Ladders!  Be careful.  Many of us use a ladder.  If you look at a current ladder there are all kinds of warnings and safety information printed on the sides. READ IT! OBEY IT!

The ladder is the most dangerous tool we use as roofing contractors.  Most serious injuries of a roofing technician happens when getting on the ladder and getting off the ladder.  Here are some basic things to check when using a ladder and these are just the basics:

For extension ladders:

1. Place them on level firm solid surfaces or ground.
2. Get help placing the ladder if it is too large or heavy for you to safely set.
3. Have a helper hold the ladder while you go to the top and secure it to the building.
4. Extend the ladder three rungs above any surface that you are climbing onto.
5. Tie off the ladder to the building at the top.  You can use a rope or strap to hook the ladder frame or rung directly to an appropriate anchoring location.
6. The ladder should be set at a raise of four feet for every run or horizontal foot of slant.  The basic rule is that once the ladder is placed on the ground and against it support surface (building wall) you should be able to stand with your feet at the base and extend your arm straight and touch the ladder.  Check the slope angle on the side of the ladder for instruction.
7. Keep the ladder clean.
8. Check the ladder each time before you use it for damaged side rails, bent rails, cracked or split side rails, bent ladder rungs, sliding cleats that are bent, worn ladder feet and just plain dirt on the entire structure of the ladder and that a proper lifting rope is in place.
9. When climbing a ladder please maintain at least three points of contact with it at all times.  That is either two legs and one arm or one leg and two arms. Point here is you do not carry anything such as >>>I SAID ANYTHING…with you in your hands up the ladder. Rope it up.

For step ladders:

1. Read the instructions.
2. Use the same processes above, but do not stand on the top of the ladder.
3. Make sure you are on a solid level surface.
4. Have a helper hand supplies and tools to you to use while on the ladder.

For more information you can go to http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/osha/pdf/pubs/3083.pdf to find a good 24 page booklet of how to pick the correct ladder and how to use them.  Happy Climbing!

There are two important transition months in weather each year. One is April; it lasts from March to May. The other is October; it lasts from September to November. One starts the good care free summer fun, and the other ends the carry free summer and puts us into winter! October is just around the corner and the temperature drops, the rains come, the dark is here by 6:00 p.m. The wind comes off the ocean in those storms and the fall leaves collect on the roof. Your roof will be put to the test to see if it performs. Sorry all you summer worshipers, but summer is winding down. Is your roof winding up?

Your roof approaches 160 degrees in the summer sun and drops to whatever in the winter. In fact, a black roof in the winter time on a clear still night will be colder than the ambient temperature because of reverse radiation; it is the same as a black roof getting hotter with the sun shining on it in the day time. (University of Maryland, 1964 study). So, the question is: Do you want your roof to keep you and your stuff dry this winter without a check up and without a maintenance program?

With this said it is about roof maintenance. With a good preventive maintenance program in place the professional roofing contractor can and will get you ready for winter. Good preventative maintenance programs provide four components. First, they evaluate your roof to see if it makes financial sense to repair and preserve the roof. Second, the recommended work is completed to bring the roof to a serviceable condition. Third, the roof is put into a regular maintenance service schedule that will keep the roof functioning in a correct leak free condition for a long time. Fourth, a financial plan of roof costs, life expectancy and intermittent upgrades to keeping you dry.

Several things need to be considered in entering into these programs. Does your chosen contractor have a dedicated service department? Do they have sales technicians who are dedicated to selling service and NOT big ticket reroof projects? Do they have industry standards for making repairs in accordance with the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)? Ask them to see the published standards from the NRCA for the particular roof repair that needs to be completed. Are they keeping up with both field training of the service crews and the sales staff? Do they have the ability to bring in other specialty contractors such as HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical contractors that they trust and have a relationship with in the past? Do they understand what makes and HVAC system leak or an electrical pipe leak? Do they have their own sheet metal department so they don’t have to rely on another contractor? Can they replace roofing drains and coordinate the work with a plumbing contractor? Do they have enough insurance and do they secure building permits when necessary? Finally ask about their O.S.H.A. violation record. Do you want a careless contractor on your building? Do they have fall protection plans and training? Does the contractor have your best interest at heart? Are they looking out for you and do you TRUST them to be a square shooter with you? Some of these questions will tell you if the contractor and their services are right for you. Listen closely and think about the responses you get.

