DIY Network

Weather Management: The Roof Over Your Head From "Blueprint for Home Building" episode DBHB-212

In this first segment of "Weather Management," host Jeff Wilson takes a look at your home's roofing system, with an examination of fire protection, metal roofing and prevention if ice-damming. It's all about keeping a lid on your home with solutions for wind, water and fire damage protection.

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No matter where you live in the United States, there will be times when you are going to endure harsh natural conditions, which is why waterproofing your home is important. This process begins with the roofing system.

There's probably nothing more important about a home's construction than the roof. When you get into the Midwest and the Northeast, where there's lots of snow (figure A) and severe temperatures, the concern for the roof is that it will perform well under a wide range of temperatures.

If you live in the Southeast or Southwest the heat (figure B) is the largest contributor to degrading the performance of your home's roof, but no matter where you live the roofing system needs to hold up to repeated seasonal conditions.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

Climates with snow accumulation, the roof is subject to ice buildups called ice-damming. This occurs when snow is on the roof and the sun comes out and starts to melt the lowest layer of snow "against" the roof (figure C). The water runs down the shingles into the gutters, and since the gutters aren't warm the water freezes again. As the ice cubes build up in the gutters and downspouts, they actually prevent the water from running off the roof so the snow melt can work its way back up and under the shingles where it leaks into your attic and then down into ceilings and walls.

There are a couple of things you can do to prevent leaking and damage from ice dams:

1. First, insert a water repellent layer under the shingles when building your roof. Then lay de-icing cables (figure D) over the shingles and loop them through the upper gutters -- and also along the roof in a zigzag pattern to cover as much of the lower roof as possible. The cable also should run down the downspouts.

2. Lastly you'll need to insulate the attic (figure E) to keep the heat in the interior of the home and help minimize temperature fluxuations on the roof.

Note: The attic is a particularly important place in most houses because it's the barrier between the outside and the ceilings of your home. This is why it's vital that there are "no" leaks in the attic or the roof that can come into the interior of your home.

Figure D

Figure E

	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H

The roof system is also instrumental in fire protection. A significant number of homes are saved because they are made with fireproof materials. If you can, put a roof on that consist of non-flammable materials -- steel metal roof, tiles or asphalt shingles, for example.

Did You Know? -- Approximately 80 percent of homes that are roofed today in the new construction area are done with fiberglass shingles, which are made from a thin layer of fiberglass surrounded an coated in weathering grade asphalt and then specially designed granules on the surface that give fire protection and color (figure F).

Roof vents (figure G) are an integral part of the ventilation system and can contribute to the fire protection of your home. Ridge vents are recommended because they help prevent sparks from entering through these openings, though their main function is for ventilation of the roof.

A ridge vent is cut about 1" wide at the very top of the roof. They cut through the sheathing, and then put a venting or filter material to prevent moisture and rain from coming in and allow hot air to go out. Then they cap it with shingles right on the ridge of the home.

DIY Constructive Advice: If you live in a climate where strong winds, such as hurricanes are a concern, metal roofing and strapping are good ideas. Metal roofing, of course, is applied from the bottom up -- and it comes in many shapes or sizes. It can lie horizontally or vertically, which is the most common. Any time there's a potential for extreme weather conditions that cause stress on the structure of your home, you want to use metal strapping and general metal connections (figure H) at the key points connecting the roof members to wall members. This is usually code, but adding a little more metal than necessary is always a good idea.

Reinforcing Your Roof

A way to reinforce the bond between the roof and the rest of the house is to do it yourself by gluing your roof directly to the rafters:

• Cut the nozzle on the adhesive at a 45-degree angle. Make the hole big enough to get a 1/4" bead of glue out of the end (figure I).

  Note: Make sure your work area is well ventilated because this glue has a very strong odor.

• Start at the peak of the roof and work your way down the edges, applying the glue on both sides of each rafter (figure J).

Figure I

Figure J

In the next segment Jeff discusses how to strengthen the building envelop of your home as you learn about the use of insulated concrete forms (ICFs).

GUESTS :

John Holton
Senior Architect
Ibacos
Website: www.ibacos.com

Dana Bres
Research Engineer
US Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th St., SW
Washington, DC 20910
Phone: 202-708-4370
E-mail: dana_b._bres@hud.gov

Robert Osborn Jr.
2517 w 237th St., Suite D
Torrance, CA 90505
Phone: 310-326-5678
E-mail: ozzyrobert@netscape.net

Elizabeth Shanahan
President
FC Construction, Inc.
PO Box TT
Newport Beach, CA 92662
Phone: 714-412-6180
E-mail: FCConstruction@earthlink.net

Rod Hans
General Contractor
2052 Newport Blvd.
Suite 6 PMB 135
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone: 949-701-1942
E-mail: hansco@surfside.net

Skip Weahunt
Homeowner
E-mail: skip@ownerbuildercenter.com

Andy Beasly
PO Box 214
Hillside, CO 81232

Mills Pierre
Urban Planner
E-mail: mills@millspierre.com

Kenneth R. Quick
Fire Prevention Specialist
E-mail: Kenneth.quick@culvercity.org

Thomas Black
Executive Director
Metal Roofing Alliance
3309 56th St. NW
Suite 105
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
E-mail: tlblack@ix.netcom.com

Lou Volpe
Building Contractor
1735 Fisk Ct.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Phone: 805-449-1627