Plano Roofing Inspection
So back in December I received a phone call from a couple that wanted a Plano roofer to inspect their home. I was not aware of anything other than they wanted an inspection as it was about to sell. I checked the roof and although it was ten plus years old it was in good condition. They had some light blistering but that is pretty normal in Plano, TX or any roof for that matter in Texas that is that age with our heat. All their soft metal had damage, but it appeared the soft metal had been re-used from the previous roof replacement. Although this is a fairly common practice by many companies it is not a good one. Good News / Bad News Once I finished the Plano roofing inspection I got down and told the homeowner the good news. They should be good to proceed with the sale of their home and shouldn’t have any closing delays regarding the roofing system. They then let me know that the buyer’s real estate agent had their own Plano roofing contractor come to their house and inspect the roof. The buyer’s real estate agent gave them a report from the Plano roofing contractor that stated it had major hail damage and the buyer was requesting a full roof replacement. Plano Roofer Report The seller asked me if there was any way to write up a report stating there wasn’t hail damage and the roof was in good condition. The homeowner had also had it inspected by their insurance company recently that also showed it had no hail damage. I let them know that wasn’t a problem at all, but I’ll go ahead and record a video of lack of damage that the other Plano roofer had falsely stated. I was hoping this would help put the buyers at ease that the roof was in good order. Waiving Deductible After recording the video and giving them the report, the buyer’s agent dropped the addendum for the home needing a roof replacement within 24-48 hours. To make matters even worst the buyer’s agent had written in email to the seller’s homeowner that they worked closely with the Plano roofer, and they could waive the homeowner’s deductible. The seller knew this was illegal, so it was already a red flag for them before they even had us inspect it. House Closed The homeowner closed on their home in Plano but with the bad taste in their mouth filed a complaint with the Texas Real Estate Commission. The important thing when selling your home is to make sure you get it inspected by someone you trust if you get a report stating there are issues. You should also get a combination of picture and video evidence so you can see the damage. End of Day The end of the day the person selling their home in Plano would have probably had trouble with their insurance company to cover the damage as there wasn’t any. I do know it was a major relief when the buyer’s agent dropped the addendum but I’m sure it was confusing for the people buying the home as well. If looking for a Plano roofing company, please feel free to contact us.
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Frisco Roofer - Inspection Miss
Just last month someone was selling their home in Starwood off Lebanon in Frisco. The home inspector had noted a few pieces of ridge vent that needed to be replaced as they were damaged pretty bad, so the homeowner needed a Frisco roofer. A very easy repair that would cost no more than a few hundred dollars. The homeowner selling the home contacted us to come out and give an estimate for the repairs. The roof was well over five years old and in an area that had been through several hailstorms in the last several years. We gave the owner the estimate for the repairs that the inspector found but let them know their entire roof was damaged from hail. They said it wasn’t their problem as it wasn’t noted on the inspection report, and they were just wanted to close the sale. The insurance claim on the roof and collateral damage would have been around $45,000 or so. Now the new owner has a damaged roof that probably won’t be covered by their insurance company as its existing damage. There is a good chance they get lucky once another storm rolls through and the claim will get processed off of that storm, but they will have to wait until then to file a claim and hope for the best. Frisco Real Estate Growth The Dallas – Fort Worth metroplex has seen tremendous growth in the last ten years and continues to grow at a staggering rate. DFW jumped from the sixth largest to the fourth largest metro area this past decade. The metroplex is forecasted to gain roughly another 1.4 million residents from 2020 through 2029. With all this added growth to the metroplex there is a lot of buying and selling of homes. For the majority of people their house is the largest purchase they will make in their lifetime. Most home transactions have an inspection that happens prior to closing but we still recommend getting a Frisco roofer to perform an inspection. Home inspectors have two to three hours to inspect the house from top to bottom and might not know everything to be looking for on the roof. In the last month we have had several houses that the damage was either vastly under reported or over reported. Blistering a lot of times on roofs can be mistaken for hail damage as it looks very similar. Frisco inspectors mistake daily for it being hail and a lot of unexperienced roofing contractors mistake it for hail. Blistering is not covered by insurance carriers and is very typical in Frisco, TX because of the extreme temperatures we get. If the roof and attic have proper ventilation you can mitigate much of that but can still happen. We did a Plano roofing inspection recently where a different roofing contractor claimed a Plano roof had major hail damage and needed a full replacement. Although sometimes it can be mistaken for hail this blistering was very light and seemed to intentionally mislead the homeowner. The majority of roofing contractors will perform the inspection for free and give you the peace of mind that your future roof is in good shape. If you would like an honest assessment by a Frisco roofer, please feel free to reach out to us or one of the other reputable companies. Ice dams in Texas have generally not been a large problem but the last few years we've had quite the ice storms. If your roof isn't properly sealed underneath, it could create big issues. Ice and Water shield isn't code in most cities but has never been more important with these recent storms we have had.