Finally, the small service repairs such as fixing splits in the roof, cleaning the drains, filling pitch pans, caulking sheet metal and fasteners, additional coating where it has worn away, replacing wooden sleepers and adding slippage sheets will make you roof last an additional 25%. Most roofing manufactures warranties recognize this and put a maintenance requirement in writing as a condition of keeping your commercial warranties in effect. The manufactures know this and good roofing contractors know this. We all change the oil in our cars to keep them dependable; it is the same thing with maintenance on your roof.

Call us if you have any further questions as we do these things and are successful in 14 years of maintenance service to our clients.

Are you ready for Christmas?

A lot of new and old ideas seem to come around again and again.  Look at that big flat roof as I fly into any city!  Look at all of the potential for “harvesting the sun’s energy” or how about making them green?  How about putting our heating and air conditioning on the roof and so on?  These ideas have been around for years, ever since a roof was flat!

The basic rule of a good roof is that you want it to keep your stuff dry.  The more stuff you put on the roof, the harder it is to keep your stuff dry.  It is just how life is. So, we do make roof top HVAC units water tight, we make roof penetrations such as drains, electrical work, duct work and all kinds of things water tight.  When you put more stuff on the roof, it costs you more to keep the water out, again a very simple fact of life.

Solar is a popular option these days.  On flat roofs some solar collectors are in racking systems that have pipe stands that go thru the roof into the building structure. These are good systems, but, each pipe needs to be flashed in accordance with the manufacture of the roof systems approved details with an approved contractor.  The professional roofing contractor needs to be the one that does this work. Do not let the solar contractor “put a little stick’em” around the pipes, they will leak.  We recently flashed in over 1,600 pipe penetrations on an 80,000 square foot building with solar panels on the roof, with no leaks.

Other solar options include the type that adheres directly to the roof membrane.  On a sloped metal roof they seem to work in an acceptable manner. You are limited to the angle of the slope and the direction of the roof surface in relationship to the location of the sun.  The other place these types of panels are used is on single ply roof membranes. Be very careful with this application.  In many cases they are not allowed to be installed on a single ply roof membrane by the membrane manufacture.  This could void your roof warranty and destroy your roof.  The problem with these types of solar cells is that they are black and the roof is generally white.  The coefficient of expansion is much different in the two colors and the panels many loose there adhesion to the roof membrane.  Also, the high temperatures that a black solar membrane causes can ruin the roof membrane.  The roof membranes were never designed to sustain the types of temperatures that black solar adhered membranes can reach.

Green roofs have become very popular in the last ten years in the United States.  Some work, some don’t.  The things to understand are how to repair a roof leak, how much maintenance is required, is it weather and wind resistant and what kind of warranties do I need for these issues?  A green roof will require maintenance, don’t kid yourself unless you live on the coastal areas and get rain at least once a week.  Many types of plants last a long time without water, but, you will need to water all plants at some time.  Also allow for weeding and some fertilizer.  They look much better if you take care of the green part of the roof.  When the roof is designed make sure the roof membrane and assembly is specifically designed for a green roof with all the warranties that normally come on a conventional roof. Ask about over burden warranty.  Who pays to remove the green roof if a leak occurs; the answer can surprise you and cost you some money.

Just remember the basic fact that your roof is there to keep you dry.  The more stuff you put up on it the more cost you will incur to maintain the basic job of the roof…..keep your stuff dry.  Thanks all, give us a call or another professional roofing contractor before you add something to your roof.  You can add stuff, it can be done correctly and a little planning and information will go a long way to keep your stuff dry.

This is another great question. Here are more questions that if you can answer will help your sales person propose the right material for your home:

1. What are your plans for the home? Are you planning to sell soon? If not, how long are you planning on living in this home?

2. Do have Home Owner Association’s CC&R’s (Codes, Covenants and Restrictions) that call for a certain type or quality of shingle or shake?

3. Do you want to go from a shake roof to a shingle roof?

If you can answer these questions you will get a better more precise answer to your questions and your desires.
Most CC&R’s will spell out the type of roof you can have. A number of them have limits to either roofing tiles or shake roofs. These limitations were placed on homes built in the 1970’s 1980’s and 1990’s when asphalt shingles were three tab style and not very appealing. Today, this has changed.

