roof damage: How High Winds Damage Roofs
- 12/14/17 03:25 AM
How high winds damage roofs.
This blog is taken from a letter to an insurance company defending a client who had severe roof damage from a tornado, with ongoing subsequent leaks. The insurance company took the position that the wind damage was "wear and tear," that the leaking was "coincidental to and not because of the tornado," and denied her claim. This homeowner contacted her home inspector!
Any roof can leak at any time depending on the direction and force of rain. That is an axiom that you can take to the bank.
In April 2017 we experienced a tornado that caused severe damage … (14 comments)
|
roof damage: "The Inspector Needs To Prove That Animals Are Getting In..."
- 06/09/16 08:17 PM
"The inspector needs to prove that animals are getting in..." said the seller to my client's agent.
Well, no, the inspector doesn't.
The selling agent had called me to say the seller does not believe there was anywhere on the house that animals could have gotten indoors. He asked me if there was a photo of such a place?
In addition:
> There was damage to personal belongings stored all over the attic space.
> The insulation was disrupted, and converted into a regular condo.
> The vine you see there is the top of a huge poison ivy growth which has extended all the way into … (13 comments)
|
roof damage: You Can't See Inside A Flat, Front Porch Roof
- 02/04/16 06:29 PM
It goes without saying - you can't see inside a flat, front porch roof.
This is one of those basic, flat, 12'x12' front porch roofs. Instead of the usual EPDM, it had a metal roof surface.
Sections of metal had been seamed together.
The seams were rusting, and swelling, and cracking in many places.
There were puddles all over.
The surrounding dentil molding just under the roof lip was rotting all around.
Underneath the moisture meter registered that the wood was saturated. The meter can show where moisture is most present, and where it is not.
Wood is considered saturated at 28%, and the meter gage only goes … (11 comments)
|
roof damage: So, If All You Can See Is The Insulation, Can You Tell There's A Leak?
- 05/13/14 08:14 PM
So, if all you can see is the insulation, can you tell there's a leak?
Sometimes, especially if the insulation is cellulose!
It looks a little bit like a dry river bed on Mars!
And that's exactly how it appears when you enter the attic!
This is a small, long-term drip!
You can only see it when the attic is dark, but there is a culprit.
A small culprit, causing the small, long-term leak.
We home inspectors call it a hole in the roof.
It is about 1/2" in diameter!
How much damage can a small hole like that do?
Quite … (47 comments)
|
roof damage: This Gutter Has Been A Problem For A Long Time
- 12/29/13 09:02 PM
Just looking at it you can see this gutter has been a problem for a long time.
The mossy stain along the base of the brick wall and on the ground is indicator enough.
But even with brick such a gutter clog and leak can be a problem that comes inside.
Obviously a shady spot, the cedar shakes are mossy.
It's also obvious that the flashing at the chimney is suspect.
And a gutter that is clogged and small and water is getting behind it. Water is draining onto the brick.
That usually means it's coming inside.
And, true to form, … (48 comments)
|
roof damage: The Battle Of The Bulge - Due To Deferred Maintenance
- 02/26/13 07:57 PM
It started small, but with a little crack here, separation there, or small hole, it ended up with the battle of the bulge - due to deferred maintenance.
HOME MAINTENANCE PROBABLY COSTS ABOUT 1% OF THE VALUE OF THE HOME EVERY YEAR.
I have heard that, but don't know if it's accurate. Home maintenance includes everything - a new rose bush or tree, painting the bedroom, replacing the carpet in the basement, or fixing the garage door spring.
One year a homeowner might decide to do things, or need to do things, that add up to more than 1%. And the … (56 comments)
|
roof damage: All Hail! Spring Begins The Hail Season
- 04/18/12 07:06 PM
All hail! Spring begins the hail season. Every year!
Hail is a weather event that can cost us! It costs homeowners some $1 billion annually in roof and siding claims.
I recently had a "roofer" come to my house saying that I had hail damage on my roof - FROM A HAIL EVENT THAT HAD HAPPENED A YEAR AND A HALF EARLIER! He said they would do all the work with the insurance company and that it would cost me nothing!
Not remembering such an event, I immediately dismissed him as a scam artist and not a roofer. But I … (33 comments)
|
roof damage: "What's That Smell?"
- 06/19/11 11:00 PM
Vacant house, for some time. Walk through and offer a week or so before our inspection. Lingering smell in the house then. Lingering smell as we walked in the door. Standing in the entry everyone turned to me to ask, "What's that smell?" Well, the smell was moisture, and it was established!
"Let's look around the outside first." Usually I am at a house earlier than the buyers and have walked around the house a couple of times. In this instance, they were very early and I hadn't had my usual shot at that! I love it when the buyers are … (29 comments)
|
roof damage: It All Flows Downhill, But Especially Water
- 10/15/10 01:00 AM
If you give it a place to go, water will go there. And water is THE killer of houses, inside and out.
You have all seen the rubber membrane roof product, particularly on flat or low-slope surfaces. That is an EPDM roof, or Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer roof. Technically, it is a thermoset with high tear strength that can be cross-linked by both peroxides and sulfur (I learned that in Indianapolis!), but I digress.
If you look out a window at a small, flat front porch roof, you will probably see it.
It comes in different thicknesses, principally a 60 weight … (14 comments)
|
roof damage: Get Yer Gutter Garden!
- 07/03/10 01:10 AM
Ever look up and see your gutters just sitting there?
And don't you think, "Hey, they aren't doing anything! How can I make them more useful?"
Well, think no more! Hi, Billy Jays here! Have I got a product for you! Call now to
Get Yer Gutter Garden!
No more will you ever think your gutter is useless!
Now your gutter can be something that is used all the time! Forget the rain storms! Forget the downspout discharge next to the house!
Now the rain that falls on your roof will be useful too!
Get Yer Gutter Garden!
Imagine what … (29 comments)
|
roof damage: One Way To Tell An Aging Roof
- 06/16/10 12:32 AM
As roof's age, the shingles begin to shed the granules that make up the color and provide UV protection. This shedding contributes toward the demise of the roof as the shingles dry out, curl, cup, crack and break. As they get drier, the shingles become more wind vulnerable and blow off more easily. Often, when that happens, they do not blow off singly but en masse, a little neighborhood of shingles all blowing away at the same time. This vulnerability exists on the windward and leeward side of the roof. These granules are important! But they come off.
Such was the … (23 comments)
|
roof damage: Squirrel Alert!!
- 01/14/10 10:27 AM
Every now and then I run into squirrels in an attic. Sometimes I have advance warning that they might be there. This is what advance warning might look like, at least it did today:
This cute couple had made a fine home in the attic by pushing insulation into a little igloo. They were pretty safe. The house has been empty for some time. They could come and go at will through the hole you see here. They had done a lot of damage to the wood inside and outside the attic. They can also do damage to wiring, although … (13 comments)
|
|
|
|
How high winds damage roofs.
;)
;)
;)
