and resale value. However, just like another piece of your home’s exterior, your roof will eventually fail. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can keep your home’s roof in great shape, take a look at our blog to learn how you can tell if your shingle roof needs to be replaced.

Check Your Shingles

The first, and most obvious, sign that you should look for when trying to determine whether you need to replace your asphalt shingle roof is to examine your shingles themselves. If your roof is on the verge of failing, the signs will be quite clear when you take a look at your shingle system. Keep an eye out for any buckling, warping, cracking, or missing granules. Generally, your shingles can fail in one of two ways: They will have broken due to hail, failing debris, or trauma, or they will begin to curl or buckle due to improper installation that exposes the system to water damage. However, if you notice that your shingles are losing lot of granules, that’s generally a sign that the roof is naturally aging out and you should consider replacing it soon.

Examine The Valleys

Another area of your roof that is likely to fail is the valleys in your roof. The valleys of your roof are exposed to more water than any other part of your roof, which means they need more attention and maintenance. While our team at Rhode Island Slate always takes care to properly protect the valleys in a roof, this area often fails due to water damage. Seeing damage in these areas is a clear sign that you need to replace your roof or deal with the inevitable leaks!

Chimney Flashing

Similar to your valleys, many homeowners overlook flashing, both around their chimneys and also roof vents, but it serves a very important purpose; protecting your home from water damage around the openings in your roof. If you find that the flashing around the vents and your chimney is rusting, a roof leak won’t be far behind. If your shingles are still in good shape, you can get away with simply reflashing around any openings and keeping up with your general roof maintenance.

Contact Us Today

Interested in replacing your home’s asphalt shingle roof this fall? Our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! Reach out to our team today at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roofing needs!

Fall Leaves In Gutter System

Fall Roofing Checklist

Your home’s roof is an incredibly complex piece of engineering, and in order to keep it in working condition, you will need to periodically perform maintenance and clean the area. If you’re unsure what exactly needs to be done in order to properly care for your home’s roof, take a look at our blog to learn about some of the important fall maintenance that needs to be completed!

Check Your Gutters

As we discussed previously, maintaining your home’s gutters is quite important for keeping your roof in good condition. Clogged gutters can cause all sorts of roofing issues, from backing water up underneath your starter shingles and fascia boards, to allowing animals to take up residence inside your gutter system. If your gutters are clogged, clean them out this fall and consider investing in a gutter guard system to keep your system protected.

Clean Off Debris

You will also want to examine your home’s roof to ensure that it is not covered in debris. If you have a lot of debris sitting on your roof, including moss, leaves, sticks, branches, and more, it can end up causing a significant amount of damage to your roof. This debris can end up holding a significant amount of moisture onto your home’s roof. In some cases, this debris can function like an ice dam, holding liquid water on your roof where it can eventually penetrate your roofing system and cause rot damage to your roof deck! To ensure your home’s roof is protected, clean off any debris that builds up!

Check For Damaged Shingles

Another thing that you’ll want to examine is your shingles themselves. Your roofing shingles can fail in a variety of ways, some of them obvious, like when your shingles begin to simply fall off of your roof. However, there are a number of other issues that can arise without being nearly as obvious, but with the potential to cause just as much damage!

Your shingles can curl, blister, crack, or lose their granules, which all affect the effectiveness of the shingles. The most concerning shingle issue is likely curling shingles, which indicate that your shingles have been absorbed a significant amount of moisture. It is possible that curling, or blistering, shingles are a result of poor ventilation, but either way, you will want to address the damaged shingles and attempt to repair the roof to ensure that your roof is properly protected for the winter months.

Contact Us Today

If you need to replace your home’s roof, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! We can be reached over the phone at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roofing needs!

Damaged Slate Roof with missing shingles

Slate Roof Maintenance

Slate is one of the most durable, beautiful, and long-lasting roofing materials available. Capable of lasting well over a century, there are New England homes with original slate roofs that date back to the 19th, and sometimes even 18th, centuries. Slate roofing offers unmatched longevity, as it is essentially impervious to the elements, more than capable of withstanding anything that Mother Nature has to offer. However, as durable as slate roofing is,  a slate roof doesn’t last that long without some maintenance along the way. If you’re interested in learning how you can increase the lifespan of your home’s slate roof, take a look at our blog to learn the tips and tricks you need to know in order to keep your home’s slate roof in great condition.

Clean Your Gutters

This tip is true for any roof, not just slate, but it is perhaps even more important for slate due to its weight. If your roof’s gutter system is backed up with debris, water will begin to pool and back up, potentially overflowing out of the top of the gutter system. When this occurs, water can seep underneath the lowest layers of shingles, where it can cause rot damage on your roof deck. While this is an issue for asphalt roofs, due to the weight of slate roofing, having a rotted roof deck could be catastrophic as the rotted wood can no longer withstand the weight of the slate. In order to keep your home properly protected, keep your gutters clear of debris!

