The process of installing a new roof for your home in Katy, TX is something that most homeowners probably don’t do very often. After all, the majority of roofing materials that you might have installed on your home are designed to last anywhere from 15 to 50 years or more, depending on what type of roof you get. When you do need to get new roofing installed, though, you should definitely brush up on industry terminology so you can understand what your contractor is saying and get the exact roof you need.
Roof Deck: The surface of the roof under your shingles, usually made of plywood or board. It’s important to make sure your roof deck is in good repair before installing shingles over it since the shingles are only as good as their support.
Eaves: This is the area under your roof, usually either a sloped or flat surface, that connects to your home and extends out to the edge of the roofing in Katy, TX.
Fire Ratings: In a hot climate like Texas, you want to make sure your roofing has an appropriate rating to keep your home safe from a fire that originates outside of the house (i.e. a spark that lands on the roof). Class A ratings have the highest fire resistance, Class C the lowest.
Protrusions/Penetrations: These terms are used to describe anything that sticks out of your roof and that you must build around when installing shingles. Common examples of protrusions are skylights, vents, and chimneys.
Flashings: These small metal fixtures are critical in keeping water out of your attic. Flashings are fastened around any protrusions or penetrations in order to prevent water from seeping in around these areas, which are the weakest part of the roof.
Rake: An inclined area where two Katy, TX roofing slopes meet and extend over an exterior wall of the house.
Ridge/Valley: The ridges of the roof are at the top of two sloped roof sections that meet, while valleys are the bottom part of two sloped roof sections.
Slope: A measure of how steep the roof is, expressed as “rise over run”, which means how many inches the roof increased in height for every 12 inches of horizontal length. For example, a 4-in-12 slope means the roof rises four inches for each foot of horizontal roof distance.
If you have additional questions about anything during the roofing process, make sure you ask your contractor for a clear explanation before you continue. Roofing shouldn’t be a mystery and with a little basic knowledge, it doesn’t have to be.