Hitting the roof
HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS There’s much more to what’s on top of your house than plywood and shingles Get a roofing consultant involved to protectyourself, writes Barbara Turnbull
Franke James knows a thing or two about home improvement. She and her husband Bill have spent the last two years converting a city duplex into a singlefamily home, working with contractors good and bad.
For example, a company that charged $ 21,000 to install heating and air-conditioning, put holes in the foundation, causing the main floor to sag three inches.
So, when it came time to do the roof, she wasn’t going to take any chances.
“ Finding the right roofer was quite a challenge,” James says, noting that their roof is sloped in the front and flat at the back. The couple had encountered problems with leaks in the roof, which also lacked proper venting to the outdoors. As well, improperly installed ducts in the attic created water damage that soaked the insulation and rotted the plywood. James wanted everything fixed and she wanted a cedar shake roof, with a skylight added in the flat part at the back. She had six roofing companies give estimates. When she compared them, she discovered they weren’t all quoting for the same things — items included as necessary on some quotes were missing from others. She rejected all six firms and went with a seventh company that came up with a proper quote.
“ It’s a big investment and we wanted to do it right,” James says. “ We also think the roof can really increase the value and the beauty of a house.”
She’s correct on both counts — provided the job is done properly, confirms Bill Crawford, chief technical adviser with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ( CMHC). Crawford notes that unless you change address constantly, replacing roofing is an issue every homeowner will face.
“ It hits everybody at one time or another,” he says. “ You’re going to get nailed for a roofing job.”
Crawford fields many phone calls from concerned homeowners, wondering whether a contractor is doing a good job, what kind of shingles they should use, what kind of damage the winter is doing, how to go about solving a roofing issue. The best way to avoid problems and an astronomical bill, is to be organized, scheduling roofing maintenance well in advance, Crawford advises. Most of all, you want to avoid the need for emergency repairs, so annual checks are important, particularly starting 10 years after a roof job is done.
In the last 10 years the industry has produced a wide array of materials, colours, styles and looks to choose from. That’s the good news. The bad news is the last decade has also seen a significant increase in cost, so roof replacement is now typically a several- thousand- dollar investment. The basic price is $1.50 per square foot for a low-pitched roof. It can go as high as $4 per square foot. That amount should include removal, disposal, warranties, materials and labour. The life of a roof depends on many factors, such as the orientation, slope, colour, geographical location and type of building. Recent research shows that the lighter the colour of the shingle or tile, the longer it lasts. But a healthy, well- built roof is much more than plywood and shingles. There are many elements involved, experts say. And the state of the attic is as critically important as what is on top of it.
Roofing jobs can be fraught with pitfalls. And if you end up with a botched job, you may have little recourse. There is no residential roofing association. There is a building code that pertains to roofing, but no body to ensure that contractors abide by it. Any person can become a roofer overnight and many roofers are self- employed, running a small business. It can be a risky choice.
“ That’s probably why there’s a lot of poor jobs done,” Crawford says. “ You can certainly shingle a roof without a licence.”
Others in the industry agree.
“ It’s rife with fly- by- night companies that are here today, gone tomorrow; companies that don’t stand behind their warranty and are in business, but don’t provide a good product to the customer,” says Norman Shore, sales manager with Dominion Roofing in the repairs and roof replacement division.
“ It’s kind of a seedy industry,” says Michelle Chouinard, whose family- run company, Chouinard Brothers, has been in business since 1972. “ Many guys open, avoid taxes, then
close and open under a new name.”
“ Most of the firms tend to be of the mom and pop variety, relatively small size, small number of personnel, so it’s very difficult to organize that sector,” says Peter Kalinger, technical director with the Canadian Roofing Contractors’ Association, an organization that deals with commercial and industrial roofing contractors and systems. The best way to avoid an inadequate job is to know what you’re getting into by doing as much research as possible. The CMHC website or public library is a good first step, Kalinger says. As well, some shingle manufacturers have excellent websites with extensive consumer information. One growing sector is the roofing consultant. A contractor might exaggerate a problem or fail to identify its source, but a consultant works for the homeowner only. At a typical price of $400 to $ 600, it can be cost- effective in the long run.
