Home Improvement Articles

With the exception of structural integrity there is no one item of the home that is more important than the roofing system. Because a faulty roof directly impacts every other part of the home including the ability of the house to maintain its structural integrity. The big culprit is water, because it not only destroys the interior but promotes rot and insect infestation that will eventually cause the home's structure to fail.

Except for the frame, no other feature is more important to a structure than the roof. Even without windows or doors a new home construction can stand for a long time without internal damage if it has a roof in place. Traditionally, roofs were made from any material found locally which could protect the occupants from the elements and channel water away from the dwelling. In some areas of the world, broad leaves still form the shingling for a roof and do the job admirably. In the mid to late 1800's pioneers on the prairies built homes from the sod underfoot and using the grassy chunks as roofing. While in the southwestern states, the Spanish-influenced clay tile shingles formed the base of overhead protection and cedar shake shingles still abound in the northwest.

A home's roof is arguably the most important structure in any dwelling. Without a roof a home is just an open platform, capable of deflecting winds and a low-lying sun but little else. It is because of this importance that a lot of attention is paid to roofing in the design stage of almost every home.

Most homeowners don't like the thought of a leaky roof and with that in mind it's amazing the amount of homeowners that do little to maintain their roofs in order to keep them leak free. If you want to postpone hiring roofing contractors to work on your roof for as long as possible, it's essential that you implement some type of routine inspection and maintenance program for your roof. For more tips on how to do just that, check out: Roof Maintenance.

Roofs have one functional purpose: sheltering the home from weather conditions whether it is rain, snow or sun. Without a roof the water would run down into the interior of the home and destroy the contents as well as, in time, denaturing the walls whether they are wood, concrete or masonry. Almost every structure on the planet needs a roof whether it be a stadium or a bird house and finding the right roofing contractor is crucial.

Residential roofing is one part of home renovation or new home construction that has not changed much in recent years. Although roof material prices have increased, techniques and products have remained about the same over the last 20-years or so. The most common and widely used type material by roofing contractors is asphalt shingles; 3-tab or T-lock. 3-tab shingles are available in a variety of roof shingle colors and styles. Including higher-end architectural shingles which have raised texture and design.

Many owners of plumbing projects are not knowledgeable about the differences between terms like residential plumber contract agreement , plumber work orders , and plumbing industry standards . The purpose of this article is to educate and inform business and homeowners about these terms. And drive home the importance of a detailed residential plumber contract agreement.

In residential building a contractor not only has to know how to build the structure but also have a good grasp of the building codes and covenants in the area where the home will be built. Because of the specific concerns of each area of the country some methods may be allowed while others prohibited. For example, homes in hurricane-prone areas like Florida will require windows to be able to withstand a designated amount of impact resistance because they are in a wind-borne debris region. In addition there are regions where foundations have to be built stronger while in others basements are not allowed. These are all concerns of building contractors and why they have to know the codes in these places.

For those of you who have purchased an old home with the purpose of renovating it for your long-term abode the last place you probably want to touch is the basement. However, this might be a good place to start because many of the ills of any home begin in this space.

Remodeling contractors are much different than new home builders in that they are always going into a project that was first created by someone else. Weather it is a 5 year-old home that needs a bathroom remodel or a 100 year-old Victorian-era home that requires a complete refurbishing this breed of contractor has to be prepared for the challenges of fitting something new into something old.