Most homeowners do not start thinking about their roof until it starts leaking. It’s understandable, but if your roof is already leaking, and you can see it inside your house – it means that the roof has been slowly leaking for a while, and the damage is probably more extensive than what you see.

We understand that roofing is not the most exciting topic, and unless you are faced with certain roofing issues, you will not be much interested in roofing. However, once those roof issues arise, you will want to know as much about your roof issues as possible.

This is just the place for homeowners to learn about roofing!

In this Roofing Guide for Homeowners you will find information on how to prevent roof leaks if possible, how to deal with roof leaks, how to repair simple roof leaks, how to choose the longest lasting roofing materials for your home, how much a new roof should cost, how to choose a roofing contractor, and many other roof related topics. We separated this guide into three separate sections:

• Roof Leaks Prevention and Roof Repair
• Choosing Roofing Materials and a Roofing Contractor
• Roofing Prices Guide
• Miscellaneous Roofing Articles for homeowners

Roof Leaks Prevention and Roof Repair

Roof repair – Timely roof inspection can help you prevent many roof leaks, when potential leaks are found and fixed in time. Most leaks happen around some type of roof flashing (such as chimney / skylight flashing, roof to wall flashing, etc.) and where roof changes pitch – e.g. in valleys. If your roof is leaking, most roof leak problems can be solved very inexpensively.

Learn how to repair most common roof leaks yourself. In case you prefer to hire a roofer to fix these leaks, learn exactly what that contractor needs to do so he does not overcharge you for things you do not need.

Ice Dam Prevention – ice dams can make almost any roof leak, and can cause many more hidden problems. Even if your roof has Ice & Water Shield (which often fails), as well as proper ventilation and adequate attic insulation, your roof is still not immune to ice dams, as we’ve seen this past winter, all across northern US and Canada. Learn how you can effectively prevent or stop ice dams from damaging your roof, the interior of your house, wall insulation and rotting wood in your roof and walls. Effective solutions include: adding / improving insulation, installing efficient roof ventilation, adding ice belts along roof eaves, or installing a permanent metal roof.

Hiring a roofing contractor to remove Ice Dams – when everyone in your neighborhood / town / state gets ice dams on their roofs, homeowners start sporadically calling every roofing contractor in the yellow pages, and most are just too busy to get to you fast, while others do not do this type of work at all. Many contractors actually have no idea how to handle ice dams and will just hammer the hell out of ice dams to break the ice, while damaging your roof – they may do this by mistake or willingly (to get you to replace your roof sooner). This guide will walk you through the most efficient ways to remove ice dams, and explain how to hire the right roofing contractor for the job.

Low-slope roof leaks – so many roofs or roof sections have low slope, and incorrect roofing materials installed that roof leaks are just a matter of time. Most common example of a low slope residential roof is a shed dormer, on which you will often find asphalt roofing shingles installed. While ALL asphalt shingles require a minimum roof pitch of 3 in 12″, most shed dormer roofs have a roof slope between 2 and 3 in 12″ roof slope, which make using asphalt shingles the wrong choice of roofing materials. Low slope roofs are also most prone to ice dam leaks, so you want to have the correct roofing system installed on these roofs, to prevent any future and very likely roof leaks. Learn to choose the right roofing materials for your low slope roof, and how to deal with roof leaks and ventilation issues.

Roofing Materials Guide for homeowners and commercial building owners / property managers

Roofing Materials – one of our original articles that covers most common roof types, and roofing materials used on residential and commercial roofs. Learn about Asphalt Roofing Shingles – 3-tab and Architectural / Laminated shingles, Metal Roofing – standing seam metal roofing, corrugated steel roof, and architectural metal shingle, and Flat Roofing Materials – tar & gravel / built-up roofing, and single ply roofing systems such as EPDM rubber, TPO and PVC roofs.

Metal Roofing Materials – in-depth overview of all types of metal roofing systems such as standing seam metal roofing, corrugated steel roof, and architectural metal shingle, stone-coated steel tiles and shingles, and specialty metal roofs such as copper, zinc and stainless steel. Learn which type of metal roof will work best for you, pros and cons of each type of metal roofing and approximate roof installation costs.

Flat Roofing – discover which flat roofing materials will work best for you, and if you should invest your money in older tar and gravel / built-up flat roofing system or a modern light weight and often energy efficient single ply roofing membranes such as PVC or TPO roof or EPDM black rubber (not a cool roof).

Specialty roofing materials – learn the ins and outs of rare and expensive roof types such as Slate Roofing / Clay and Concrete tiles and Cedar Shingles Roofs. Discover the installation specifics, adequate minimum roof pitch for each roof type and how to find / choose a roofing contractor (so called old timers) who specializes in the installation of these roofing materials.

Roofing Prices Guide:

Roofing Calculator – a free tool that will help you get an instant roofing price quote based on your roof dimensions and specifics. You can use this tool to compare roofing quotes from different roofing contractors, or to just to get an idea of how much a roof will cost you when it comes time to replace it.

Roofing Prices – learn how roofing contractors price their roof work, what goes into the roof quote that you get from a contractor or a salesman, and why you always get different roof quotes. Roofing contractors use different pricing methods of pricing a roof – a per square (100 sq. ft.) pricing method where the contractor measures your roof and uses pre-set roofing square price and adds a certain amount for additional work such as tear-off / plywood replacement, etc., or a Materials, Labor, Overhead and Profit (MLOP) which is often a more accurate method, but is rarely used. Also you should keep in mind that roofing contractors have different overhead and expenses, which are built into your prices. This guide will help you understand what you are paying for when buying a roof, and you will be able to identify roofing contractors who might be scammers / unlicensed or uninsured, and make your decision accordingly.

Metal Roofing Prices – learn why a metal roof costs more than a typical asphalt shingles roof, how much each type of metal roofing systems costs and why. Discover the price difference between standing seam metal roofs, metal shingles, and corrugated metal roofing.

Why are metal roofs so “expensive”? – an in-depth look at the difference in roofing costs between asphalt shingles and metal roofs, and why metal roofs cost so much more.

Flat Roofing Prices – discover the cost of installing different types of commercial and residential flat roofing systems, and price differences between rubber roofing, PVC roofs, tar & gravel roofing, modified bitumen and other types of built-up flat roofs.

Miscellaneous Roofing Articles for homeowners

How to measure a roof – follow this simple roof measuring guide to know how big your roof is, and you will be able to understand how much your roofing contractor is charging you per square, as well as learn what they will do for that money.

Roof Types – understand the difference between most common types of roofs such as Gable roof, Hip Roof, Shed Roof and Mansard. This guide will also explain additional roof installation specifics / difficulties associated with each type of roof.

Roof Pitch – learn how to measure, calculate and use roof pitch when measuring a roof, and how roofing contractors use roof pitch when pricing your roof.

Using Roof Pitch to select proper Roofing Materials – many roofing materials require a minimum roof pitch, and when you or your roofing contractor uses incorrect materials for your roof (which happens very often), your roof begins to leak, and you may end up replacing your otherwise perfectly good and NEW roof, just because roof pitch was not considered in the beginning. Don’t make this expensive mistake and choose the correct materials for your roof.

Roofing Square – in few words it’s a 10×10′ roof area or 100 sq. ft., but there is much more to a roofing square that just that. Learn how roofers, architects and suppliers use a roofing square in measuring roof area and pricing roofing materials, building costs and roof installation.


These are just some of our roofing articles for home and building owners, and there will be more to come very soon. Follow our roofing blog to stay up-to date with new developments in the roofing industry, new roofing materials, roof installation prices, etc.

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