Rain Damage + Roof Installations = A Waste of Time and Money
Rain presents many risks to both the roofers and the home itself, which is why every good roofer keeps careful track of the weather. I know that the first thing I do when I wake up is open up my weather app and scroll through the forecast to make sure there’s not a chance of showers.
If there’s a chance of rain on the day your roof is to be installed, there’s a good chance that rain damage is next and I will most likely postpone the project until the weather clears up.
Many professional roofers, including myself, will only tear off shingles that can be replaced with new ones the same day.
Sometimes the weatherman can be wrong, and a shower will hit us without preamble, which is why Archer Roofing always has tarps ready with our supplies to quickly seal off any exposed areas of a client’s roof.
We’ve saved many a Kelowna roof from soaking by taking the necessary precautions.
There are many reasons why rain is damaging, including:
- Foremost, it can be dangerous for the installers due to the slippery nature of asphalt and underlayment. Archer Roofing never takes safety short cuts in this situation.
- When felt tar paper underlayment gets wet, it usually wrinkles. If shingles are applied over a wrinkled underlayment, then these wrinkles will warp the appearance of the newly installed shingles. Archer Roofing only uses water-resistant synthetic roofing underlayment which does not warp or wrinkle, even when wet.
- Roof decks should never be exposed to rain without a well-secured underlayment in place. Plywood will swell, become damaged and water could become trapped under the underlayment which will cause buckling and poor adhesion of shingles.
- Trapped moisture under shingles installed over a wet membrane or roof deck could lead to mold and mildew.
If you have a pitched roof, the wet roof deck and underlayment will eventually dry out. However, the best course of action would be if they were not wet in the first place to prevent any issues with your new roof investment.
Roofing in the rain will end up costing you more.
How much more? Well, that depends on how much rain we’re talking about.
Generally speaking, you’re looking at having to replace any and all materials that become damaged because of the rain and you’ll have to pay the roofer and his or her crew for the time they spend on the job, regardless of whether or not anything productive gets done.
All in all, it’s always best to just wait out the weather.
We understand that you want to get it over with as quickly as possible – roofing in Kelowna can be disruptive to the home owners and neighbours, too – but we can tell you as Roofing professionals that rain damage to your roof will be the only result if you insist on going through with your roofing job.
If it’s raining on the day of your project, postponement is probably the best answer and it’s usually the only time off we get in the week:)
Trust Archer Roofing to take care of your roofing needs and call us at (250) 808-6297.