Metal roofing has long been a green product. Metal roofs, for the most part, are produced from steel or aluminum that has already been recycled. They last far longer than asphalt shingles or similar products. And when the time finally comes when a metal roof must be replaced, the material is 100 percent recyclable.

Metal Roofs Save Energy

Traditional shingle roofs absorb solar rays, and the absorption of these rays heats up your home, causing the air conditioner to work harder in order to cool all of the areas in your home. With a metal roof, the sun is deflected, which can lower your energy bill by up to 50%. The reflective coating on most metal roofs is what makes them even more energy efficient. For maximum protection and savings, you can add additional coating to the roof. Most homeowners living in hotter climates add coating for maximum heat deflection.

If you want to save both energy and money, installing metal roofs is a great option for doing so. You will pay a bit more initially and save greatly in the long run. Your home will be comfortable throughout the year, and metal roofs last much longer than typical shingles. They withstand harsh weather conditions, are durable, and save homeowners a great deal of money. If you invest in a metal roof, you will begin to see a positive return on investment the day the roof is installed.

Lightning is an electrical charge going from the sky to the earth during storms, and the electrical flow of current can be millions of volts, doing damage to whatever it hits on earth. Lightning may follow a path of ionization starting in the clouds and ending on earth. The flash of light associated with lightning is actually going from the earth up to the clouds in the form of electrons following the path of ionization. This flow of energy follows the path of least resistance and can even arch from one place or thing to another. This electric energy is what causes heat that makes fires, explosions and other damage. Lightning often strikes the highest point in an area, be it a tree or a building.

Lightning will strike a very tall building over a shorter building, regardless of the building materials and roofing used. The real probability of lightning strikes has more to do with land topography, location of building and the size and height of a building. The history of thunderstorm activity in an area, and its severity, should be considered before building large, tall structures.

The building materials used in the entire building can effect the chances of being damaged by thunderstorm activity. Builders using construction materials that are electrically conductive can reduce the threat of lightning strikes and damage to a building. Metal roofing is a non combustible material, so even if hit by lightning it will not burn. Metal roofing is also an electrical conductor, so it will actually lessen the chances of lightning strike and damage. For these reasons alone, metal roofing may be the best roofing material to use when trying to avoid lightning strikes and damage.

It can be difficult to find the perfect color to match an existing roof, but it can be done. With a few simple tips the shingles can match extremely closely, if not perfectly, and the addition will look great both inside and out.

You’ll want to start by having your roofer locate the product number of the shingles that are already on the home or building. Once that has been done, it’s easy to contact an area hardware store or supplier to see if they have any in stock. If that’s not successful, consider contacting the manufacturer directly to see if they still make them or have any back stock. You can also check the internet for shingles.

Another option is to take a loose shingle to the store, and then compare it with the other shingles that are on the store shelves. It’s important to remember that the lighting in the store is different than natural sunlight outside. Therefore, it would be a great idea to purchase a few of the shingles that look similar and take them outside. Then, compare them to the shingle that is already on the roof. This will help gauge the color similarities so that a closer match is possible.

It can be challenging to find a perfect match for roofs that are a few years old. This is especially true if the old shingles have been discontinued. But, as long as some thought and attention to detail is given, it will be much easier to find shingles that match very closely to the original.

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• Call your insurance company and notify them of the hail or storm damage. Be sure to have the date of the storm—they will request this.
• Obtain a claim number as well as the adjustor’s name and cell phone number in order to expedite the claim process.
• It is very important to tell the insurance company that you wish to have your contractor present at the time of inspection. Give them your contractor’s name, cell phone number, and ask that the adjustor contact the contractor prior to the inspection.

In most instances, your insurance company will take this information and assign the claim to an adjustor. It may take a few days until the claim is assigned. Please be sure to contact NTBS, Inc with any information the insurance company gives you regarding the adjustor handling the claim—such as his/her name and cell phone number.

Helpful items to keep on file during your claims process:

• INSURANCE COMPANY
• CLAIM NUMBER
• ADJUSTOR’S NAME
• ADJUSTOR’S NUMBER
• INSPECTION DATE/TIME

Roofing Contractor Checklist

NTBS Authorization Agreement

Insurance

Enrollment Letter

GAF Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Poor Attic Ventilation Can Ruin Your Insulation, Destroy Your Shingles, And Raise Your Energy Bills!

Why Take Risks?

It is estimated that 9 out of 10 homes in North America do not have proper attic ventilation. Why? Because most people are unaware that attic ventilation can impact the longevity of their entire home!
For example, in the summer, an improperly ventilated attic can cause heat to build in excess of 160°F. This superheated air eventually penetrates the ceiling insulation into the living area below.
Types of damage that can
result include:

• Premature aging of your roofing system (“fried” shingles)
• Warping, cracking, or breaking down of wood framing
• Damage to siding, exterior or interior paint, and wallpaper
• Higher energy costs

A properly ventilated attic can help reduce the load on your air conditioner by moving the superheated air out of your attic before it builds up and causes damage.

In the winter, various household appliances, bathtubs, showers, and cooking vapors can contribute to excess moisture build-up. Improperly ventilated attics will allow this moisture to collect and cling to the underside of the roof. There, it will condense and fall, soaking the attic insulation and reducing its efficiency
Additional structural damage
can include:

• Roof deck warping and rotting of the wood frame
• Mildew growth
• Buckling of shingles and felt

Finally, attics should be properly ventilated to help prevent ice dams in cold northern climates. During the winter, ice and snow on a roof will melt and run down the deck to the cooler eaves. This run-off can re-freeze, creating an ice dam that will trap moisture on the roof. The moisture can eventually back up under the shingles and enter your home — causing hundreds or thousands of dollars of damage to your ceilings and walls. Adequate attic ventilation will reduce the amount of initial melting that occurs on your roof, thereby reducing the chance that ice dams will form.

