How to Detect A Roof Leak

How to Detect a Roof Leak



As most people know the roof of your home or business is vital to the protection of the assets and belongings within.  The most obvious sign of a roof leak is water on the floor of the structure, however their are other ways to find a roof leak before it gets to that extreme.  When a roof is leaking bad enough that water is making its way to the flooring system, their is probably already a lot of other damage to other aspects of the building.  Most structures have a ceiling and insulation between the roof and the living space to help improve the energy efficiency of the HVAC system.  If a roof is leaking bad enough to make it through the insulation and ceiling material, then you have probably incurred a lot of damage already.  By this point your not only looking at the cost of a roof repair, but also cost to replace damaged insulation, sheetrock, and maybe even structural repairs as well.

In this blog post we hope to educate customers on how to detect a roof leak before it gets extreme.  We are going to list common signs of a roof leak, common causes of a roof leak, how to prevent roof leaks, and reasons why you should use a roofing contractor instead of hiring a handyman to work on your roofing system.  The first thing we want to talk about is how to detect a roof leak.  There are a lot of ways homeowners can inspect their home without getting on the roof.  Here are some signs we look for when inspecting roofs for homeowners.

1. Checking the plywood or underside of the roof sheathing material for dampness or water stains. This is the easiest way to spot a roof leak, as the plywood will retain water for a short period before it starts to make it through into the structure.
2. Checking the side walls or gable ends for water stains coming down the wall, especially where there may be a change in elevation on your roofing system.  If you have a leak in this area, your probably not going to see it on the ceiling in the home because it may be going all the way down the exterior wall of your home causing major damages.
3. Looking for missing shingles, damaged tile, blown off metal, or any breaks or damages to the roofing material on the roof. These are obvious signs, but the underlayments on the roofing system will protect the home for a short period, however these repairs should be made immediately because underlayments are not designed to be exposed to the elements.
4. Water marks on the ceiling of your home. Even though most leaks that make it this far into the structure can cause a lot of damage, if you catch it on the first time then you can save a lot of money by having your roof repaired immediately.

These are just a few ways to routinely inspect your home for roof leaks. Generally a roof leak can almost be detected immediately, however if a roof is installed properly, the underlayment will often offer some short term protection against a lot of water coming in your home.  When we say short term, we mean until the rain stops the same day you find out you have a leak.  Roof leaks come from a variety of causes, and can happen anytime, even after you get a new roof if your not using a qualified and licensed roofing contractor.  Flashing, underlayment installation, vent installations, and other penetrations on the roof confuse a lot of handymen leading to an improper install of your roofing system.  Not only will this require another trip from the contractor to repair the already new roof, it can also negate the roof warranty that most roofing material manufacturers offer with their products. Regardless of the age of your roof, a leak can happen at any time and for a variety of reasons.  Here are some of the most common causes of roof leaks:

• Storm/Wind Damage - One of the most common causes of roof leaks on a properly installed roofing system still within the warranty of the roofing product.
• Old Roof - Over the life of a roof, exposure to the elements begin to deteriorate the roofing system leading to failures in the product.
• Improper Flashing - If steps in the roof, chimneys, skylights, etc. are not flashed properly then water will eventually find its way into the home. Flashing around these areas correctly are very important to installing a quality roof, so its important that you hire a roofing contractor that has the experience to know how to do this.
• Missing Shingles/Damaged Tile/Raised Metal Panel - Sometimes roofing systems may be damaged by a neighbors limb, an animal, or a number of other reasons and obvious sign that your home or structure has a roof leak.  Also some roofing systems can be damaged from walking on the roof improperly as well.
• Skylight Damage - A number of our roof repairs come from damage or aging of a skylight. Skylights have a lot of different problems over the life of the window, so sometimes roof leaks either get in through the skylight, flashing around the skylight, and sometimes condensation. In these instances the skylight should be repaired or replaced immediately.

