Here in Baldwin County, Alabama, we have put lots of new roofs on houses since Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I mean, LOTS OF ROOFS!

As with anything, when we do lots of them in a hurry, we tend to make mistakes. And maybe we take a shortcut or two... or three!

Common mistakes include

Mistake #1- Not installing the "starter course" of shingles properly. Heck, the instructions are written on each bundle of shingles. Why is it so hard? A wrong starter course can lead to easy blow off in high winds!

Mistake #2- Not using enough nails in each shingle. Most shingles require four. Some local building codes require six! Not using enough nails can lead to easy blow off in high winds!

Mistake #3 - Not placing the nails in the proper location in the shingle. Nails need to go in the middle of the tar strip (check the shingle package!). Improper nail placement can lead to easy blow off in high winds!

"Easy blow off in high winds!" Sounds like trouble to me. The house above suffered nearly complete roof loss due to blow off.

Sooner or later the insurance companies are going to catch on and stop paying claims on roofs that were not properly installed.

Have a question about a roof? Call or write.

Tom Sinclair

About the House - Home Inspections

Fairhope, Alabama

(251) 990-3169

www.InspectTestAnalyze.com