To clip or not to clip
Hurricane clips are not just an add-on sales item when it comes to a new roof.
Recently a customer was researching new homeowner insurance carriers and was surprised how many of the carriers asked roof-specific questions. The customer thought that insurance salespeople only cared about the contents, age of the home, whether the home had a security system and how far the home was located from a fire hydrant. However, that was not the case.
Instead, the agents asked when was the roof last replaced? Does the roof have hurricane safety elements such as clips, ties or straps? How old are the rain gutters?
Annual physical for your roof
For most homes, depending on weather conditions particular to its location, homeowners should proactively replace the roof every 20 years or so. Yet, most homeowners probably don’t think about their roofs until after heavy winds or a storm when a few shingles may blow off. There really isn’t a set time to inspect your roof like changing the fridge’s water filter or cutting the grass.
Think about it, you replace your car’s oil every 5,000 miles, tires are changed every 25,000-40,000 miles and you go in for an annual physical exam too. Why not take a look at your roof?
Insuring your roof
After all of the hurricane damage claims on the mainland, insurance carriers are looking very closely at each line of a homeowner’s insurance policy. Some homeowners whose policies are up for renewal are being asked to submit a roof inspection to be renewed.
How can you present your roof as being “hurricane and insurance” ready? The first step is to make sure the roofing contractor is using the right products that also have manufacturer’s warranties. For example, Malarky, a leader in asphalt shingles, requires 6-inch stainless steel nails to activate its lifetime warranty.
Your hurricane roof plan starts with extra strong nails, but when you add clips, ties and straps, these additional steps literally hold your roof down and keep it attached to the walls of the house. They come in many variations, shapes and sizes, and serve to reinforce and strengthen the attachment of the roof to the walls. All three terms (and more) are used interchangeably and have a variety of configurations that range from using a steel strap that holds the roof down vertically or vertical straps that wrap around beams.
How about rain gutters
Murakami Roofing helped a neighbor out a few weeks ago and while they were up on the roof, they noticed that the rain gutters were pretty clogged. Once the clog was cleared, all of the debris and a ton of water came gushing out. There are situations when the water is very powerful, so you may consider calling a professional to take care of clogged gutters.
How are rain gutters involved in the health of your roof? If the gutters are clogged, water can pool on top of the roof, which is not a good situation. If the rain gutters dump out water onto another part of your roof, this can potentially cause damage over time.
The nice thing to know is the good folks at Murakami Roofing are focused on helping homeowners by building confidence into their roofs. Murakami Roofing offers a free roof inspection and has been in the business for three generations — its experience is gold. Professional roof estimators have infinite patience with every customer and will go through the estimate line by line until every question is answered. Experience, trust and reliability is the Murakami Roofing standard and practice.
MURAKAMI ROOFING LLC
Contact
808-348-8270
Address
45-558 Kamehameha Hwy. Ste. C-18, Kaneohe
Email
info@murakamiroofing.com
Web
murakamiroofing.com