Category Archives: roofing

Why Roof Ventilation Is So Important For Your Home

July 10, 2020Best Practices, roofingRIslate15

Most homeowners know that your home’s roof is arguably the single most important portion of your home’s exterior. It functions to keep fresh air circulating through the top of your home, and there are so many different styles of ventilation to choose from. Your roof has a unique combination of intake & exhaust vents depending on the shape of your home’s roof, but no matter how your roof is designed, you will need to have ventilation in order to keep your roof in peak condition. However, many homeowners don’t understand the importance of proper roof ventilation. If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of having your roof ventilated, keep reading below for more information!

Reduce Ice Dams

One of the biggest benefits of roof ventilation, particularly for New England homeowners, is that it can reduce, or completely prevent ice dams. This is because the whole reason ice dams occur is the temperature differential between your attic and the outside air. The warm air leaking into your attic can heat up your attic without proper ventilation. This means that the snow on your roof will melt, sliding down your roof and re-freezing as an ice dam. Therefore, having proper roof ventilation is nearly essential for New England homeowners who are looking to reduce the need for ventilation. However, with that being said, there are still other benefits to proper roof ventilation!

Increase Roof’s Lifespan

In addition to increasing its lifespan by preventing ice dams, roof ventilation helps to protect your home from warm weather as well. If your attic isn’t well-ventilated, heat can build up in the roof, which can end up damaging your shingles from the inside. In order to increase your roof’s lifespan, have a professional examine your roof and ensure that it is properly ventilated.

Improve Energy Efficiency

Another reason that roof ventilation is so important is that it helps to hot air escape during the summer, which can reduce your home’s energy bills by keeping the house cooler. If you’re looking to improve your home’s energy efficiency, proper roof ventilation is one of the best options!

Help Balance Out Your Home’s Temperature

If you notice that the top floor of your home is always considerably warmer than the rest of the home, it is quite likely a ventilation issue. Since heat rises, if your roof isn’t ventilated well enough, all of that rising heat sits in the top of your home, greatly increasing its temperature. If you’re looking to make your home a more comfortable place to be, ventilating your roof will help!

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in learning more, or in replacing your home’s roof this summer, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! Reach out to our team today by giving us a call 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!

Slate Roofing vs Asphalt Shingles

June 5, 2020news, roofing, slate roofingRIslate15

When it comes to replacing your home’s roof, there is a number of different roofing options to choose from, all of which offer their own benefits and drawbacks. When it comes to roofing in North America, asphalt shingles have long reigned as the standard of the industry. However, there have always been niche options that many homeowners trust to keep their home’s protected. One such option that our team regularly installs for homeowners in need, is slate roofing. If you’ve been trying to decide which material you should be using for your home’s roof replacement, our team has compared the pros & cons of each roofing material to help inform your decision!

Aesthetics

When it comes to choosing a roofing material that will help boost your home’s curb appeal, there is no better option than a beautiful, slate roof. While asphalt shingles are widely manufactured, and thus available in a wide array of colors, slate roofing offers a classic, sleek, design that will help your home stand out in the neighborhood. If you’re looking for a roofing option that will provide your home with superior curb appeal, slate roofing is one of the best options you can choose!

Cost

If you’re interested in replacing your roof on a budget, asphalt shingles will be the more economical option. Asphalt shingles cost less than slate, partially due to the fact that slate is much more difficult to process and needs to be carefully sourced. That being said, it cost is a concern, asphalt shingles are going to be the less expensive roofing option.

Longevity

If you’re interested in installing a roofing option that will keep your home protected for decades to come, there is no better roofing option on the market than slate. While asphalt shingles are durable and can last for two or three decades if well-maintained, they simply don’t hold a candle to the durability that slate roofing offers. No roofing material is less susceptible to moisture damage than slate, making it a fantastic roofing option for any climate. Well-maintained slate roofing has been known to last for over a century in the right conditions, making it a truly elite roofing option when it comes to longevity.

