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16 SPRING 2013 ROOFING BC
Hittingclose tohomeResidential roofingfrom a noviceconsumer’s perspectiveby Paddy Tennant
March 1 had been much like anyother Friday, except that it hadcapped a week of one problem afteranother. The full moon a few nightsbefore was being blamed for aseries of trials that, althoughinconvenient, were insignificant incomparison to what I facedcoming into the house thatnight – it was raining in mykitchen.The first image that came to
mind was the RCABC’sRoofStar ad that mentions ‘thestubborn determination of asingle raindrop to go where itdoesn’t belong’ – a conceptthat was now being illustratedwith alarming accuracy.I optimistically speculated
that the problem might beeasily managed – perhapssimply a damaged roof ventwhich would be a quick fix.That hope was dashed whenmy husband took a flashlightup on the roof – against mybetter judgement on a wet andwindy night – to report thatthe asphalt tiles in the suspectarea “had lost their granulesand were all soft and mushy”.A look inside the attic
revealed a ship-lap deck with
only a small amount of plywoodover the addition.When I bought this house a
dozen years ago, I was aware thatparts of it were very old, and manyrenovations had been done by thehome owners rather than byqualified tradesmen. The time hadclearly come to replace the roof, andI was not prepared. I put downcontainers to catch the drops thathad dampened both the kitchen andmy spirits, then emailedRob Harris and Ivan vanSpronsen at the RCABC.Never having hired a
contractor of any kind, I didn’t knowwhat to expect – the length of timeinvolved; the protocols; what Iwould have to do as ahomeowner – this would all be new
territory. My onlycomforts were a goodworking relationshipwith the RCABC andthe confidence that anyof their memberswould be reliable.Rob and Ivan gave
me the names of threelocal members who doresidential work. Ivancorrectly predicted that I
would getdifferentapproaches and reportsfrom each of the three,
and Rob agreed to walk me throughtheir estimates so I could make aneducated decision.The first company out was Totem
Roofing. Les Roberts, Supervisor of
Operations, arrived inthe morning of March6 with clipboard andgraph paper in hand.He described theprocess involved inmanufacturing asphalttiles, and explainedwhy, in the last 20years, the products fromsome manufacturers hadperformed poorly. Thatwas my first lesson –understanding the
‘nature of the beast’. Les spentapproximately an hour on the roof,taking numerous photos and carefulmeasurements, including the pitchof each field. As it turned out, hewas actually creating an accurateplan drawing of the entire roof
while he was up there.“The devil’s in the details,” he
said with a grin, explaining that hedidn’t want to have to rely onmemory with any aspect of theproject. This attention to detail wasboth impressive and reassuring.Next up was Graham Wilford of
Harvard Industries – an engaging,gregarious man who exudedconfidence. Graham’s time on theroof was comparatively brief, but hedemonstrated strong powers ofobservation and quickly spotted thelocation of a hidden drainage pipe.He then took the time to educate meabout colour choices for thereplacement tiles, andrecommended new 6-inch gutters toreplace the existing 4-inch ones.Graham added that he would be
“The devil’sin the details”
The Roofmart crane truck team preparing to offload materials
Before: the union of valleys over an aluminum sunroom After re-roofing: ready for new gutters and a lifetime of service
ROOFING BC SPRING 2013 17
happy to refer me to a trustedinstaller.Last but not least was Erik
Blundell of Hunter Roofing. I didn’thave the opportunity to meet Erik,but welcomed his phone call todiscuss a few details before hesubmitted a quote.Not surprisingly, all three
estimates were very similar in theirprice ranges, and each of theproposals named familiar brandsmanufactured by RCABC AssociateMembers like IKO, GAF, Firestoneand Menzies.It was interesting to see how
each of the three firms presentedtheir proposals; the amount ofdetail, descriptions of the productsand procedures; even the projectedcosts were itemized differently.True to his word, Rob Harris
gave me a generous amount oftime, going over the unfamiliarterminology and explaining therationale behind the various
procedures outlined in theestimates.My final decision was to go with
Totem. The proposal from ownerJeff Reddeman was very thorough,well thought out, and detailedbeyond my expectations.Jeff had also sent me the photos
taken by Les, and referred to themby number to clearly describe eachpart of the roof and the requiredaccessories. His quote presented anoutline of the project at its mostbasic, followed by recommendedadd-ons and possible repairs thatwere estimated separately. It clearlyidentified the unknown factors thatcould only be determined once theroof deck was exposed and the atticexamined.It would be two weeks before
Totem could start the work, so Lescame over to secure a tarp over thesuspect parts of the leaky roof. I feltwell taken care of before the workeven began.