We hope this blog post has been informative, and helps you in preventing roof leaks and major damages to your home or business.  The best way to prevent roof leaks if properly maintaining your roof system according to the roofing products manufacturer's recommendations such as cleaning the roof and keeping it free of leaves and debris. Maintenance recommendations vary from product to product, but the main thing is to keep your roof clean. Routine inspections, proper maintenance, and hiring a qualified and licensed roofing contractor can help make your roof last a long time and protect your home from the elements of the outside world.  The owner Retro Solutions Construction Company of Myrtle Beach, SC has been in the roofing business for 20+ years and we look for the same qualities in the people we hire as you should as a homeowner.  Training and hiring quality roofers is what makes us a successful and top rated roofing contractor in North Carolina and South Carolina.  If you live in North Carolina or South Carolina and would like a free roof repair estimate or a free estimate on a new roof then contact us through the information listed below.  Check out our other blog post for more home improvement ideas, product reviews, and other information on keeping your house in top notch shape.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Phone: 706-951-0158
http://www.scroofingcontractors.com

Energy Efficient Roofing Systems | Spray Foam Insulation | Wall Foam Insulation | Crawl Space Encapsulations | Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters | Solar Energy | Energy Monitoring | Standing Seam Metal Roofs | Tile Roofs | Slate Roofs | Historic Home Retrofits |

Eggless Chocolate Cake, using Chocolate Cake Mix - Day 6, BM #10

The Last day of Blogging Marathon, It was great fun blogging these 7 days. The Previous week, i had a Big Shopping gig for the Marathon. I was just hunting The Ready Meal section of 3  Supermarkets and got most of my Products from Al Adil Trading. 

Though these products do come handy at the need of hurry, they also a contain lot of preservatives to improve their shelf life. So, let's use them only when we dont have any other options of healthy eating. :)

Today i m posting Chocolate Cake Recipe using Instant Cake Mix.

Ingredients

1 Pack Readymade Chocolate Cake Mix (Many brands are available, i have used pilsbury)

1/4 Cup Vegetable oil

1 Cup and 3 tsp Water

3 tbsp Flaxseed meal with 9 tbsp of warm Water. or  3 eggs

Method

• Preheat Oven to 180C. Grease the Cake pan, I Have used 2 Souffle Dish and 2 Ramekins.
• Mix Flaxseed meal with warm water and keep ready.
• Mix Water and Oil and Flaxseed-Water mixture and Mix well.
• Add the Cake Mix little by little and Mix well without any lumps.

• Fill the Batter in the prepared dish and Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The Cake was good. I felt the Sugar was way too high. For those who want to bake from  a Eggless Cake Mix, You can try Tarla Dalal Brand Eggless Cake mixes. 

Bake Time differs from Oven to Oven. So, Bake according to your time settings.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#10

COFFEE - 20 Unusual but Very Useful Uses

I read this article in Yahoo news and was amazed reading the usual but very useful uses of coffee. I knew only few of them, but when I read all the 20 uses, I definitely thought of sharing with you all so that you can benefit and use it in your daily life too......

Can you imagine life without coffee? We'd all stumble around like drones for hours every morning, lost without our precious fix. We love coffee for its flavor, its aroma and of course its pick-me-up, but there are at least 20 more compelling reasons to stay stocked up. These tips will give you surprising and unusual uses for fresh coffee beans or grounds that have gone stale, the pounds of used grounds you toss out every week and the dregs at the bottom of your cup. 

Kill fridge odor Wouldn't you rather smell coffee than two-week-old leftovers, half-rotten produce and spoiled milk? If your fridge is a nightmare of foul odors, place a bowl of fresh, unused coffee grounds inside and leave it for a day or two. The coffee will absorb the odors and you'll crave a cup whenever you open the door. This odor-killing trick works for practically anything else as well - just place the item in a sealed plastic bag along with an open can of coffee grounds and bye-bye stank. 

Reduce cellulite Pricey cellulite creams almost always have one major ingredient in common: caffeine, which supposedly enhances fat metabolism, reducing the appearance of these fatty pockets under the skin. To make your own coffee cellulite treatment at home, mix warm used coffee grounds with coconut oil and rub it onto your skin in circular motions for a few minutes before rinsing. 

Erase smells on your hands Garlic, salmon, cilantro - there are some things that smell delicious when cooking, but aren't so pleasant hours later when they linger on your hands. Get rid of them by rubbing a handful of used coffee grounds on your hands and rinsing with warm water. 

Make rich compost There's a reason so many gardeners swear by adding used coffee grounds to compost. The grounds are rich in phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and copper, they release nitrogen into the soil as they degrade and they're a little bit acidic, which is great for certain soils. If you compost on a large scale, you can get used grounds for free at your local coffee hot spot or mom-and-pop cafe. 

