Hi Roofing Co. | Quality Roofing in the GTA

HOW OLD IS YOUR ROOF?

Here's an easy way to determine the approximate age of a three tab composition-shingle roof: Measure the width of the shingle slots.

The slots in new shingles measure 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch at the wide about 70 degrees. If a regular wooden pencil fits in the slots, the shingles are about 10 years old and still have life in them. Slots that have grown to about ½ inch wide indicate that the shingles are near the end of their useful life and should be replaced soon. If the slots have widened to ¾ inch or more, the roof has exceeded its normal life and problems could occur at any time. Take your measurements in the morning before the sun has warmed the shingles.

The slots create the characteristic shingle tabs and allow for expansion. The slots widen over time because the edges, which aren't covered by mineral granules, deteriorate.

Some signs that your roof may be leaking:
> Moisture in your attic
> Stains on your ceiling
> Water on floor or in light fixtures
> Missing or damaged shingle/shakes
> Chimney mortar deterioration

Call us for a free inspection!

CODES AND PERMITS?

Before putting another roof over the old one, check how many already exist. Building codes generally require that a house have no more than two roofs on it.

If you have 1,800 square feet of roof to cover with composite shingles weighting 240 ponds per square, that's more than 2 tons for each layer of shingles.

Some cities take this weight limit very seriously and have been known to require homeowners to remove a brand new roof because it didn't meet local code. We make sure the job is done on time, with the highest quality standards, and meets or exceeds code.

EXPLAINING SOME OF THE MOST COMMON TERMS

Aggregate: crushed stone, crushed slag, or water-worn gravel used for surfacing a built-up roof, any granular mineral material.

Alligatoring: the cracking of the surfacing bitumen on a built-up roof, producing a pattern of cracks similar to an alligator's hide; the cracks may or may not extend through the surfacing bitumen.

Asbestos: a group of natural, fibrous, impure silicate materials.

Asphalt: a dark brown to black cementitious material in which the predominating constituents are bitumens, which occur in nature or are obtained in petroleum processing.

Blister: a spongy raised portion of a roof membrane, ranging in area from 1 inch in diameter and of barely detecable height upwards Blisters result from the pressure buildup of gases entrapped in the membrane system. These gases most commonly are air and/or water vapor. Blisters usually involve delamination of the underlying membrane piles.

Built-Up Roof Membrane: a continuous, semi-flexible roof membrane assembly, consisting of plies of saturated felts, coated felts, fabrics or mats between which alternate layers of bitumen are applied, generally surfaced with mineral aggregate, bituminous materials, or a granule surfaced roofing sheet.

Cant Strip: a beveled shaped strip of wood or wood fiber that fits into the angle formed by the intersection of a horizontal surface and a vertical surface. The 45 degree slope of the exposed surface of the cant strip provides a gradual angular transition from the horizontal surface to the vertical surface.

Cap Sheet: a granule-surfaced coated sheet used as the top ply of a built-up roof membrane or flashing.

Caulking: a composition of vehicle and pigment, used at ambient temperatures for filling joints, that remains plastic for an extended time after application.

Condensation: the conversion of water vapor or other gas to liquid as the temperature drops or the atmospheric pressure rises.

Coping: the covering piece placed on top of a wall that is exposed to the weather. It usually sloped to shed water.

Cornice: Overhang of a pitched roof at the eave line, usually consisting of a facia board, a soffit for a closed cornice, and appropriate moldings.

Crack: a separation or fracture occurring in a roof membrane or roof deck, generally caused by thermally induced stress or substrate movement.

Dormer: an opening in a sloping roof, the framing of which projects out to form a vertical wall suitable for windows or other openings.

Downspout: a pipe, usually of metal, for carrying rainwater from roof gutters.

Drain: a device that allows for the flow of water from a roof area.

Facia: a flat board, band, or face, used sometimes by itself but usually in combination with moldings, often located at the outer face of the cornice.

Fishmouth: a half-cylindrical or half-conical opening formed by an edge wrinkle; in shingles, a half-conical opening formed at a cut edge.

Flashing: the system used to seal the edges of a membrane at walls, expansion joints, drains, gravel stops, and other areas where the membrane is interrupted or terminated. Base flashing covers the edges of the membrane. Cap flashing or counter flashing shields the upper edges of the base flashing.

Gutter: a shallow channel or conduit of metal or wood set below and along the eaves of a house to catch and carry off rainwater from the roof.

Hip: the external angle formed by inclined planes from all four sides of a roof.

Hip roof: a roof that rises by inclined planes from all four sides of a building.

Insulation: a material applied to reduce the flow of heat.

Lintel: a horizontal structural member that supports the load over an opening such as a door or window.

Masonry: stone, brick, concrete, hollow-tile, concrete-block, gypsum-block, or other similar building units or materials of a combination of the same, bonded together with mortar to form a wall, pier, buttress, or similar mass.

Mineral-Surfaced Roofing: built-up roofing materials whose top ply consists of a granule-surfaced sheet.

Pitch Pocket: a flanged, open-bottomed, metal container placed around columns or other roof penetrations that is filled with hot bitumen and/or flashing cement to seal the joint.

Pond: a roof surface which is incompletely drained.

Reroofing: the practice of applying new roofing materials over existing roofing materials.

Ridge: the horizontal line at the junction of the top edges of two sloping roof surfaces.

Roll Roofing: the term applied to smooth-surface or mineral-surfaced coated felts.

Roofer: the trade name for the workman who applies roofing materials.

Shingle: a small unit of prepared roofing material designed to be installed with similar units in overlapping rows on inclines normally exceeding 25%; to cover with shingles; to apply any sheet material in overlapping rows like shingles.

Soffit: usually the underside of an overhanging cornice.

Split: a separation in roofing material resulting from movement of the substrate.

Square: the term used to describe 100 square feet of roof area.

Substrate: the surface upon which the roofing or waterproofing membrane is applied.

Tar: a brown or black bituminous material, liquid or semi-solid in consistency, in which the predominating constituents are bitumens obtained as condensates in the processing of coal, petroleum, oil-shale, wood, or other organic materials.

Valley: the internal angle formed by the junction of two sloping sides of a roof.

Vent: an opening designed to convey water vapor or other gas from inside a building or a bulding component to the atmosphere, thereby relieving vapor pressure.

Waterproofing: treatment of a surface or structure to prevent the passage of water under hydrostatic pressure.