Peter Rohmann, a Toronto- area consultant, says the biggest problem his business faces is getting calls from unhappy homeowners after work has begun or, even worse, been completed. “ If you’re going to get a roofing consultant, you should be doing that before you get a roofing contractor involved,” he says. “ Find out what your requirements are, then have the consultant prepare a scope of work. Then go out and get prices. That way you’re comparing apples to apples,” he says. You also get a standard construction contract document, which is often the missing ingredient for getting problems fixed after the job is finished. With a consultant, a homeowner gains the benefit of their industry knowledge, along with access to contractors the consultant knows, Rohmann says. As well, a consultant will not only check the attic, but the basement, because the type of heating system and the way it is set up can have a huge impact on condensation.
It is possible for the average homeowner to determine some obvious problems by climbing up and taking a look at the roof: The vast majority of houses are topped with asphalt shingles, which can show visible signs of wear. Look to see if the protective, granular surfacing of the shingles has eroded away, which will indicate a roof coming to the end of its service life. Also look for shingles that are curling, cracking, displaced or splitting, Kalinger says.
“ In this country we deal with a multitude of factors that can work against the proper performance of the roof,” he adds. “ Probably the most important is condensation. If the leaks are only occurring in the spring or in times of freeze and thaw, it’s probably a good indication that there is something more at play here than just the problem with the roof cover.”
That’s where the attic needs to be checked for proper ventilation, insulation and any signs of frost or moisture build- up. All experts say the number of attics incorrectly vented and insulated is as high as 80 to 90 per cent.
“ That’s one of the biggest problems that people don’t realize and we run into this more and more frequently,” says Chouinard, noting the insulation can be so inadequate it causes ice problems. “ They go right back to the roof, because that’s where it’s generating from. They updated their windows, their carpet, their roof and everything else in their house, but the insulation is the original. If they have new insulation, ( sometimes) it’s not put in properly.”
It’s important to hire someone who understands the full picture, “not someone who’s working out of the back of their truck,” she says. Few roofing companies deal with attics as well, but one that does is Let It Rain — the company that James ultimately worked with. Company president Bruno Levesque says the conditions inside an attic go hand- in- hand with the life of a roof.
Levesque says repairs can be required due to other contractors’ shoddy workmanship. Workers installing pot lights, alarms and central vacuums are often unaware of the importance of insulating on top of, and around, everything in the attic. The exhaust fans and dryer vents in too many homes are improperly vented. The temperature in an attic should be the same as the outside air and there should be a noticeable draft. Without proper ventilation and insulation, the air up there can wreak havoc with the roof in winter and summer, Levesque says.
Shore says the condensation can be so bad “ it’s basically raining in their attic.” People will think it’s a roof leak and a disreputable company may replace the roof, leaving the problem intact. Sometimes it’s just a matter of adding some vents, he says.
“ The fact remains that most people do not know the standard building codes for replacing roofs,” he says. “ It’s not just slapping down new shingles.”
It’s not unusual to find a roof with multiple layers of shingles, experts say. Manufacturer warranties only apply if there is a maximum of two layers. Add more than that and you can cut the life expectancy of a new roof in half. Kalinger cautions homeowners against choosing any roof covering based on the warranty. “ There is absolutely no correlation between the marketed warranty period and the actual roof’s service life,” he says. “ Make sure the technical requirements and the legal requirements are taken care of first, then look at the warranty.”
Shore estimates that 25 per cent of the calls his company receives are from unhappy homeowners with botched roof jobs.
“ When you’re dealing with your home, you don’t always want to take the cheapest price,” he advises. “ You don’t always want to take the most expensive price, but take somebody in the middle.
‘‘ You can have a gorgeous home, a great interior, but it’s one of the most frustrating things in the world to have water coming into your house on a continual basis.”
For a list of roofing contacts and sources, including websites, go to www.thestar.com/yourhome