I’m behind the scenes and see a lot of issues with roofs. Choosing a roofing contractor who does not cut corners is very important. So, when we tell you we think we are the best roofing contractor, here’s some of the “whys”:

We quite often see roofs that are younger than their life expectancy which have not been installed correctly. The typical problems are with flashings. Flashings are required wherever the roof has been penetrated, like by a chimney, a wall, a vent pipe, an attic vent, skylight, etc. etc. These areas are the most likely to leak so they do require special attention. Some examples of bad workmanship we see are:

Step flashings at a wall are reused from a previous roof, even though they should have been replaced because the old roofing material was installed at a different exposure than the new roof. By definition, one piece of step flashing is supposed to be installed for each course/row of shingles. So, when changing from a wood roof that was installed at a 10-inch exposure, to a new asphalt shingle roof that is to be installed at a 5-inch exposure, there is only 1 piece of “old” step flashing for every other course/row of the new shingles if the “old” step flashings were reused. This is flat out wrong, yet we see this short cut employed quite often. This same mistake is often made even when replacing an old asphalt shingle roof with a new asphalt shingle roof. There are many different styles of asphalt shingles, and they are not all supposed to be installed at the same exposure. It is truly necessary step flashings be replaced when the exposure of the courses/rows of the new shingles is different from the exposure of the old shingles. Obviously it saves the roofing contractor money if he does not have to purchase any step flashing, not to mention the fact it saves a lot of time if the roofers do not have to fight to get the new step flashing installed behind the siding properly.

Various flashings that have been run backwards, upside down, or are missing altogether. Of course, installing correct flashings takes considerably more time and material to accomplish this, but if it’s not being done, the cost is less to you.

Valley flashings of insufficient width have been installed and would not have been approved by building codes, even back when they were installed. Of course, this material is cheaper than material that meets building codes. So narrow valley flashings, not up to code, should cost you less.

Shingles have not been trimmed correctly at pipe flashings, valleys, etcetera. Again, it’s a time-cost issue. Not doing this saves you money.

Underlayment like felt or ice barrier along the eaves or bottoms is under the metal edge. This is absolutely wrong. Now this one mistake in particular signifies to me that the installers didn’t have any real roofing knowledge and so just about everything else above is probably problematic, too.

Believe me, the list goes on and on. Choosing a roofing contractor involves more than just looking at the price.

Take into consideration that you have storm damage to your roof and now your insurance is going to pay to fix your roof, minus the deductible. You have a bid that is cheaper than our estimate. You’re thinking the cheaper guy sounded fine, is a name I’ve heard, can get to me quickly, and saves money. A storm damage roof isn’t necessarily going to leak and you don’t have to rush to get the roof fixed. Actually, you’re spending the insurance company’s money and so what you should be shopping for is quality. The cheaper guy may not install it correctly because he’s cutting all kinds of corners to entice you with a lower price and save, not you, but your insurance company some money. However, when the roof leaks maybe 5 to 10 years from installation, you may find they aren’t in business anymore or there’s no warranty on workmanship, so now you have to pay another company to fix the leak. Fixing the leak comes out of your pocket, not the insurance company’s. Some of these fixes can be quite expensive depending upon what has to be “undone” to do it right. I feel like this homeowner was really cheated by using a company that doesn’t follow best-practices.

Even if the reroof is coming out your pocket, and not the insurance company’s pocket, you should also consider what may happen should you sell your home and an inspector finds these mistakes on the roof. We fix these mistakes all the time or give an estimate so the seller has to make some pricing concessions. And really, who wants to deal with a roof leak? You may spend more money fixing the leaks and the problems than you saved when you reroofed by choosing the inferior installation company. I’ve heard people say the roof looks really good, but what protects your home is what you can’t see, because the flashing installations are not visible from the ground. From the roof, flashings are misunderstood unless you have training and experience.

In conclusion, in either case, you should look for quality in workmanship. Some of these other guys may talk the talk, but don’t really walk the walk. Larry Vaught Roofing continues their education and training to stay up to code. Quality is our mission. We’ve been in business since 1967 and are a third-generation, family-owned, local business. You can do the math but at the time of writing this, that’s 56 years. Anyone in business will tell you that a third-generation company is remarkable. We’ve seen lots of roof configurations and know how the simplest to even the most complicated roofs should be installed. We will meet you and go over what you can expect from us. And when we meet you, we don’t hire just salesmen, but people who actually understand the requirements of the roof system. At the very least, discussing our recommended options is a good place to start so that you understand why we recommended them so you can make an educated decision about your project. Honestly, the people who have our roofs, I am confident made the best decision. If you are quality-minded when it comes to protecting your biggest asset, your home, call us at 816-761-9859 for a free estimate.

Rhonda Vaught, 39-Years behind the scenes with the company

Larry L. Vaught Roofing, Inc.