The roof over your home may look simple; however, if you’ve ever watched a roof company installing one, it’s easy to see there is more to the average roof construction than meets the eye.
Roofs of all kinds are actually comprised of a complex system of elements that function together to keep your home warm and dry without causing other problems within the home.
Categorized into three crucial layers, it’s easy to see why good roof maintenance is so important for keeping the entire system functioning properly.
Understand the different layers that qualified roof services install for a new roof and how they work together to protect your home.
1. The Breathing Layer
One critical quality that every correct roof installation done by a roof company must have is the ability to breathe because roofs are not made to be airtight; just to keep certain elements including water out.
Breathability prevents moisture and mold problems in the home, helps with temperature regulation, and prevents damage to the exterior layers that can result from overheating.
Since breathability must be planned into the installation before anything else, roof services achieve this by installing intake and exhaust vents in the roof structure itself.
Soffit vents and ridge vents are standard on most installations and critical for promoting breathability.
If those vents are not sufficient, your contractor may suggest adding additional vents to your roof structure to improve airflow.
2. The Sealing Layer
Once adequate breathability has been established, the roof company can then apply the multiple components that make up the sealing layer that keeps moisture out of the house.
The sealants used under most external materials include an underlayment to repel any water that might seep through the external materials and an ice barrier at key points in the installation to prevent ice damming.
Quality underlayment products come in a variety of thicknesses and waterproofing; they play a critical role in repelling moisture while remaining breathable itself.
3.The Defense Layer
The final layer of materials that roof services install to complete the roof is called the defense layer that protects everything else against the forces of Mother Nature.
The defense layer consists of the external shingles or panels, ridge caps that cover the ridge vents installed for breathability, drip edges and gutters that flow water away from the installation, flashing, chimney caps, and other top-layer components that act as a first-line barrier against moisture.
Three Critical Layers that Function Together
As you can see, there is more to the average roofing installation than just shingles nailed on top of the decking.
Roof companies use an exacting process to be certain of a high level of water-tightness and weatherproofing while still allowing the roof to breathe.
Correctly applied by a roof service, these three layers function to keep your installation in great shape for as long as possible when proper roof maintenance is provided so you get a full life from your installation!
