Your home’s roof is one of the most important pieces of your home’s exterior, providing your home with a number of benefits. However, it is also one of the most expensive repairs that a homeowner can make, making it an issue that most homeowners hope to avoid. If you’re interested in learning how you can improve the lifespan of your roof and put off your roof replacement for a few extra years, take a look at our blog to learn a few tips & tricks!

Clean Your Gutters

One of the most important things you can do to improve the lifespan of your roof is make sure you regularly clean your gutters. If your gutter system is clogged, it can cause water to back-up under your starter shingles where it can quickly cause significant water damage. An added benefit for the lifespan of your roof is that keeping your gutters cleaned can help prevent ice dams which are a major contributor to roof damage. Ensure your gutter system is kept clear of debris to help improve the lifespan of your home’s roof.

Get A Roof Inspection

If you’re trying to improve the lifespan of your roof, there are few things better than having a regular roof inspection. An inspection will help reveal issues with your roof quickly, allowing you to make the necessary repairs before the issues become irreversible. They will help you identify leaks, broken or missing shingles, damaged vent boots, and more. If you’re trying to improve your roofs lifespan, an inspection is one of the best things you can do!

Remove Debris

Nothing will damage your roof faster than having it covered in debris. From fallen leaves, to broken branches, to moss or mildew growth, there are a variety of issues that can arise. Ensure you can debris off of your roof on a regular basis, and certainly before the first frost of the year. Debris can hold moisture on your roof, which, come winter, will freeze. As it freezes, thaws and refreezes over the course of the winter, it will gradually cause damage to your shingles. If you’re trying to improve the lifespan of your roof, be sure to remove debris off of your roof when you get the chance.

Contact Us Today

If you’re interested in replacing your home’s 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 roof replacement needs!

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!

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!

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!

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!