The month of March hadpresented its share of challenges,but I was feeling confident – theroofers had been hired, Iunderstood what was ahead, andeverything was under control (or soI thought). As we would discover,my roof was anything butstraightforward.Expect the unexpectedRight on schedule (Friday April
12), the Roofmart crane truckdelivered the materials, includingIKO’s Cambridge AR (AlgaeResistant) asphalt tiles, GAF Deck-Armor underlayment, Firestone 45mil EPDM and Duraflo vents.On Monday morning the Totem
crew arrived shortly before 8:00 tobegin the tear-off. After that, verylittle went according to plan.The first glitch came mid-
morning, when a BC Hydro teamshowed up unexpectedly to workon some nearby power lines. Theytold us that the electricity would beshut off shortly, and would stay offfor about three hours. Les and myhusband scrambled to get ourgenerator out of the shed. Totem’screw was without electricity formost of an hour by the time theygot it running.
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The chimney before re-roofing: flashings deteriorated and rusty After re-roofing: new exhaust vents, stem vent for duct work and custom-made chimney skirt
...in with the new... attic chutes......out with the old... ...and properly installed ducts
The next hiccup was thediscovery that the original ship-laproof deck had been covered withOSB. That meant the plywood thathad been shipped for this purposewould not be needed after all, sowould have to be returned toRoofmart. The presence of thisunexpected layer of deck alsoprecluded the option of accessingthe attic through the roof. Theinterior attic opening was in anawkward location, so we had beenrelieved when Les had first said hecould check the attic vents by goingthrough a roof opening. Cuttingthrough two layers of deck wouldhave been impractical, so accessfrom the inside was the only viablealternative.Les then decided to install
Menzies fully soldered metal goose-neck vents instead of the plasticones noted in the estimate. Whilethe crew continued the process ofremoving old asphalt tiles, he madea run to Roofmart for the higher-quality replacement vents.The tear-off of old tiles went at
an impressive rate – in very shortorder they were removed, and theunderlayment was being applied.But mid-afternoon, shortly after theelectricity was restored, the rainscame, putting an end to work forthe day.On Tuesday the crew was back
early, in hopes of finishing the jobunder sunny skies and with nointerruption to the power. The newtiles went on quickly but as itturned out, the men used morethree-tab shingles than anticipatedon the low slope areas, whichmeant Les had to make another runto Roofmart.The first anomaly was discovered
when Les investigated the smallsloped roof over the front porch. Itsdrainage system had been hiddenby debris, disguising the home-made set-up that had been riggedby the previous owners. Now that it
was exposed, he found that theopening to the drain didn’t matchany standard fittings. The EPDMspecified for the area would have tobe applied down into the drainopening to act as a funnel.He couldn’t replace the drain
assembly without taking apart thepillar through which the drain piperan, so opted for a stripping ply ofEPDM folded into the drainopening, and then applied a fullyadhered EPDM gutter systemcompleted with custom-made capflashing.Later, after filling me in on the
importance of good ventilation, Lesventured into the attic to check thatthe venting ducts were correctlyinstalled – a requirement of the IKOwarranty.What he discovered was as much
dismaying as it was puzzling. Thedryer duct was completely rustedout and not even connected to theroof vent opening. The stove fanhad never been installed properly –for years it had apparently beenventing into the attic instead of outthrough the roof.He also found that the insulation
was packed in to capacity, with noallowance for ventilation, and therewere no soffit vents – only lath andplaster where the vents should havebeen. The vinyl soffit covers musthave been installed only to give theoutward appearance of correctventing.These venting issues would
