Preparing Your Home for a Roof Replacement Project

But apart from these preparations, there are also certain kinds of prep work that homeowners like you can tackle. Typically, the aim of these preparations is to ensure your home and personal belongings are protected while roof work is being done. 

Make Sure Your Home Can Be Easily Accessed

Your roofing crew should be able to access your home easily to avoid holdups and delays. For instance, you should keep at least one side of your driveway clear to give way to the truck that will collect your old roofing materials. All areas of your yard should also be accessible to the workers as this will enable them to clean up after completing their work for the day.

Cover Important Items in Your Attic

Shingles, nails and other roof debris can fall into your attic during the roof removal process. They can also get into your insulation or in any items stored in your attic. To keep them clean and to protect them from damage, make sure to cover these things before the roofers arrive.

Protect Your Home Interior

Vibrations may occur inside your home, particularly on your interior walls, when workers start removing the old roofing materials or perform any work on your roof. That said, you should remove any loose or fragile items on your walls or shelves to prevent these things from getting damaged. If you have ceiling fans, chandeliers or other objects mounted to your ceiling, take them down for the meantime since these things could possibly break or crack when the roofing work begins.

Protect Your Home Exterior

The external parts of your home should be covered as well since these have a greater risk of being damaged during roof replacement. Ensure that your windows, sliding doors and other outdoor equipment, such as heating and cooling units, are adequately protected. Ask your contractor if the workers will be using attachments that would keep their ladders from resting directly on your gutters. Without these attachments, your gutters might suffer from dents and scratches.

Make Sure You’re Ready for Noise, Dust and Debris

Noise, dust and debris are common during any roofing job. But while you cannot completely avoid them, there are ways to minimize their impact on your household. For instance, if you’re working from home, you might want to stay somewhere else during your contractor’s work hours. This way, you won’t have to be bothered by the construction noise, and you can focus on your tasks. You can also opt to stay out of your home during the entire project. Your contractor would surely be happy to work out a convenient way to update you on the progress of their work. If someone in your family has allergies or asthma, make sure to plan where they can stay while work is being done on your residential roofing so that they won’t have to be exposed to dust and debris.

Check Electrical Wiring

Electrical wires may be concealed in your attic or living spaces, and these may create safety hazards during your roof replacement project. For example, workers may unknowingly penetrate a wire’s insulation and trigger a short in the circuit. To avoid such accidents, hire a professional to inspect your home before any work is done on your roof. The person should be able to tell you if there are existing wires that you don’t know about or wiring issues that could cause potential risks.

Prep Your Lawn

While roofers will normally take every precaution to avoid damaging your lawn, it would be best to do some prep work on your landscaping to ensure that trees and grass won’t disrupt or cause inconvenience to the workers. For instance, you should turn off your sprinklers and avoid watering your lawn at least one day before the roofing project starts. It’s also advisable to mow your lawn before roof replacement to make it easier to clean up any debris that could fall on the grass. Prune the surrounding trees as well since overgrown trees can make roof installations more complicated.

Take Note of Rooftop Equipment

If a satellite dish is located on your roof, you should contact your satellite provider and have the company move the satellite dish to the siding of your home. This is to prevent any damage to the device as well as to avoid any obstructions during roof replacement.

Get Quality Underlayment

Roofing underlayment is a crucial part of your roof system. It basically protects your roof and your home from water damage, so it has to be made from quality materials. Consult your contractor regarding the best options for your home.

Notify Your Neighbors

Inform your neighbors about your roofing project a few days or weeks before the job starts. This way, they can do some of their own preparations and ensure their property will be protected against debris or possible damage.

Get a Free Quote Today!

Whether you need a roofer to handle your roof replacement project or an emergency roof repair, Total Roof Services Corp. can help you. We have many years of experience doing many types of roofing jobs, and our team works with efficiency in mind and a keen attention to detail. Rest assured that your project will be completed satisfactorily, and you’ll get value for your money.

Our expertise includes asphalt shingle, tile, metal, modified bitumen and single-ply roofing. We also provide and install roof coatings.