Boston Roofing: experts at repairing your roof.

With over two generations of experience, Boston Roofing offers expert repair services for all types of roofing and aluminum work. If you have a leaky roof, no problem, we will fix it and fully guarantee our work. If a section or your roof has lifted due to wind damage we can repair it.

Repairing your Roof

We will make a thorough inspection of your roof and advise you of any problems and repairs that may be necessary and the exact costs of those repairs.

The following are items that we get asked most about so, we have set out some invaluable information in order to help you make the best choices when repairing your roof.

Re-shingling your Roof

When it’s time to re-shingle a roof, it’s important to consider the quality of the new shingles. A good quality shingle will last much longer, save money over time, and is more environmentally friendly. Ensure your contractor covers the entire roof with roofing paper before installing the new shingles.

Is it time to re-shingled your roof?

Asphalt & Fibreglass Shingles

The most common type of roof shingles are made from asphalt or fibreglass. Here are some interesting places to gather more information:

Valleys

The material used for valleys is very important. The photo, below left, shows a roof with inferior valley material. The photo on the right is a roof that we installed using SBS, (granulated bituminous roofing) a material that is extremely durable, strong, and is the best choice available today.

Replacing a roof valley with high quality material protects your investment.

Types of Valley Materials

90lb Roll Roofing is not recommended for valleys on your roof as the life expectancy is only 6 to 10 years. Therefore you’ll run into maintenance issues before warranty expiration.

Metal valleys are 24″ wide and pre-painted. Although an advantage of metal valleys is their durability, the disadvantages are that there are joints every 8′ and they are only 24″ wide. Therefore, it has less coverage under each side of the valley. Also, with drastic changes in temperature, metal expands and contracts often. The chance of having a nail pop up through the shingle is very common and could create leaks.

SBS. We recommend SBS which is a granulated bituminous roofing material. There are no disadvantages to using SBS. It will outlast any asphalt shingle or tile on the market today. An SBS valley can be up to 30′ long with no seams. It is also 40″ wide and therefore has more coverage on each side of valley. Due to its high flexibility and tensile strength, it is ideal for extreme climate changes. People are replacing their roofs today because of inferior valleys. Rest assure that when your roof needs replacing it will not be because of your SBS valleys.

For information on SBS modified bitumen membrane

Venting

Adequate venting is extremely important or there could be a build up of excess moisture in the attic, which could then lead to mould and rotting. Moisture that is trapped inside your attic causes condensation. Proper roof ventilation will make your roof last longer and will remove heat and moisture from your attic. For more information go to Ventilation, Ice Dams or Ventilation Products

Adequate venting is extremely important to prevent excess moisture.

Examples of water and moisture damage from improper ventilation

Examples of water damage to a roof.

Types of Roofing Underlayment

Ice and Water Shield.

A major manufacturer of roofing underlayment is CertainTeed. Their WinterGuard waterproofing shingle underlayment is the solution for winning the battle against water penetration in your roof’s most vulnerable places. WinterGuard is a composite material of asphalt polymers, formed into a rolled sheet. The asphalt makes it vapor-tight, and the polymers make the asphalt elastic and sticky. This protective barrier is able to stretch and seal around nails driven through it. Placing WinterGuard a minimum of 24″ past the interior wall line at the eave provides your first line of defense.. It is also used as an underlayment around chimneys, skylights, and other potential ice damming areas on your roof.

CertainTeed DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment, No. 25 GBS and No. 30 felt

These are the different types of underlayment that are commonly used for the first three feet of your roof area.

Boston Roofing’s Recommendations:

We recommend for all roofs, with a pitch up to 7 and 12, that CertainTeed DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment be applied over the entire roof area. This is recommended to keep your roof deck drier, and as well, reduce energy costs. The benefits of applying felt all over your roof deck are that you are not relying on shingles alone to keep the water out, due to ice damming and driven rain. Boston Roofing says “People are not aware that shingles are not waterproof, they are designed to shed water.” If you submerge a roof under water it will leak. That is why it is very important that on all low angled roofs the entire roof area should be covered with CertainTeed DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment at minimum. We receive a lot of feedback from our clients that having felt over the entire roof area their home is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

People are not aware that the reason why their attics are so hot in the summer is because shingles absorb and transfer heat into the attic. Therefore, by applying felt to the roof area it will reduce the transfer of heat into your attic. If your attic is cooler, your house will be cooler.

We also recommend that three feet of ice and water shield be installed around the perimeter of your home. Due to the drastic changes in our climate, there is a lot more ice build up today on our roofs than ever before. Boston Roofing says “Protect your roof deck as much as possible.” Every winter, for the past ten years, we have been receiving hundreds of calls per year to remove ice and snow on roofs that are contributing to leaks into their homes. To avoid expensive service calls, due to ice breaking and snow removal, Boston Roofing says, “Do it right the first time.”