Shingle manufacturer Owens Corning wrote a good article on Ice Dams and how it can affect your roof. Below is a small portion but I'd encourage you to read the full article on their site linked below. "ROOF ICE DAMS Above-average snowfall and below-average cold temperatures throughout the winter season may leave homeowners finding that the wrath of this winter has left long-term roof damage in its wake. Read on to learn more about ice dams and what you can do to help avoid the increased potential for ice dam damage on your home. What is an Ice Dam? An ice dam is a wall of ice along the edge of the roof that forms when melting snow continually thaws over warmer portions of the roof and refreezes along the roof’s colder eaves. The melted water that pools behind the ice dam gets trapped, creating the potential to leak into the home and cause damage to:
Icicles dangling from rooftops may actually signal potential ice dams in regions hit hard during winter." "Ice Dams on Your Roof." Owens Corning http://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/tools/ice-damming Importance of Experience
It’s important when looking for a McKinney roofing contractor that is experienced and can move fast. We received a phone call from a homeowner that needed an inspection on their house in McKinney as they were selling their home. They called us out for inspection, and it indeed need a roof placement due to hail damage. I gave them our report and let them know it needed replacement. What the homeowner didn’t tell us they had already had their insurance company come out. They asked how quickly we could re-roof the home and told them just about immediately but generally insurance is the biggest hold up as you must wait on the check. They let me know they already had the check, but one problem is they were closing on the house in less than five days and needed the roof replaced before then. McKinney Roofing Contractors Crunch time Let them know it shouldn’t be an issue to replace the roof in that timeframe but needed to make sure our roofing supplier had all the colors in stock that we needed. They indeed did and let them know we needed the shipment the next day. We replaced both the roof and gutters in two days which allowed the homeowner to close on a very short window. They had their movers moving them out the day we were roofing the house. Talking about a lot of people moving around! As a McKinney roofing contractor, you must be flexible and able to move quickly. Luckily the timing of everything matched up and we were able to help them close on their house efficiently. After they closed and moved out the buyer’s agent reached out as the new homeowner wanted a few older trim pieces painted. House Closed! Although it wasn’t part of the roofing system we went ahead and went out there and did the work for them. I didn’t’ want the previous homeowner any added stress as he was in process of moving his family to Chicago. I wouldn’t recommend waiting until that short of a window of hiring a McKinney roofing contractor but sometimes you must work in tight time frames. The McKinney roof turned out to look great and the new homeowner was very happy with the result. Bad Frisco Roofing Contractor
We recently completed a project and just reminded us about how being a reliable Frisco roofer is so important. The homeowner had hired a different Frisco roofing company several years ago to replace their roof. They had contacted the previous Frisco roofer to come out and check their roof out as they had noticed several leaks in their upstairs bedrooms. The roofing company that had previously replaced their roof wasn’t returning calls to come out and check the roof out. The company to previously replace their roof was a friend of theirs but ended up doing a very poor replacement. The homeowner reached out to us to schedule an inspection to see if we could find where the leaks were coming from. We found the leaks coming from flashing that was not installed correctly. We also discovered extensive hail damage from a storm that was probably from the previous year. Farmers Insurance The homeowner started a claim with Farmers, and we went to work. Farmers ended up having us document all the damage as they weren’t sending people to the field at the time because of COVID. The previous Frisco roofer to do this house did a very poor job and cut lots of corners. They didn’t replace any of their soft metal accessories on top of the roof. Even worse than that was they installed the flashing at the front of the house incorrectly which is what was causing the leaks. Farmers ended up covering full replacement of roof but wouldn’t cover the leaks because it was caused by improper installation of the previous Frisco roofing contractor. No Permit I checked permit history on the house and the previous Frisco roofing company didn’t pull permits either. I was