Environmental Impact

If you’re interested in installing a greener roofing option, slate roofing is much more environmentally friendly than asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles are manufactured with the use of fossil fuels, making them an unsustainable roofing option long-term. Slate roofing, however, it simply mined and cut with minimal processing, making it one of the most environmentally friendly roofing options on the market, along with cedar shingles. If you’re looking for a roofing material that will help reduce your home’s environmental impact, slate roofing is a fantastic choice!

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in learning more about our team’s roofing options, including asphalt shingles and slate roofing, 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’s roof replacement needs!

A Roofing Guide For Homeowners

June 5, 2020Best Practices, roofingRIslate15

When it comes to your home’s roof, many homeowners are unaware of how complex your roofing system truly is, and how easy it can be to fall behind on proper roof maintenance. Your roof is one of the most important pieces of your home’s exterior, helping to provide your home with a number of benefits, including protection from inclement weather, but also providing your home with curb appeal and resale value as well. With so much to gain from having well-installed and maintained roofing, it is important to ensure that your home’s roof is kept in good repair. However, many homeowners don’t understand how important it is to know a bit about your roof in order to keep everything properly maintained. If you’re interested in learning more about your roof, take a look at our guide for a few tips!

Schedule An Inspection

One of the most important things any homeowner can do to maintain their roof is ensuring that it is inspected on an annual basis. It can be quite easy for a roof leak to go undetected until it has caused major damage, requiring a replacement of your roof deck, or perhaps your entire roof. That being said, having your roof inspected regularly can help you detect any issues that may arise over the course of the year, particularly the winter.

Keep An Eye on Your Gutters

Another area of your roofing system that will need regular maintenance is your gutter system. If your gutters are full of debris and water is backed up in the system, it can easily overflow and seep under your starter shingles, or into your fascia and soffit boards. Maintaining your gutters is another essential part of roof maintenance.

Clear Debris off of Your Roof

If you want to maximize your roof’s lifespan, another aspect of maintenance that you should be keeping up with is clearing debris off of your roof. If you allow algae, moss, and other debris to stay on your roof, it can cause your roof to age prematurely as they are all capable of holding moisture, causing your roof to decay. If you’re interested in making sure your roof lasts as long as possible, keeping it clear of debris is one of the best practices for keeping everything maintained!

Contact Us Today

Interested in replacing the roof on your Rhode Island home today? 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 roof maintenance needs!

How To Tell If Your Home’ Slate Roof Needs To Be Replaced

April 30, 2020roofingRIslate15

While slate roofing is one of the most durable roofing materials on the market, it is still damaged over time, as any material is, due to damage from the elements and other factors. If you’re interested in learning more about how to tell if your home’s roof needs to be replaced, keep reading below for more information!

Check Your Attic

The first thing you should do to determine whether your home’s roof needs to be replaced is to take a look within your attic. If there are any leaks in the roof, evidence of their damage will be visible within the roof deck. Go into your home’s attic and look for evidence of waterlogged roof decking. It is also possible that if your roof deck has absorbed moisture that your shingles have as well, as old slate tiles can absorb moisture and rot. If there is any evidence of moisture visible in the attic, have the slate replaced as soon as possible.

Take a Look at Your Flashing

Another area that you should examine when assessing whether your roof needs to be replaced is the flashing. There are multiple areas where you might need to replace your roof’s flashing, including around your chimney, as well as around any vent openings in your home’s roof, as well as valleys in your roof.

Have a roofing professional take a look at your home’s roof to assess the extent of the damage to your flashing. If your flashing has been damaged for a long period of time, it has likely led to water damage within your roofing system, which, as noted earlier, is often cause for a roofing replacement.

