Step flashing is L-shaped pieces of metal that are a couple of inches longer than the shingle overlap are installed on top of each shingle adjacent to the sidewall, and the flashing is then laced into each course. Step flashing ensures that any water that migrates underneath a shingle will still end up on top of the flashing that is covering the shingle below. The water can then drain away safely.
Cool roofs also known as reflective roofs are coatings and sheeting that reflect radiation from the sun and helps keep it cool. This will allow the roof to last longer and save the home owner on energy bills. There are also rebates that you can receive for such roof installs.
Hail damage is a major factor for damaged roofs. hail causes over a billion dollars of damage a year. when looking at a hail damaged roof there will be no pattern the damage should be random, if there is a pattern it could be intentional.
defrost cycle of a heating pump will momentarily turn back the direction of cooling the inside of the house with the fan of to suck heat back into the pump to keep from freezing. if the pump fully freezes it can be damaged.
This is an example of falsified hail damage. There are a two symptoms that speak to this: the damage is all very close to the same size, likely caused by a tool; and the damage is mostly in the middle of each shingle tab.
The article I am reviewing is: Mastering Roof Inspections: Hail Damage, Part 1
by Kenton Shepard and Nick Gromicko. According to the article, most hail damage is from Texas northward to Minnesota, and from Colorado eastward to Illinois. However, here, in Florida, we do have hail storms, though maybe not to the extent of the midwest. Hail in Florida is usually smaller than a marble, so researching hail damage may take a more careful eye.
power strip should not be daisy chained together.Power strips should not be installed through any wall or structure.power strips should not be overloaded or attached to other extension cords.The power cord should not have knots or kinks in them while in use
when performing a roof inspection we should start from the ground looking for shingles that may have blown off. While on the ground take a good look at each slope looking for missing shingles distortion discoloration.Before getting on the roof make sure it is safe to do so then continue your inspection
Many times on home inspection, the flashing around the chimney is incorrectly installed, not properly flashed into the chimney mortar. This inspection picture is fortunately an extreme chimney flashing condition, however, too many times I see chimney flashing being installed directly against the brick chimney and then “gops” of caulk, sealant applied in the hopes that rain and snow will not penetrate. This is a cheap installation, a quick repair, and mostly likely once the caulking and or sealant deteriorate it will start to leak and most likely into the interior of the attic areas and then not noticed as an issue from the homeowner until moisture has penetrated into the drywall ceilings into the home below. I always call out improperly installed chimney flashing issues, not properly installed.
On many of my home inspections, nail will be installed in the roof penetration aluminum flanges. Many time these nails will be installed on the downside of the aluminum flange that is not required to have any nailing or fastening. Most of the time when I see this issue the nails or fasteners are not sealed or caulked. Any exposed nails will corrode over time, and expansion and contraction can eventually expand the mails or fasteners enough to allow rain, moisture to penetrate. I always call this issue out and recommend caulking or sealing the exposed nail, fasteners. Caulking and sealant is usually a temporary fix, however, once the aluminum flange has been nailed, compromised, sealing and or caulking in my opinion can help prevent any moisture from penetrating. This sealing and caulking will need to be performed at a later date as, when the caulking sealing deteriorates.
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat, rectangular shapes laid in courses from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive course overlapping the joints below. Shingles are made of various materials such as wood, slate, flagstone, metal, plastic, and composite materials such as fibre cement and asphalt shingles.
Roof shingles are almost always highly visible and so are an important aspect of a building’s aesthetics in patterns, textures and colors. Roof shingles, like other building materials on vernacular buildings, are typically of a material locally available. The type of shingle is taken into account before construction because the material affects the roof pitch and construction method: Some shingles can be installed on lath where others need solid sheathing (sheeting) on the roof deck. All shingle roofs are installed from the bottom upward beginning with a starter course and the edge seams offset to avoid leaks. Many shingle installations benefit from being placed on top of an underlayment material such as asphalt felt paper to prevent leaks even from wind driven rain and snow and ice dams in cold climates.
Shingles are required to be fastened to the substrate with a minimum of four nails. In some high wind areas, shingles are required to be fastened with a minimum of six fasteners per shingle. The minimum diameter of a nail head is 3/8 of an inch.
In certain climates, shingles on roofs are susceptible to hail damage. Some people will try to defraud insurance companies into paying for a new roof, so you must always examine the damage closely to determine the true cause. Ball-peen hammers are commonly used to mimic hail damage.
This is an image of hail damage. In this image you can notice the hail damage all over the roofs asphalt shingles. The hail damage locations are very random and all over the place. This does not look like intentional damage.
A Caution on Using XRF Alone for the Identification of Problem Drywall
In this article I learned that X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a way to check drywall using emission spectroscopy. This article stated that XRF should not be the only thing used to ID toxic drywall.
In the above photo you can see a asphalt shingle roof appearing to be at the beginning of its life cycle. This photo shows a transition to a shallower pitch. At the transition the asphalt shingles are not bonded with a adhesive strip. This can result in damage under high wind conditions. recommend further evaluation by a licensed professional.
I am writing my essay on the article titled “Moisture Meters”. This article covers how to use the meter as well as the different ways they can be useful. I mow know that above 20% humidity can be breeding ground for mold and other microbial growths. The part that i find most interesting is using it to make sure the wood is dry enough for paint/primer.
The metal step flashing on this skylight curb is improperly installed. The tabs that should be laying flat with the roof slope are pushing up the overlaying asphalt shingles. Note the failed attempt to nail the flashings down rather than properly reinstall them. The nail heads were then covered with roofing tar, which is not considered a reliable long term repair as it will dry out and crack when exposed to the sun’s ultra violet rays.
Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) is an electrical receptacle designed to trip when an electrical arc is detected in the branch wiring. The test button for the receptacle is considered more reliable than a testing device because the test button will produce and actual arc fault where the testing device does not produce a true arc but only characteristics of an arc fault.