not surprised about this at all as it’s very typical for companies that don’t stand behind their work. This is a huge red flag as any legitimate Frisco roofing contractor will pull permits with Frisco when replacing the roof. City of Frisco requires you to have active insurance when you pull a permit. It protects the homeowner to make sure they are hiring a legitimate contractor. Luckily for the homeowner the damage caused by the leaks was only a few hundred dollars and an easy fix. Vetting a Frisco Roofer So, when you are looking for a Frisco roofing company you need to make sure they pull a permit 100% of the time. You can even request to see proof they have active general liability insurance. Check their reviews online and ask for some referrals of theirs. The homeowner was obviously frustrated at their friend and the previous contractor that ended up ignoring their calls when issues came up. Luckily it was a fairly easy fix and was caught pretty soon. Insurance Referral
We received a phone call from an insurance agent that we work closely with that had a client looking for a McKinney roofing contractor. They had two rental homes in McKinney they wanted checked out. The two homes had a hailstorm, and the homeowner wasn’t sure the extent of the damage. We inspected both houses and while there were a few hail hits we informed the homeowner it was very minimal. Let them know the houses were fine and nothing needed to be done at that point. They were very excited to say the least but let us know after we told them they had a different McKinney roofing contractor inspect their homes a week before. Dishonest McKinney Roofing Contractor The other McKinney roofing contractor let them know both homes had extensive damage and wanted them to file claims immediately. She was in process of filing the claims, but her insurance agent wanted the roofs inspected by a McKinney roofing contractor he trusted first. Many roofing contractors claim there is damage and get claims started. It does a disservice to the homeowner when they do this though. Some McKinney roofing contractors do it because they are dishonest, and they hope they can throw enough claims against a wall to see if one sticks. Don't File a Claim The problem with this is claims hurt a homeowners insurance record even if they result to nothing being paid or fixed. Most insurance companies don’t allow two claims within three years if you want to sign over to a different carrier. Other McKinney roofing contractors because lazy or not educated on how much damage is needed. General rule of thumb is you need ten hail hits in a 10×10 area on the roof on each side. So, if a roof has damage but it’s just a few small spots it’s best to wait until another storm comes to file an insurance claim. Luckily the insurance agent had us check the roofs before claims were made so there was no harm done. Just frustrating for homeowners as it can be very confusing when hearing multiple opinions. You would think it would be more straightforward of dictates an insurance claim. Do Your Homework Always check reviews and do a little research of McKinney roofing contractors you are looking at hiring. BBB can be a good source to make sure no complaints on a roofer that you are looking at. If the roofer does claim you have damage, they should be able to provide a combination of pictures and video. Every legitimate McKinney roofing contractor will provide that with their report. Getting a referral from your insurance agent can be a good idea as well. Usually, the roofers that work in conjunction with agents are a good option. Most insurance agents will give you three referrals and its companies that are honest and not going to mislead the company. Referrals Matter If there was a McKinney roofing contractor that kept telling homeowners to file claims that didn’t have damage that would be a short-lived relationship between the insurance agent and roofer. The roofer receiving referrals from an insurance agency also will know how to work well with that insurance company. Every insurance company has different policies and operate different. To make claim a smooth process it’s best use a roofing contractor that has experience with that company. Many times, insurance companies won’t cover damage that is in a result from workmanship from the previous work if it was done incorrectly. Working with the wrong McKinney roofer could lead to a denied claim or the claim process taking much longer than it should. Ventilation is an extremely important part of roofing and unfortunately most roofers don't quite understand how to do it properly. Many roofs are ventilated incorrectly in a number of ways in the DFW area. Whether it be mixing different types of vents, leaving out intake vents or having no vents at all. Feel free to click here for a free consultation to make sure your ventilation is done correctly.