Examine the Shingles Themselves

Another area of your roofing system that should be examined is your shingles themselves! Considering they are your home’s main line of defense against inclement weather, it is no surprise that they often wear down over time. Each spring, you should take a pair of binoculars and take a look at your roof from a good vantage point. Look out for missing shingles of course, but also smaller issues, such as hairline cracks & chips, and other damage.

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in learning more about our team’s roof replacement services, we’re 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 roof replacement needs!

Why Your Roof Needs Proper Ventilation

April 23, 2020Best Practices, roofing, winter tipsRIslate15

Your home’s roof is one of the single most important pieces of the exterior of your home. It functions as an umbrella, helping to keep your home protected from the elements and improving the curb appeal & resale value of your home. With so much to gain from having a well-maintained roof, it is important to ensure that your home’s roof is kept in good repair! One of the most important factors to consider when trying to maintain your home’s roof is proper ventilation. Let’s explore why ventilation is important below!

Roof Ventilation

First of all, let’s discuss what proper ventilation actually entails. Having proper ventilation in your attic is important, because if it is not ventilated, it can end up causing significant moisture problems. Particulary during the summer months when your roof absorbs a lot of heat from the sun, your attic can run into a lot of moisture issues if it isn’t properly ventilated.

You’ll want to be sure that you have vents installed on the sides of your home’s roof, as well as soffit ventilation. You want there to be enough airflow to have a constant stream of fresh air into the attic. This is also very important for home’s in New England, particularly during the winter months. Let’s explore why below:

Ventilation & Ice Dams

As any long-time New England resident knows, ice dams can be one of the most damaging roofing issues that homeowners need to deal with. Ice dams form when the heat from your home rises into your attic, and heats the roof. The snow on your roof then gradually melts, and runs down to the eaves of your roof and into your gutter system. Eventually, as that process continues to occur, the ice builds up along your gutter system, and begins to back up onto your roof. The ice dam begins to do damage when it is so large that the melting snow is held over your attic and continuously heated, which stops it from refreezing and allows it to permeate its way into your roof deck.

That being said, with proper attic ventilation, you can avoid this issue. The main reason ice dams occur is that your attic is significantly warmer than your roof, and the warm air rising out of the attic causes the snow to melt and later refreeze when it reaches the eaves. With proper attic ventilation, you can ensure that your home’s attic is no warmer than the outside air, which will stop the snow from melting in the first place. If you’re trying to save your home from expensive repairs, proper ventilation can go a long way!

Contact Us Today

Interested in replacing your home’s roof this spring? 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 roof replacement & ventilation needs!

Signs That Your Home’s Gutters Need To Be Replaced

March 30, 2020roofingRIslate15

Your home’s gutters are one of the most important pieces of your home’s exterior & roof, offering a number of benefits despite the fact that most homeowners overlook their utility. Your gutters serve the extremely important purpose of helping to direct water away from your home and safely onto the ground, without causing damage to your home’s foundation or roofing system. Additionally, they also provide curb appeal & resale value, making it important to ensure that your home’s gutter system is kept in good repair! If you’re interested in learning more about how to tell if your home’s gutter system needs to be replaced, keep reading below for a few of the signs you should be on the lookout for.

The Gutters Are Pulling Away From Your Home

One of the most obvious signs that you’ll need to replace, or at least repair your gutters is when they begin to pull away from your home. If you don’t replace the entire gutter system, you will at least need to repair the fasteners that attach your gutters to your fascia boards, which help keep your home’s gutter system intact.

Cracks, Holes, or Rust Spots

Another thing that you will need to keep a lookout for is any damage to the gutter system itself. Obviously, if your gutters aren’t sealed, water will pour out of the cracks and cause damage to your home as it leaks out.

Separated Gutter Systems

If your gutter systems are operating, water can leak out of the system just as it would if your gutter system was rusting or otherwise breaking. If you find that your gutter panels are separating from one another, have the system replaced as soon as possible.