normally have resulted in a myriadof moisture problems. Instead, theattic was inexplicably dry with nosigns of mould. Les said it was amystery – he had never seen thelikes of it, and “couldn’t figure outwhy the attic looked so good.” I wasjust grateful for one less challenge,until I realized it meant moreunexpected work for Les.Dry or not, the attic needed to be
ventilated properly. While theroofing crew completed theapplication of the asphalt tiles, Lesheaded off once again for supplies.The next day he installed attic
ventilation chutes and formed metalducts to connect the dryer hose andstove fan exhaust to the appropriateroof vents.By that time he had dedicated
several hours of unplanned work tothe attic and roof vents, not tomention the extra supplies that hadnot been built into the estimate. Tohis credit, he maintained goodhumour throughout it all, andpatiently answered all myquestions.Other customers were waiting for
him, so he took care of the mostpressing matters and left theremaining details to the followingweek.Les and a colleague spent the
next Monday installing the finalcomponents: air intake vents,custom-made chimney flashings andthe cap flashings on the front porchroof.In all, the Totem crews installed
five intake vents, five exhaust vents,two gooseneck vents, and 62bundles (20.3 squares) of shingles.Jeff also recommended new guttersreferred me to an installer.The completed roof provides
much-needed peace of mind as wellas a new-found pride in my home.From my perspective, the wholeexperience has been positive,educational and enlightening. Weare grateful to Les and Jeff for theirexpertise and attention to customerservice – both ensuring oursatisfaction with a job well done. ■
18 SPRING 2013 ROOFING BC
Abbotsford#104 663 Sumas Way
Chilliwack8430 Aitken Road8430 Aitken Road
ofo
#104 663 Sumas WayAbbotsford, BC V2S 7P4Tel: (604) 850-5050
yBurnaby2375 Alpha AvenueBurnaby, BC V5C 5L2Tel: (604) 299-7468
Nanaimo2549 Kenworth RoadNanaimo, BC V9T 3M4Tel: (250) 758-7606
ySurrey8321 - 132 StreetSurrey, BC V3W 4N6Tel: (604) 591-5171
8430 Aitken RoadChilliwack, BC V2R 3W8Tel: (604) 795-2777
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8321 - 132 StreetSurrey, BC V3W 4N6Tel: (604) 591-5171
8430 Aitken RoadChilliwack, BC V2R 3W8Tel: (604) 795-2777
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ADVERTISE INROOFING BC!
It’s always good practice to leavecustomers happy and ready torefer friends and neighbours toyou – word of mouth can be yourmost powerful sales tool.There are a few basics that
every customer should expect froman RCABC contractor member:1. A clear, understandable quotewith any variables itemized,followed by an equally clearcontract and subsequentinvoice;
2. Respect the customer’s propertyand security as you would yourown – close gates behind you;refrain from smoking; clean upas you go along and whenyou’re done.
3. Safety is paramount foreveryone on the property.– Estimators, workers, roofersand suppliers must be incompliance with WorkSafeBCregulations – including PPE
and fall protection systems –no exceptions;
– Ensure that ladders arecorrectly anchored, set up onstable flat surfaces, and thatall ladder safety rules arefollowed;
– Advise the customers thatdebris will be falling orthrown off the roof, and totake precautions whenoutside the building.
4. Everyone’s time is valuable. Ifyou can’t make it, or are goingto be late, phone.
5. Keep the customers informed atall times. Never assume that thehomeowners know what toexpect.– What should they do beforework begins – create accessspace for delivery vehicles orwaste removal bins? removeobstacles from the buildingperimeter? have an arborist
cut back tree branches?;– Tell them in advance aboutany changes to the originalplan, and explain why theseare necessary – this isespecially important whenunforeseen factors will affectthe project completion dateor the amount of theestimate.
6. Be willing to educate. Peopleappreciate having anunderstanding of what’shappening and why.– The extra few minutesrequired to explainunfamiliar principles is aninvestment in good customerrelations. It acknowledgestheir innate intelligence andshows that you care aboutyour work.
– Ensure they are wellequipped to make informeddecisions when necessary. ■
6 things customers should expect from a professional roofing contractor
Front porch roof; above, drainage obscured; below, clean and functionalNew inside and out: intake vents, plumbing stack flashings and exhaust vents