One reason for this change is the quality of the raw cedar has changed a good deal. The high quality shakes that were generally available 30 years ago are still on the market, but they are much more expensive and much harder to find. The current general quality shake is of a much lower standard. Shakes also require more maintenance. Additionally, most real estate inspectors do not understand what makes a good shake roof. So when a sale inspection is necessary they will error on the conservative side and tell you it is time to replace the shakes.

So, what to do? The shakes are almost always on skip sheathing. It is 1” x 6” lumber spaced to accommodate the shake spacing. So, if you remove the shakes you can either replace them with more shakes or you can solid plywood on over the skip sheathing and install an asphalt shingle.
The asphalt shingles today come in many shapes, thickness, colors and warranty options. Many HOA’s now allow a 40 year architectural laminate shingle, such as CertainTeed Presidential in place of the shakes. These are great products. They have been in the marketplace a long time with great results. Several other manufactures such as GAF, Malarkey, Owens Corning and others make similar products.

If you are in the market for a new roof on your home I would recommend calling us first, OF COURSE, but in reality many roofing contractors install these products and they are good quality installers.

These are always tried and true products. Use a trusted contractor who has been in the business for 10 years or more. Most roofing contractors who have been in the industry this long know which products work and which ones don’t! Asking the right questions will guarantee quality results. Good luck.

We have a very good Human Recourses team. We do a pretty good job of hiring the right people. Many of you have read the book Good to Great, about getting the right people on the bus and into the right seat. To help aid in the process the people we hire have had to complete a background check, a drug test, plus we collect and review DMV reports and we check references. This delays us many times in hiring the right people. But, done right, we end up with good long term employees. We generally end up with the right people on the bus.

Once a person is here we train them. We train safety, customer contact skills, communication, respect for others and our customers. The roofing industry does not have the highest level of expectations. The culture training is making sure that all employees understand who we are and why we act the way we do.
Every day we must produce our best game. Whether it is the first day employee with a broom in their hand or a project manager who is making financial recommendations to a long term property owner, we must do each step correctly.
So, our next step is entering into a scientific study of our company culture. We are surveying about 50% of our staff to see what they believe via a confidential survey. This survey will tell us where we are doing well and where we are not in terms of company culture. It will compare us to over 8,000 companies worldwide in all kinds of industries to see if we are truly getting our message out to our employees, to our customers and most important are we “walking the walk”?

Keep your comments coming back, both good and constructive and we will keep you posted on the survey, both good and constructive.

Thanks all.
Mark Carpenter, President

~Technical Supervisor for Comcast

Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal has added Jim Davis, Washington Manager and Jim Ash, Service Sales.

Davis rejoins the company as its Washington Area Project Manager.  He is working out of an office located in Maple Valley, WA, where he is primarily responsible for expanding Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal’s business presence throughout Washington State.

Previously, Davis served as Western Regional General Contractor and Sales Manager for Design-Build Solutions/The Garland Co., also located in Maple Valley.  He brings 25 years of experience in the roofing industry.  The Washington resident earned an Associates Degree in Business Administration from Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD.

Ash joins Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal as a Project Manager.  In this position, he will be responsible for securing service-oriented roof projects.  Ash most recently served as NW Division Manager for about four years at AW Farrell/Roof USA.  He earned an Associates Degree from Merced College in California.

Mark Carpenter, President of Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal, said the recent additions show the company’s commitment to expanding the business in 2010.

“People trust us with their properties,” Carpenter said.  “Davis and Ash are industry leaders who bring about 40 years of combined industry experience.  They will help us continue to expand into new areas as well as build upon opportunities in growing industry sectors such as sustainable roofing.”

Since 1996, Construction Services, Inc., d.b.a. Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal, has operated as a specialty contractor with 40 full-time employees.  Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal focuses its services on commercial roofing, roof maintenance (Columbia Roof Advantage), residential roofing, parking deck restoration as well as most roofing materials.  The company follows strict safety policies in accordance with OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Division). Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal operates in the states of Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho.  Please visit www.reroofnow.com or call (503) 684-9123 for more information.

Washington Contact Jim Davis

425-584-7808 (office)

206-979-7600 (cell)

jdavis [at] reroofnow [dot] com

Let us know if you would like a list of additional questions to ask when you have a service need for the exterior of your building.

Dry leak on ceiling tiles

Wet leak on Ceiling tiles