Calculating Your Ventilation Requirements

Example: Calculating the number of lineal feet of Cobra® Exhaust Vent needed for a 30’x 40’ attic:

Step 1 - Calculate attic square footage

How: Multiply length of attic (in feet) times width of attic (in feet)
30’ x 40’ = 1,200 square feet

Intake ventilation MUST be at least equal to exhaust ventilation. To determine the number of intake vents needed, select your vent on page 12, and install enough vents so that their combined NFA is at least 288 square inches.

Remember:

Always have a balanced ventilation
system. In no case should the amount of exhaust ventilation exceed the amount of intake
ventilation.

Step 2

- Calculate NFA (Net Free Area) needed for this attic by using the “1 in 300” rule
How: Divide attic square footage by 300
1,200 sq. ft. ÷ 300 = 4 square feet of NFA needed

Step 3 -

Convert square feet of NFA to square inches
How: Multiply square feet of NFA by 144
4 sq. ft. x 144 = 576 square inches of NFA needed

Step 4

- Split the amount of NFA needed equally between the intake and the exhaust
How: Divide square inches of NFA needed by 2
576 sq. in. ÷ 2 = 288 square inches of NFA needed equally for exhaust & intake

Step 5 -

Calculate # of lineal feet of Cobra® Exhaust Vent needed
How: Divide the square inches of NFA needed at the ridge by the NFA of the Cobra® Exhaust Vent
(Cobra® Exhaust Vent has 16.9 sq. inches of NFA per lineal foot)
288 sq. in. ÷ 16.9 = 17 lineal feet

This attic requires seventeen (17) lineal feet of Cobra® Exhaust Vent to meet FHA minimum requirements.
Read this article at GAF.com

The summary of storm damage incurred by your home includes both the filing of your claim and the list of damage compiled by the adjustor—known as the “loss report”. If the contractor discovers additional damaged items, or reporting errors on the loss report, then a “supplement report” would be appended to the existing claim. Almost all supplement reports are approved as long as they are professionally prepared and properly filed. Typically, the loss report will have a “Summary for Dwelling” page summarizing your entire claim. Below is an example.

Loss Report Summary Page Breakdown

1. Line item total – is the total amount of your claim.
2. Materials sales tax @ 8.25%- sales tax is limited to the materials portion of your claim.
3. Replacement cost value (RCV) – is what the cost is in today’s economy versus when it was originally installed. Most homeowner policies are written as RCV policies to ensure that when your home or property is damaged, the repairs can be made regardless of current industry pricing.
4. Less Depreciation – the depreciation is calculated by the life expectancy of what was damaged v. the age. For example, if you have a 20-year roof that is five years old. then it would be depreciated at 25%.
5. Actual Cash Value – is the value of the items on the loss report minus depreciation.
6. Less Deductible – deductibles on homeowner policies vary depending on geographic location and insurance company. This is the amount of the claim the homeowner is responsible for paying.
7. Net Claim – is the amount of the actual cash value minus the deductible and the amount of the first check from the insurance company. The net claim reimburses the actual value of the damage incurred less the deductible.
8. Total Recoverable Depreciation – Since most policies are written as replacement cost value (RCV), the depreciation is recoverable. This is the last check from the insurance company. Often, the contractor must file a “certificate of completion” in order to have the depreciation released. If handled properly the final check will arrive approximately two weeks after completion of the project. This will be the final payment to the contractor.

NTBS, Inc has full-time staff specializing in insurance claim processing. Many of our customers allow us, by filling out our Authorization Agreement, to handle the entire claim process, freeing them from having to deal with the insurance company altogether.

Contact NTBS, Inc today for a free roof inspection.

During the course of an average year, hail causes more than $1.6 billion worth of damage to residential roofs in the United States. Hailstorms are most frequent in the southern and central plains states, where warm moist air off of the Gulf of Mexico and cold dry air from Canada collide. The combination of the two different air masses spawns violent thunderstorms.

Hail is created when frozen water drops are lifted in turbulent wind regimes during thunderstorms. As the frozen water is driven to the earth at speeds up to 90 mph it has the ability to increase in size and form a hail stone. Hail stones can very in size from pea size (1/4 inch diameter, minimal roof damage), quarter size (1” diameter, moderate roof damage) and golf ball sized (1.5” diameter, severe roof damage).

The two main types of damage caused by a hailstorm to your composition roof is granule loss, exposing the underlying mat, and rupturing the mat of the shingle. Loss of granules will shorten the life expectancy of the roof. Since the granules have been removed by the hail stones the matting is now exposed to the elements. The UV rays from the sun overtime can cause the mat to crack, aversely affecting the water shedding  ability the roof previously had. Rupturing of the mat is the more severe of the two types of hail damage. This is caused by larger hail stones impacting the shingle. When a shingle’s mat has been ruptured the granules are gone and cracking is visual in places where the hail impacted the shingle. This greatly effects the shingles intended to purpose of shedding water.

Any time a shingle loses it’s water shedding ability, whether from granule loss or rupturing of the mat, water can start to deteriorate your roofing system.  Once the water reaches the roof fasteners, causing corrosion, or the butted joints in the roof decking, water will be permitted to enter the building.

Inspect your roof as soon as possible after any storm or have NTBS, Inc give you a free roof inspection. Often you cannot see roof damage from the ground.

If you would like information on impact resistance shingles, contact us.