Landscaping Issues

Have you noticed that your flower beds are looking a bit worse for wear? It could be because your gutter system is spilling water over the sides or out of the cracks and leaking down the sides of your home. Replace or repair them as soon as possible in order to keep your home protected.

Nails or Screws on the Ground

Another sign that you will need to have your gutters replaced or repaired is when you begin finding nails or screws on the ground underneath the system. This is likely either because the system is losing its shape and pulling on the screws, of the fascia boards are rotted out and losing their integrity. Either way, you will need to replace your home’s gutter system as soon as possible to keep your home properly protected.

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in replacing your home’s roof this spring, 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!

How Weather Effects Your Roof

March 29, 2020roofingRIslate15

Your roof is your home’s most important line of defense against the elements. It functions as your home’s umbrella, protecting the top of your residence from inclement weather, among other benefits it provides. Considering it is exposed to so much weather, it is no surprise that it wears down over time. However, most homeowners are unaware of how different weather conditions can damage their roof and impact its quality. If you’re interested in learning more about how weather can impact your home’s roof, keep reading below for more information!

Wind

One of the most common causes of roof damage is extreme wind. High winds often cause your shingles to loosen from your roof, if not blow off completely. In fact, most asphalt shingles have sections for the edges of your roof called starter shingles which are fitted with extra adhesives in order to protect your shingles from blowing off of your roof. If you only had a shingle or two blow off of your roof you can easily repair the damaged section, but it depends how severe the damage was.

Rain

There’s another kind of weather that, in combination with wind, causes the majority of roofing damage, and that is rain. Rain can cause so much damage because one small leak that is left unattended over months can end up rotting a significant portion of your roof deck and seriously damaging the structural integrity of your home’s roof. If you live in a rainy climate, you should have your roof inspected regularly to ensure that the roof’s integrity is still intact.

Snow

Homeowners in the North-East are well aware of how damaging snow can be to their roofs. Snow can cause the same issues as rain, melting on your roof and causing water damage to your roof deck. However, it can also cause ice dams which can be just as destructive to your home’s roof. Ice dams are formed when the snow on your roof melts and runs down your shingles, reaching the eaves of your roof. When it reaches the eaves, it refreeze, and it causes the snow melting off your roof to pool up behind the ice. It is held in liquid form on the roof, which quickly causes it to sink into your roof deck, causing significant damage. If you see ice dams forming on your roof, you will want to have them removed as soon as possible.

Contact Us Today

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

Most Common Roofing Issues

February 29, 2020roof repair, roof replacement, roofingRIslate15

Your home’s roof is a complex system that helps to keep your home protected from the elements, improve your home’s curb appeal & resale value, and provides valuable insulation to your home. With so much to gain from having a well installed and maintained roof, it is important to ensure yours is kept in good repair. However, because your roof is a complex system made up of many pieces working in conjunction, it can often be easy to overlook issues that aren’t causing immediate failure of your roof. If you’re interested in learning about a few of the most common roofing issues, take a look at our blog for more information!

Broken/Cracked/Missing Shingles

Of course, the most obvious issue that homeowners see when their roof is damaged is that they are missing shingles, or they are otherwise damaged. If you notice that your home’s shingles have become broken, or fallen off of your roof, it is a good idea to have the roof inspected as soon as possible.

Damaged Flashing

Another common issue that homeowners often see with their home’s roof is that the flashing around your home’s chimney often begins to rust and that can cause serious damage to your home’s roof. If your flashing is rusting, water will be able to seep in and cause serious damage to your home’s roof deck.

Loss of Granules

Another common roofing issue that many homeowners have run into is that old shingles tend to lose their granules, which can cause the shingles to degrade and deteriorate off of your roof. If you’re finding that your gutters, or even the ground around your property, is full of granules, your roof is nearing the end of its lifespan.