Replace Missing & Broken Shingles

While slate is arguably the most durable roofing material on the market, that doesn’t mean it’s impervious to malfunctioning. Slate tiles are strong, but brittle, and with enough force they can be broken. Perhaps you needed to have a satellite dish installed on your roof, requiring the technician to walk around on top of it. Maybe a strong gust of wind came through a broke a nearby branch, which fell onto the roof. No matter how it happened, if you notice that your slate roof has broken shingles, it is important to repair them in order to prevent any damage from occurring to your roof deck. Broken and missing shingles can lead to water damage, which can quickly become a much bigger problem. If you notice any shingle issues, be sure to address them as soon as possible!

Contact Us Today

Are you in need of maintenance on your home’s slate roof? Our team can assist! Reach out to us today by calling (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your slate roofing needs!

Fall Old Roof Leaves

Importance of Cleaning Your Gutters

With fall right around the corner, and winter fast approaching behind it, it is important to keep up with your home maintenance in order to keep your home protected through the chilly months. One of the most important things you can do to help protect your home is to keep your gutter system clean. However, many homeowners still don’t understand how important it truly is to keep your gutter system clean. If you’re still not sure why you need to clean your gutter system, keeping reading below to learn more!

Roof Damage

One of the primary reasons that you need to keep your gutter system clean is to protect your roof. If you have so much debris in your gutters that water begins to back up onto your roof, it can seep under your shingles and cause rot damage on your roof deck.

Pests

Another reason you’ll want to keep your gutter system clear is to keep out any critters or insects from making a home in the debris. The last thing you want to deal with when cleaning your gutter system is a family of squirrels or a bird’s nest. Make sure animals don’t take up residence in your home’s gutter system by keeping it clean of debris!

Fascia Board Damage

A lesser-known part of your roof system, your fascia boards, can become damaged when water overflows from your gutter system and runs over the back of the system. Keep your fascia boards protected by keeping your gutter system free of debris.

Keep Your Garden Protected

If your gutter system is overflowing, that water has to drain somewhere, and more often than not, that is directly onto your flower beds. Make sure you aren’t overwatering your plants by making sure that your gutter system is draining the way it’s supposed to.

Protect Your Foundation

Just as overflowing water can damage your flower beds, it can also damage your home’s foundation. Overflowing water can cause cracks in your foundation as it seeps down, which can quickly lead to extremely expensive repairs! Make sure your home is properly protected by keeping your gutter system free of debris!

Contact Us Today

Are you in need of a roof replacement before the winter? Our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! Reach out to our team today by calling us at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roofing needs!

Clay Tile Roofing Condos

Environmentally Friendly Roofing Materials

Nowadays, there are more environmentally conscious consumers who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint and living as sustainably as possible. From being aware of where their food is coming from, to reducing fuel emissions during transportation, consumers are trying to reduce their environmental impact any way possible and unsurprisingly this has led to consumers trying to reduce the energy consumption in their homes and reducing the energy needed to cool or heat their homes. One of the best ways to reduce your home’s carbon footprint, and potentially your energy bills as well, is to install a roofing material that is both environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. Take a look at our blog to learn which roofing materials to consider installing if you’re trying to improve your home’s efficiency.

Clay Tile Roofing

One of the most environmentally friendly roofing materials on the market are clay tiles. Clay tile manufacturing does not produce any harmful greenhouse gases, making them a sustainable option for homeowners looking to reduce their environmental impact. Furthermore, clay tiles are often used in arid climates due to their ability to reflect heat away from the home, as well as their durability. They can help improve your home’s energy efficiency which in turn improves your home’s sustainability and reduces the amount of heating and cooling needed to keep your home comfortable. Clay tiles can also be recycled and repurposed making them a very sustainable option.

Slate Roofing

Another eco-friendly roofing material that has been growing in popularity is slate roofing. Like clay tiles, slate is a naturally occurring, recyclable roofing material that requires minimal processing to in order to install on your home. There are some companies that offer recycled slate tiles, reducing the environmental impact of your home’s roof even more! Furthermore, slate roofing can last for over a century, meaning that once you install a slate roof on your home, you will never need to replace it!

Rubber Roofing

One material that many homeowners wouldn’t immediately identify as being environmentally friendly is rubber roofing. While not all rubber roofing is environmentally friendly or sustainable, there are plenty of companies that build their membranes with recycled material, such as old tires. If you can find a rubber roof that is made from recycled materials, it is an environmentally friendly option that not only reduces waste, but also requires minimal processing.

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in replacing your home’s roof and installing a more environmentally friendly option than your standard asphalt shingles, our team is ready to assist! We can be reached over the phone at (401) 255-2003 or by filling out our team’s online contact form! We look forward to hearing from you and assisting with your roof replacement needs!