We are a nation of do it yourself people, particularly when it comes to working on homes. This has never been truer than now as we face a financial crunch not seen for a very long time.
As a weekend home repair warrior, you already know a few things. There are certain parts of a home that lend themselves to repairs and other areas that can tax even old pros. With DIY projects, it is vital to know which is which.
Doing roofing work is one area that is typically shied away from when it comes to DIY work. If your roof is less than thirty years old, doing a DIY project can be a huge mistake. Why? You could be breaking the warranty on the roof.
A second reason is simply safety. Roofing repairs require you to be up in the air. You are usually going to be standing on a slope. Need I say more? The potential for falls and serious injuries are definite.
For those that decide to pursue the project, the important thing to understand is roofing is not nearly as simple as it looks. An area you absolutely must understand is the slope of the roof and what it means in relation to your project.
To understand slope, think of a ski resort. It is the vertical angle which brings gravity into effect when moving something. On a roof, it is figured by measuring out 12 horizontal inches and then figuring out how many inches the roof drops in that distance.
When it comes to roofing, understanding slope is everything. Water is a destroyer. If you get your slope wrong, particularly where two sections of roof come together, you can get water in the wrong place and incur very expensive repairs.
The second reason slope is important has to do with the roofing materials. Certain types of roofing do not work on certain slopes. This can mean the difference between a roof lasting a long time or failing in a few years. Consider the following example.
Say we have a roof with a lot of verticality. Maybe a roof that drops 9 inches for every 12 horizontal inches. This is a perfect roof for a shingle system. The water will naturally run off it and there is no real threat of it backing up under the shingles.
A quick note about the terminology used in roofing. The slope of a roof is also often called the pitch of the roof. The terms can be used interchangeably, so do not get confused.
If you insist on working on a roof yourself, do not wing it. This is not a place you want to be doing things on the cheap. If they go wrong, you could have big and expensive problems. Get the concept of slope down and you are half way there.