Water Damage

Another very common issue that many homeowners run into with their roofs is that water finds its way into the roof deck where it causes significant damage. If your home’s roof deck becomes waterlogged, it will begin to sag under the weight of your shingles, and could eventually fail. However, most water damage isn’t that major, and it’s as simple as finding the spot that’s leaking and fixing the shingles around it. You’ll likely need to enlist a roofing professional to be able to discover these issues, but if you suspect that your home is acruing water damage, you will want to have your roof examined as soon as possibe!

Contact Us Today

Interested in learning more about our team’s roof replacement services? We’re 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’s roof replacement needs!

Getting Your Roof Ready for Spring

January 29, 2020roof replacement, roofingRIslate15

With spring just around the corner, it is important to ensure that your home’s roof is ready for the warm weather! As the snow melts off of your home, you should take a look around your home’s roof to ensure that it is prepared for the spring season! If you’re interested in learning more about how to get your home ready for the warmth, keep reading below for more information!

Remove Debris

The first thing you should do to prepare your roof for the springtime is to ensure you remove all of the debris off of your roof. Over the course of the winter, a great deal of debris will end up on your roof, from pine needles, to leaves, to broken branches. Remove the debris off of your roof to help keep moisture away. If you’re trying to ensure your roof will be around for years to come, removing debris in the spring is one of the best things you can do for your roof!

Examine Your Shingle System

The next thing you should do after removing any debris from your shingle system is to check your shingles themselves. Your shingles comprise the bulk of your home’s roofing system, and they are the first line of defense against the elements. That means it’s important to ensure that your shingles are still in good repair when spring rolls around!

After you’ve ensured your shingles are free of debris, check for any broken, warped, cracked, or curled shingles. Over the course of the winter, your shingle system has likely absorbed some moisture which can cause significant damage to your shingles themselves. If you find that your shingles are damaged in any way, including missing their granules, be sure to replace the shingles in question to help keep your roof in good shape!

Check Your Attic For Damage

In addition to your shingles themselves, you should be checking your roof deck & attic for any additional damage. If your shingle’s integrity was comprised over the course of the winter, moisture may have seeped into your roof where it can cause significant damage to the structure of your home! Look around your attic for evidence of water damage, as it can sometimes be difficult to spot a roof leak for the outside!

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in replacing your home’s roof this spring, our team at Rhode Island Slate Roofing is ready to assist! Our team 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 remodeling needs!

Benefits of A Roof Inspection

January 29, 2020roofing, UncategorizedRIslate15

Having your roof inspected is very important for the health of your home, but many homeowners overlook their importance and neglect to have them completed on their home with any regularity. If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of having your roof inspected, take a look below to learn more about the benefits of roof inspections.

Discover Water Damage

The greatest benefit of inspecting your roof is that it can help protect your home from leaks & water damage. Spotting a roof leak with an untrained eye is a very difficult task, which means if you’re trying to identify where your leak stemmed from, it will be next to impossible. If you’re interested in truly locating the source of your roof leak, enlist the help of a roofing professional to examine the integrity of your home’s roof.

Safety

Another reason you should have your roof inspected is for safety purposes. First of all, it is important to ensure that if you’re walking around on your roof, you’re not going to fall off of otherwise hurt yourself. If you have any concern for your well-being, it is best to leave it to the professionals.

The other piece of the safety conversation is that inspect your roof to assess whether or not it’s damaged can help keep your home & occupants protected from any damage that may occur to your home due to a faulty roof.

Cost-Effective

While on its surface, conducting an inspection on a roof that’s not visibly leaking may seem like a waste of money, the fact of that matter is that having your roof inspected can help reveal issues that would destroy the integrity of your roof, requiring you to replace the entire roof!

Rather than having to replace your entire roof, having a yearly inspection can help reveal issues that would quickly destroy your roof and cost far more than an annual inspection. If you’re trying to save money on your home maintenance and don’t have a brand new replacement roof, having an inspection is a great decision for the health of your home!

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in learning more about our team’s roof replacement services, reach out to us today! 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!