Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding Your Home Remodeling Needs

When it comes to home remodeling, especially roofing, we understand that most homeowners may be very wary when it comes to choosing the right contractor to complete the job. We hear about horror stories with nearly every homeowner we meet with; in regards to craftsmanship, company practices, and even monetary matters. At Houston Roofing & Attic Specialists, we offer our homeowners robust knowledge on products, such as the quality and differences of materials, the way a “system” operates in regards to ventilation, installation practices, the health of your wood, natural growth, water infiltration, as well as the insurance claims process, and more.

Why do you need to inspect my attic for a roofing quote?

If a roofing contractor does not inspect your attic they may miss important factors such as wood rot, ventilation, and what pipes need to be removed prior to install, and nail holes into your duct work that will cause your energy bills to skyrocket.

Roughly 80% of a roofing system’s problems will be detected in your attic space. Most common problems found are leaks and poor ventilation. It takes a leak roughly 2-5 years to materialize on your ceiling, which means it has already caused irreversible damage to the wood decking, your insulation, and now has worked it’s way into the drywall and possibly the electric lines that are found throughout your wall cavities. Poor ventilation shortens the life of your HVAC unit, starts to delaminate your wood decking, and will cause sapping and cracking on the structural rafters of your home.

I have visible roofing damage, and I have been denied. How are they able to do that?

Insurance companies are not in the business of paying out a lot of money, despite what they promote. They are profit-driven just like any other company that has shareholders. Your adjuster in the field who comes out to your home usually has your best interest at heart, but the person who has the final say, nine times out of ten, is called a “desk adjuster.” A desk adjuster has never seen your roof, they have very limited knowledge about roofing, and they are making the final decision based on photos sent in from the field adjuster. This leaves the final decision up to the integrity of the photos taken by the field adjuster, and the integrity of the desk adjuster to make a decision not based on margins of their respective office or territory. What you will often see, is a nit-picking nickel-and-diming by your insurance, where they approve damage that is right below your deductible; which means you pay entirely out of pocket, and once that claim closes, your deductible resets and you have to repair the damage within a year or risk having your coverage dropped.

Also, most insurance companies have a set amount in their pot for storm damage claims in a respective zip code, and once that amount nears its budget, you will see more denials and partial approvals, AND you will see your rates raised in your area to offset the payments by the insurance companies, which leaves you paying for your neighbors damages; whether you like it or not.

Luckily, there are ways to fight these insurance companies, your contractor just has to know the rules, know your policy, know the laws, and most importantly, they have to WANT to go to battle for you. Thankfully, at Houston Roofing & Attic Specialists, we are very proud to say we have a 100% rate of pushing partial approvals to full replacements!!!

Why is it so hot on my second story in my home?

Over 90% of attic spaces are highly under-ventilated and under-insulated. Radiant heat from the sun will become conductive heat that works its way into your attic space through the roofing material and wood decking. That heat then becomes convective heat in the form of hot air in the attic space. Insulation has a saturation point of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that after the temperature in your attic space exceeds 110 degrees, the heat can not longer rise and will seep through your insulation into your home. This is also why insulation flattens over the years. This leads to HVAC systems working overtime, which explains why second story homes have such a hard time keeping up in the upstairs area.

Ventilation should include one foot of intake or exhaust for every 300 cubic feet of space in your attic, and should be even dispersed with intake and exhaust 50/50. When properly ventilated, the temperature in your attic should not exceed more than 10-15 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. This means your attic should only exceed 110 degrees a handful of times in the summer.

There are numerous solutions to this that will fit any budget: topping off existing blown-in insulation, adding intake and/or exhaust, radiant barrier installation, power attic vent installation, baffling systems, and more!