Get shiny hair Who doesn't want shiny, healthy-looking hair? Coffee is often recommended as a simple, natural treatment to make hair extra-glossy. Brew up an extra-strong pot, let it cool and apply it to your dry, clean hair. Leave it on for at least twenty minutes, then rinse. Keep it up once a week or so for best results. 

Natural dye The natural pigments in coffee make it a great natural dye for fabric, paper, Easter eggs - even your hair. Brush paper with strong brew and let it dry, or soak fabric items in hot coffee. The results won't be color-fast, and may bleed out onto other items, so it's best to use this on items that won't be washed very often if at all. Using coffee as a hair shine treatment, as previously mentioned, may temporarily lend a rich, dark tint to your hair. 

Reduce fireplace mess Want to clean your fireplace without causing a dust storm? Wait until the embers are cool, sprinkle damp coffee grounds all over the ashes , let them sit for about 15 minutes and then scoop out the whole mess into a metal ash can. The coffee grounds cling to the ashes, so they don't spew dust nearly as much as they would otherwise. 

Pin cushion filler Dried, used coffee grounds are the perfect filler for homemade pin cushions. Just wrap them in some scrap cloth, tie it off with a rubber band and place the cloth in an egg cup or other small container. The grounds will keep your pins from rusting, too. 

Exfoliate skin The same properties that reportedly enable coffee to reduce the appearance of cellulite can smooth and tighten your skin, and the texture of ground coffee will buff away dead skin cells, too. Make your own coffee-based scrub by combining a tablespoon of coffee grounds with half a tablespoon of olive oil and, optionally, a drop of your favorite essential oil. 

Repel ants Sprinkle dry, used coffee grounds in problem areas where you notice ants in your home or yard and they might just pick up and leave. To tackle huge ant mounds, pour an entire pot of brewed coffee right on the mound. 

Fertilize plants Acid-loving plants will thank you for sprinkling your used coffee grounds around their roots. Azaleas, blueberry shrubs and rhododendrons are just a few of the plants that flourish when treated with coffee thanks to all those nutrients. You can also dilute the leftover coffee in your mug and pour it right into your potted plants (as long as you don't use cream and sugar, of course!) 

Keep cats out of your garden To you, that little garden in your yard is a beautiful source of fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables, but to seemingly every cat in a five-mile radius, it's a giant, irresistible litter box. Just use the trick mentioned above, sprinkling used coffee grounds on the soil, and cats will want nothing to do with it. 

Scrub all kinds of surfaces Mildly abrasive and acidic, coffee grounds are great for scrubbing surfaces like countertops, cooking ranges and refrigerators. Use them alone or mix them with a little dish soap. 

Auto air freshener Next time you accidentally spill coffee grounds on the floor, don't just sweep them up and toss them in the trash. You can use them to make an all-natural DIY air freshener like this one at Instructables. Try to use an old ripped pair of pantyhose and spare string to make this an even more eco-friendly project. 

Grow mushrooms Used coffee grounds are an ideal medium to grow many kinds of mushrooms, including oyster mushrooms. You can actually purchase mushroom-growing kits from a company called Back to the Roots which includes reclaimed coffee grounds, mushroom roots and a mini spray bottle. The kit can produce up to 1.5 pounds of oyster mushrooms within 10 days.

Repel fleas Rub used, damp coffee grounds through your pet's fur after bathing to repel fleas without questionable, likely-toxic chemical treatments. If nothing else, it will at least improve that post-bath wet-dog smell that gets all over your furniture. 

Pretty vase fillers Stale or dirty coffee beans are still a thing of beauty. Use them as vase fillers, or in cups or jars full of pens and pencils. Not only are they pretty, they continue to smell good for quite a while, too. 

Start vermicomposting Red wriggler worms, the sort used in vermicomposting systems, love coffee almost as much as we do. It's not really clear why, but if you want a thriving community of worms to devour all of your kitchen waste (and those nasty little things really are amazingly efficient), be sure to add used coffee grounds to their bedding on a regular basis. 

Secret recipe ingredient Just a little hint of coffee can be the ingredient that becomes your undisclosed "magic touch" in foods like chili, ice cream and chocolate cake. Use a little bit as a marinade for steaks and not only will it make them unbelievably tender, it'll also provide a hint of deep, smoky flavor. 

Touch up furniture scratches Scratches on wood furniture disappear almost instantly by simply rubbing in a little bit of instant coffee dampened into a paste with hot water. Repeat if necessary until the scratch matches the surrounding wood.