Pick the right Calgary Roofers

This large bungalow in a sleepy corner of Edgemont in Calgary has seen two roof installations over the years.  Built in 1979 when cedar shakes were cheap and plentiful, the roof weathered the years until 2010, when the previous occupants had decided to change it.  We’re still not sure whether they did the roof themselves or if they hired someone who thought they would just “give roofing a try,” but the roofing installation was rife with poor workmanship and poor choices.

Roof Repairs, Deck Repairs, and Flashing replacements

The new roof installation lasted 4-5 years before water started to penetrate the interior of the house.  Literally every aspect of the roof had been installed improperly and prompt action was necessary to prevent serious damage to the interior.  Our customers – a lovely couple working on their retirement project – had purchased the house 1 or 2 years ago under the assumption that they 4 year old roof would last.  They called us for a leak inspection and we found the following problems:

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  Pick the right Calgary Roofing Contractor

  
  Vents were installed directly onto the roof deck instead of being integrated with the shingles.  
• Shingles in the valley were not overlapped properly and nails had been driven into the centreline where a significant amount of water flows.  This is the problem brought the customer to us initially.
• The chimney flashing had not been interleaved with the shingles, so water was able to wick under the roof installation
• #15 Felt paper had been installed along the eaves, which is not to code.  Water running off the shingles onto the felt paper and through the wick effect was drawn up onto the wooden roof deck.  Roof repairs to the rotten sheathing were necessary around the perimeter of the entire house.
  
  

  This Roof Repair in Calgary required a lot of time to bring the sheathing up to par.

• Rake edge had been used as drip edge and created a channel for water to drip behind the eaves
• No flashing was used where the fascia lay on top of the shingles, so the cedar was becoming water damaged
• Venting was insufficient and incorrectly configured.

    The previous Calgary roofers had rushed through the job without care.  All of their poor workmanship was accompanied by generous amounts of tar, which is what kept the roof from leaking for the first couple of years.  Tar becomes brittle in certain circumstances, and eventually degraded to the point where water was allowed to penetrate around the flashings.

Our Calgary Roofing Company gets to work

On our first day we stripped the roof, repaired the roof deck, replaced the decking around all the old vent holes and cut them in the right places.  We installed our drip edge, underlay,and starter courses and and flashings.  At this point the roof was waterproof.  We cleaned up our waste and returned the next day to shingle the structure.
For their Calgary roofing installation our customer chose Owens Corning Duration in the Teak colour, with High Profile Ridge Cap, drip edge, and Ventilation Maximum.  The Teak colour really accentuates the original brick façade and taupe siding.  While the circumstances that caused our visit were unfortunate, we really enjoyed bringing this roof installation back into shape, Stalwart and ready for all the curve-balls Calgary’s wild weather has to throw at it.