Questions on file
Roofing questions, answered straight
Straight answers from the crew that writes the Learning Center.
These are the questions Yakima and Naches owners ask before they sign, taken from our own service pages and the articles in the Learning Center. If yours is not here, call 509-907-7206 or ask for a free estimate and we will answer it on site.
Section 01
Before you hire
Licence, bond, permits, bids, insurance and money. The things worth settling before anyone climbs a ladder.
A licensed contractor can pull permits and carries workers' compensation. If you hire unlicensed workers you become the sole contractor and are responsible for their injuries. A surety bond guarantees the contractor will complete the project to industry standards. Our L&I licence is YAKIMRR785KB.
A surety bond is a guarantee that the contractor will finish the project and meet industry standards. Hire someone with no bond and no licence and you carry the risk of a job that gets started and never completed. Ask any roofer for the licence number before you sign. Ours is YAKIMRR785KB.
Re-roofs inside city limits need a permit from that city. Projects in the county usually do not. When a permit is required we obtain it for you.
No. We take care of everything for you, permit included. The permit cost belongs in your proposal as a line item. If you are comparing proposals and one of them does not show it, ask why.
Often one of them leaves out sales tax or permits and adds them to the final bill. Compare proposals line by line. Permits inside city limits and sales tax must either be stated as included or shown as separate line items. A bid that leaves them out looks cheaper until the invoice arrives.
Most policies cover sudden and accidental damage: storms, hail, high winds, falling branches, fire, and leaks that come from that kind of damage. Wear and tear, neglect, lack of maintenance and improper installation are usually not covered. Policies differ, so read yours or ask your insurer. If you file, photograph everything and get an inspection report from a licensed roofing contractor, because insurers often ask for one.
Rarely, when the damage is confined to one area, one side or one roof deck. The whole roof may be redone if the roofing product that was installed is no longer available, or if the damage is widespread across all or most of the decks.
Once we complete your estimate we send you a financing link. Repairs up to $1,500 also qualify for our interest-free payment plan, for example $1,200 paid as $200 a month for six months at 0%.
Section 02
Residential roofs
Tear-off, noise, nails, pipes and materials on sloped roofs in Yakima, Naches and the valley around them.
Local building codes allow two roof layers, but we always recommend removing the existing layers, especially on sloped roofs. A tear-off lets us inspect and repair the substrate, and ice guard only works when it is adhered to the wood deck. Installed over old shingles it cannot do its job.
No. We remove only what we can cover and clean in a day, so your home is never left exposed overnight.
Yes, the re-roofing process is noisy. We will tell you the schedule up front so you can plan around it.
The longer nail travels straight down the shaft and enters the wood straight. We also pay our installers hourly, with no piece rates, because pay by the piece rewards rushing the nailing.
We go beyond the manufacturer specs and local building codes by sealing pipes to the ice guard. We also lay synthetic underlayment over new ice guard, so the next tear-off does not take the substrate with it.
Architectural shingles, metal, tile, shake and wood shingles. We also do repairs, inspections and reports, maintenance programs, cleaning and moss removal, and structural, substrate and venting repairs.
Section 03
Flat and commercial roofs
Built-up roofs, coatings, standing seam on low slope and the leaks that tend to cost building owners the most.
Yes. We use a standing seam panel with a manufactured seal that creates a watertight seam when crimped.
Coatings exist, but success depends almost entirely on the prep. In most cases they begin to peel and flake within six months to a year. Aluminum coating is different: it reflects heat and UV to add life to a built-up roof that still has life left, but it is not a sealer.
No. Aluminum coating is not a sealer. Its job is to protect the asphalt and plies from heat and UV rays. If your built-up roof still has life remaining, it can add to it.
Not always. Often the membrane is fine and the penetrations are failing. Thick mastic patches crack within a year, which is how flat roofs become money pits. A maintenance program can let you enjoy the remaining life of the roof.
On a built-up roof, years of expansion and contraction make the membrane buckle. When the system starts to buckle, it is time for a new roof. With time the buckles split into long cracks that you only find out about after a heavy storm.
Local building codes allow two roof layers, and in most cases we recommend removing all of them so we can inspect the substrate and make repairs. Sometimes a built-up base is adhered to the wood and is nearly impossible to remove. In that case we remove every layer above it and roof over the first one.
Still have one
Ask the people who will be on your roof
We would rather answer a question now than explain a surprise later. Read how a job runs from first call to final walk-through on the what to expect page, see what things cost on plans and pricing, or go through the Learning Center articles at /blog.