Benefits of Sun Tunnels

Sun Tunnels provide a compact minimally intrusive solution to lighting needs anywhere in the home.  Closets, hallways, kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms can all benefit from installing sun tunnels (also known as sun tubes).  Sun tunnels are composed of a dome fitted to your roof that captures light and directs it down a tube and into your home.  This Eco friendly lighting solution can be installed on pitched and flat roofs.

What are the benefits of Sun Tunnels?

• Can be installed virtually anywhere
• Solar tube skylights provide natural sunlight to any area of your home
• Attached lenses at the bottom of the tube disperses light evenly
• Much cheaper that installing a traditional skylight
• Offers huge savings on your energy bills each and every day
• Provide state and federal tax credits

Roof Maintenance Tips to Protect Your Home

1. Keep Excess Water Off

One of your roof's primary jobs is to keep water out of your house, but your roof needs your help to get rid of the water that falls on it. Make sure to keep your roof's gutters and downspouts in tip-top shape so that it can drain properly, and trim your trees so that they do not hang over the roof, dripping water and shedding leaves into the gutters.

2. Conquer Moss

Keeping your trees trimmed away from the roof will make the roof less friendly to moss by minimizing moss-welcoming shady areas, but moss may still grow. Use Wet & Forget to safely and gently remove any moss on your roof, and re-treat at the first sign of new growth to prevent moss from coming back.

3. Check Your Insulation

Good attic insulation helps keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and it also helps protect your roof. A good layer of insulation on the attic floor with no gap for air to get between the house and the insulation is a must. This prevents big temperature exchanges between the house and attic, which will cause damaging water condensation on the underside of the roof

4. Do a Yearly inspection

Check your roof at least once a year, preferably in the spring, for any signs of damaged or lifted shingles, moss growth, or other problems. If you don't feel comfortable checking the roof yourself, you can hire a roofing professional to do the inspection.

5. Maintain Good Ventilation

Like insulation, good attic ventilation will also protect your roof from damage caused by water condensation. Without good ventilation, water vapor can cause the roof sheathing and rafters to rot and can even damage the shingles. Make sure your attic has good, unobstructed vents with screens to keep birds out. Ventilation fans are available for larger attics.

What is Roof Flashing?

What is flashing?

Flashing is a construction detail used to seal and protects joints in a building from water penetration. The joints created by the intersection of the roof and roof mounted structures and projections, such as parapets, hatches, skylights, chimneys, vent stacks, or towers, are among the most vulnerable areas of roofing systems. They constantly expand and contract in response to changes in humidity and temperature. Greater the number of such projections, greater the potential for leaks.

Roof flashing represents a very simple and intuitive engineering technique that has been known for hundreds of years. The whole idea depends almost entirely on gravity. If the flashing has been installed correctly, gravity will work with the flashing material to shed the water onto the regular roofing materials, where it is then directed harmlessly to the ground. Roof flashing is commonly used around chimneys, fan vents, plumbing vent stacks, and other items that project out of residential roofs.

Green Roofing Benefits

Moderation of Urban Heat Island Effect

• Through the daily dew and evaporation cycle, plants on vertical and horizontal surfaces are able to cool cities during hot summer months and reduce the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The light absorbed by vegetation would otherwise be converted into heat energy.
• UHI is also mitigated by the covering some of the hottest surfaces in the urban environment – black rooftops.
• Green roofs can also help reduce the distribution of dust and particulate matter throughout the city, as well as the production of smog. This can play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting urban areas to a future climate with warmer summers.

Home Repairs to Tackle

1. Build a small home repair reference library. The crucial first step in learning to tackle home repairs confidently is to read as much as possible. Both Black & Decker and Creative Homeowner produce series of paperbacks aimed at the basics in each area of home repair: electrical work, plumbing, tiling, carpentry, and more. Reading these books before beginning work will help you know what to expect and how to execute each job skilfully.
2. Ensure that you have the necessary tools for each job. Accumulating a solid toolbox is another essential step in making sure you can handle each home repair job as it arises. When purchasing tools, do not skimp on quality if possible. High-quality, durable tools can go a long way in compensating for novice technique.

• At its most basic, your toolbox should contain both flat and Phillips head screwdrivers, a hammer, pliers, an adjustable wrench, a putty knife, a utility knife, a straightedge and a spirit level.
• Power tools that are extremely helpful include an electric drill, a handheld circular saw, and an orbital sander.
• Get the safety devices appropriate to the tools at the time you buy the tool. Goggles, face mask, ear protection and gloves are 'must have's for loud, rough or dusty jobs.
• More specialized tools can be bought as the need arises. Drywall and plastering jobs will call for a mud box and a drywall knife, for instance, while a pipe wrench is essential for many plumbing repairs.

What Is A Green Roof?

A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is debated. Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs which are used to treat grey water.

Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing generosity and decreasing stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect. There are two types of green roofs: intensive roofs, which are thicker, with a minimum depth of 12.8 cm, and can support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are shallow, ranging in depth from 2 cm to 12.7 cm, lighter than intensive green roofs, and require minimal maintenance.

ROOF-REPAIR SAFETY TIPS

Working on a roof can be dangerous. Keep these safety precautions in mind before tackling a roof repair:

• Roof repairs should be done on a sunny day when the roof is completely dry. A wet roof is slippery and very dangerous.
• Adequate safety measures must be taken for any roof repairs. Always use safety ropes.
• On steep roofs, use a ladder framework to provide secure anchoring.
• Rubber-soled shoes provide the best traction when working on a roof.
• The location of power lines should be kept in mind when working on a roof.­

Get Ready for Spring!!

Outdoor Maintenance

·         Clean gutters and downspouts and make sure they are directing water away from the house.

·         Cut back tree limbs and shrubs growing within five feet of the house or that are brushing up against the roof. You will create better ventilation, help dry out surfaces and prevent possible damage.

·         Check for and repair cracks in driveway/sidewalk. Spring is the best time to seal cracks in the driveway or any other concrete.

·         Pressure wash your deck/patio and bring outdoor furniture out of storage.  Make sure to wipe down each piece thoroughly prior to placing on a freshly-washed surface.

·         Check garden hoses for dry rot and inspect hose faucets for possible freeze damage that may have occurred during the winter months.

·         Clean/condition your outdoor grill by first rinsing all outside surfaces with water.  If grease has loosened on the grill grates and inside of the grill, wipe off using grill cleaner and paper towels. Follow by washing with a mild detergent and water. Rinse well and wipe dry.

·         Check for possible damage to the roof.  Look for missing, cracked or broken shingles and make note of any needed repairs.