The shingle manufacturer Owens Corning wrote a great article on attic ventilation. Here is a small snippet but I encourage you to check the full article out. "Your roof ventilation probably isn’t something you think about very often, but it plays an important role in many aspects of day-to-day life in your home. Having the right amount of ventilation in your attic can have a positive effect on the lifespan of your roof system, the comfort and well-being of your family, your future costs for home repairs and how much you pay for heating and cooling. HOW ATTIC VENTILATION WORKS Effective ventilation in an unfinished attic usually includes intake vents down low along the soffits, and exhaust vents up high at the peak or roof ridge. This allows for a continuous flow of air through the space. Cooler outdoor air gets drawn in through the soffit vents, and warm, humid air that migrates to the highest point exits through the vents along the roof ridge. Why Adequate Roof Ventilation is Important Proper ventilation in your attic helps address excess heat and moisture that can otherwise wreak havoc on your home. Heat and moisture buildup in an attic cause predictable but different problems in hot and cold climates; areas with hot summers and cold winters can suffer the effects of both. When it’s hot outside, the sun beating down on the roof can increase the temperature in the attic. Exposure to this excessive heat can warp the roof sheathing and distort and prematurely age the shingles. If the attic floor isn’t evenly and adequately insulated, that heat can radiate down into the finished living areas and make it more difficult and costly to keep the living space comfortable." "Why Proper Attic Ventilation Is Important For Your Home." Owens Corning, 14 Jan 2020 www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/blog/why-proper-roof-and-attic-ventilation-is-important-for-your-home Leaks can be problematic in Texas with the extreme weather we receive. Locating the leak can be troublesome but if able to narrow it down before it gets worst it can save you time and money. You want to find the problem before it causes more damage and financial issues.
Go to the website to schedule an inspection if you feel you have a leak. Owens Corning wrote a short article on what to look for when you suspect a leak. This can help save you time and money. "Knowing you have a roof leak is usually obvious when you see the water spot on your ceiling. However, it can be much harder to pinpoint the cause of the leak. 5 Potential Signs of a Roof Leak:
"5 Potential Signs of a Rook Leak." Owens Corning, 2 Nov. 2017, www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/blog/leaks Storms can wreak havoc on our homes in the DFW Metroplex. Looking for the correct signs are important to know if you need to replace your roof or if you are able to hold off from doing anything. Often times blistering gets mistaken for hail damage and a roof replacement isn't going to fix the underlying issue.
Owens Corning wrote a great on signs of storm damage on your home. Here is a small preview of it. Feel free to contact here if you feel you have storm damage. "While your roof is designed to withstand the elements, some storms are more intense than others. There are signs to look for when you believe there may have been damage to your roof. Please be safe when inspecting your roof—possibly view from a window inside the house or use binoculars from the ground. If in doubt, contact a professional roofing contractor. Roof Wind Damage Significant wind can cause shingles to blow off the roof deck. Missing shingles can lead to leaks and other interior damage. Other roof wind damage may not be easy to see, especially if the adhesive seal that provides a water-shedding surface is broken. Always be safe when checking for roof damage. Call a professional roofing contractor for assistance. All manufacturers publish a wind warranty on their shingles; it is important to compare the wind coverage when making your shingle selection on a new roof. If the winds that caused the shingle damage were above the manufacturer’s wind coverage, you’ll need to file an insurance claim. If they were not, contact the shingle manufacturer to file a claim." "Signs of Storm Damage on your Roof." Owens Corning, 2 Nov 2017, http://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/blog/signs-of-storm-damage |
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