Understand Your Roofing System — Simple, Clear, Essential

How Your Roof System Protects Your Home in Chattanooga, TN

Roof Components Explained: From Decking to Gutters

When most folks go to their healthcare professional they want to say “Dumb it down for me so I can understand what you’re telling me”. They don’t want abbreviations or technical terms they do not understand. At Roof Nurse we want folks to understand the how’s and why’s of their roofing system. 

A roofing system is made up of many components. Let’s start from the base and build upward:

• Wood decking is the foundation that your roof is built on. Any wood decking that becomes damaged by moisture should be replaced to maintain the integrity of your roofing system.
• Drip Edge is applied over the edge of the roof & goes down the fascia into the gutter. This keeps water from penetrating behind your gutter system and damaging the fascia and the edge of your wood decking.
• Synthetic Roofing Underlayment (also known as Felt) enhances with moisture protection and provides added strength and longevity to your roofing system.
• Ice and Water Shield Membrane is a leak barrier that helps protect your roof deck from moisture infiltration and damage. 
• Starter Strip Shingles are applied at the edge of the roof and help guard against shingles blowing off with wind gusts.
• Lifetime Shingles provide color, texture and beauty while providing many years of protection for your home.
• Ridge Vent for attic ventilation goes directly under the Ridge Cap Shingles and helps reduce attic moisture and heat.
• Ridge Cap Shingles provide protection against leaks at the hips and ridges of your roof.

Skylights, Flashing, & Crickets for Residential Roofing in Chattanooga, TN

Specialty roofing items:

• Skylights bring sunshine into your home but require special installation to maintain the integrity of your roofing system.
• Crickets are used to divert water around the base edges of chimneys that are greater than 24” wide. These are framed, covered in decking and then Ice and Water Shield Membrane is applied to the area. After this shingles are applied.
• Flashing is used around dormers, existing skylights and dead walls to prevent water from penetrating the roofing system.
• Pipe boots are used as flashing around plumbing exhaust pipes that penetrate your roof. Their job is to seal around the plumbing exhaust pipes where they exit through your roof, thereby, preventing moisture leaks through your roof system into your house.
• Zipper boots are used to seal around the electrical conduit mast where your power comes through the roof.

Exposed metal in the valleys:

Steel exposed metal valleys on your roof can serve 2 purposes.

• Durability: They help provide a greater amount of protection in the valley itself from water penetration because metal is stronger than shingles. This shield of protection in the valleys can make debris removal easier and is an effective barrier of protection against harsh weather conditions.
• Aesthetics: They come in a variety of colors which allows the homeowner to choose a metal color that is either similar to their roof color or a contrasting accent color to enhance the beauty of their home’s exterior.

How to Choose the Right Roofing System for Your Home

While soffit, fascia, gutters and gutter guards are not parts of a roofing system as listed above, however, they do interface with your roofing system to perform important jobs.

• Soffit is the area under the eaves of your roof. It protects your attic from moisture entering at the area of the roof that overhangs at the edge of your house. Some houses use the soffit area to add venting known as soffit vents. This is one area of your roof that can help with needed ventilation. If you do not have soffit ventilation it will most likely be necessary to install intake vents at the bottom of the roof through the shingles to provide needed air flow for the health of your roof.
• Fascia is the edge of your roof and connects your roof to its soffit. It is attached generally with 2x material (usually a 2×4 or 2×6 piece of wood) to the rafters and trusses of your roof. Soffit material is usually 2 inches wider than the base 2x material that is attached to the rafters. Gutter systems are attached through the fascia to the rafters of your roof. Attaching through the fascia to the 2x material which is attached to the rafters provides adequate support for the weight of your gutters when they are hard at work draining rain water from your roofing system. 
• Gutters collect rainwater and drain it off your roof to a designated location thus helping to prevent pooling water around the foundation of your house. Over time this pooling of water can cause damage to the foundation of your house. You might wander whether the size of gutter matters or not. The smaller the size of gutter the less water it can divert during a storm to protect your foundation. Roof Nurse recommends installing 6” gutters on most residential properties as it will divert more water at a time than a smaller size gutter. If you have any trees nearby you might want to consider gutter guards to prevent leaves and other tree debris from clogging your gutter system. Roof Nurse recommends Inspecting and cleaning gutters every 6 months to maintain the health of your gutter system.