Ground Snow Load in Macomb and Oakland: What 25 PSF Means
Michigan rules set ground snow load at 25 pounds per square foot across Macomb and Oakland counties. What that number actually is, why it is not the load on your roof, and when accumulated snow is worth worrying about.
Ice Dam Removal: What Works and What Damages the Roof
Half the damage we repair from ice dams was caused by the removal rather than the ice. What works, what to never let anyone do to your roof, and what to sort out before the snow arrives.
Two Layers of Shingles: Why Michigan Caps It and What It Costs You Later
A second layer of shingles is cheaper today, and it decides your next roof for you. What Michigan municipalities cap, what an overlay hides, and how to find out how many layers are already up there.
Attic Ventilation Math: The 1/150 and 1/300 Rule Done Properly
Attic ventilation is the cause behind ice dams, winter condensation and roofs that age early. The calculation is simple arithmetic, and the part almost everyone gets wrong is intake.
Buying a House in Michigan: What a Roof Inspection Actually Finds
A general home inspection usually looks at the roof from the ground or from a ladder at the edge. What a dedicated roofing inspection finds is different, and most of it is negotiable.
Buckling, Cupping, Curling: What Each Shingle Shape Tells You
Colour change on a roof is cosmetic. Shape change is not. Cupping, clawing and buckling each point at a different cause, and one of them can appear on a roof that is only a few years old.
The 24-Inch Ice Barrier Rule, and Why One Course Is Often Not Enough
Metro Detroit building departments publish the same requirement: ice barrier from the roof edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line. On a house with an overhang and a shallow pitch, one course of membrane frequently does not get there.
Black Streaks on the North Side of Your Roof
Those dark streaks running down one slope are airborne algae, not dirt and not a sign the roof is failing. Why they favour the north side, why pressure washing makes it worse, and what actually stops them coming back.
Gutter Apron vs Drip Edge: The Detail Most Installs Skip
Water that runs behind the gutter instead of into it rots fascia from the top down, invisibly, for years. The difference between drip edge and gutter apron, and why the second one gets left off so often.
Granules in the Gutter: When It Matters and When It Does Not
Grit in the gutter is sometimes nothing at all and sometimes a countdown. The difference depends entirely on how old the roof is and what the slope looks like, not on how much grit there is.