Denver Archives

Ice Dams: How to Prevent Ice Dams & Protect Your Roof

March 20, 2024January 19, 2023 by Excel Roofing

Every year when snow begins to fall and we experience sub-freezing temps in Denver, we start to get calls from concerned customers about ice dams. It happens like clockwork, and we are there to answer the call and help.

How Ice Dams Form

Ice dams are formed by snow when the temperatures fluctuate between the days and nights during winter. The snow on the roofs will melt during the day and start to drip off the roof and into the gutters. Once the sun goes down the melted snow will freeze and turn to ice overnight creating a barrier and/or icicle on the edge of the roof. North facing parts of roofs in Colorado are more likely to have ice dams because this side of the house receives the least amount of sunlight throughout the day.

Ice dams can be dangerous and damage your roof

Poorly insulated attic space can also lead to the formation of ice dams. The lack of attic insulation will cause the snow to melt faster off the top portion of the roof where the radiant heat escaping from the home collects. The snow then melts slower once it reaches the lower edge of the roof where the radiant heat from the living space is less. Once the snow builds up enough in this areas the snow and water refreeze over and over. The water freezes under the shingles and when it starts to melt again it drips into the soffit and even directly into the home. If a home has bad ice dams, they usually also experience icicles that can cause damage to the facia, soffit, and siding.

Another example of ice dam damage to the roof

Homes with multiple levels and dimensions can be more prone to ice dams. We often find ice dams in valleys of roofs where two faces meet and water drains off. Because of this these areas can be the most problematic. The melted water moves down the roof valley to the gutters (most of the time this drainage point is an inside corner) if the drainage is not adequate large ice build ups form. In extreme cases fascia and soffit can be completely separated and must be repaired or replaced.

What not to do

Excel Roofing has seen many DIY fixes to ice dams, and they do not solve your issue. We’ve heard stories of customers using hot water, ice melt, and torches. While doing this helps speed up the melting process, it will not melt the entire ice dam and will not solve the issue going forward. Ice dams will continue to form if a permanent solution is not installed. There is no quick fix to getting rid of ice dams other than climbing on the roof and chipping the ice away. However, that is extremely dangerous. Let’s leave it to the pros: Excel Roofing.

Ways to protect your roof with ice dams

Ice and water shield is required by building codes in most cities, counties and jurisdictions in Colorado and Wyoming. With proper installation, ice and water shield can help protect your roof from leaks caused by ice dams. When installing the ice and water shield code demands that it be installed 24 inches beyond the heated wall. Ice dams can melt overtime and cause water to get underneath the shingles and into the home. This is your best line of defense from preventing damage. Excel recommends every house have Ice and Water Shield installed on the eaves even if it is not required by the code and as a rule, we do install it in every roof valley on all projects.

Excel also recommends making sure your house is properly insulated and ventilated. This adds many benefits to your home not just helping with ice dams. Proper insulation and ventilation is integral to the roof system as a whole and will help with maintaining the proper ambient temperature during all seasons. Please see our blog post here for more info: https://www.excelroofing.com/attic-ventilation/

Heat Cable

Heat cable is Excel Roofing’s best solution to ice dams. Heat cable is installed directly on the roof close to the eaves. It is installed in a zigzag pattern approximately two feet up the roof, and through the gutters and downspouts to help prevent ice from freezing there as well. If you are having ice damning issues on your home please call us. We would be more than happy to give you a free estimate to install the ice melting system that is right for your property.

YouTube Link:
Check out our YouTube channel for a video about ice dams and heat cable from the owner J Bretz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIgGxW8MMkY

Insurance Deadline Changes

February 11, 2022September 14, 2021 by Excel Roofing

Insurance Deadline Changes

by J Bretz

It seems like with every hailstorm there’s new and different twists that happen within the roofing industry. One of the recent changes we are seeing is insurance companies are being very strict with their timelines. Checks that insurance companies have previously issued had a 180-day validation period; however, now some insurance companies are only giving customers six months to repair damage. Another new trend that we are seeing is a strict one year limit on insurance claims. Any claims for damage that occurred more than 365 days ago are being denied by some companies.

The takeaway as a homeowner is to make sure you understand your insurance timelines! If your home receives hail damage, have a qualified roofer like Excel Roofing inspect the roof and help determine if you should call your insurance company and file a claim. If there is not sufficient damage the homeowner should not call the insurance company. It is very important to understand that if you call your insurance company, you may receive a claim whether you receive payment or not!

Excel Roofing is extremely familiar with the insurance claim process and can handle the claim for the homeowner from beginning to end. Excel Roofing uses the same software that insurance adjusters use to estimate the cost of the damage and can accurately estimate how much the insurance company should pay – this eliminates a lot of wasted time in getting a fair settlement. Because of this excel roofing can accurately estimate how much the insurance company should pay which can eliminate a lot of wasted time getting a fair settlement.

If you have a question about the condition of your roof, please call Excel Roofing for an honest roof inspection. Excel Roofing will help you determine whether to file a claim and help you through the process. You don’t pay a cent until you’re content!

J Bretz, Owner
Excel Roofing

It’s Summer, and It’s Hot

April 22, 2024July 29, 2021 by Excel Roofing

It's Summer, and It's Hot

What is the best way to cool your home? The 3 common answers are:

An air conditioner
An evaporative cooler
A whole house fan (a fan in the ceiling that circulates hot air away from living space and up into the attic)

The best answer is NONE of these – it’s an attic fan! The first step in efficiently cooling your home is to cool the attic as much as possible. On a 95-degree day the temperature in an attic can reach 150 degrees or more! This heat permeates down into the home, causing the air-conditioner to work much harder than necessary. An attic fan actively exhausts the super-heated air out of the house and pulls cooler air into the attic. 95-degree air is better than 150 degree air!

I really like fans, because moving air is the most cost-effective way to efficiently cool and heat a home. Excel has installed hundreds of solar powered attic fans over the years. They are whisper quiet, and don’t need an electrician to wire them. I like them so much I’ve installed 4 on my own home! The downside of solar powered fans is they don’t work when it’s cloudy, or after the sun goes down.

I recently purchased a new home and the seller told me not to store any plastics in the attic because they would melt. I knew immediately that the attic did not have enough ventilation. This house was a perfect candidate for a gable fan, so I installed a QuietCool Smart Gable Fan, and the comforting results were immediately noticeable.

Some facts about Attic Ventilation

A poorly ventilated attic can reach temperatures of 150 degrees or more when the outside air temperature is in the 90’s.
An Attic Fan can reduce the attic temperature by as much as 50 to 60 degrees.
A hot attic can “cook” asphalt shingles, cause them to prematurely fail, and can void manufactures warranties.
A cooler attic will make the house more comfortable, especially 2^nd level bedrooms.
Proper attic ventilation will save you money, because the air-conditioner will run more efficiently, as air conditioners typically use the most electricity in a home.

Attic Ventilation

The best way to ventilate an attic is for air to come into one side of the attic and flow out the other side. This flow could be top to bottom or side to side.

Gable vents themselves are not normally effective enough to vent an attic properly. Gable-to-gable venting is most effective when a fan is installed at one end, pushing out the hot air.

Installing an Electric Gable Fan

Before: The Old Half Round Gable Vent without a fan

The Hole in the wall has been changed to a square, and new siding installed

After: The New Fan is Installed and the Square Gable Vent Cover Adjusts Automatically as the Gable Fan Operates

This particular installation was $2500 since there was an electrical outlet available nearby; however, if an electrician is required, the cost of installation is generally $500 more.

The Smart QuiteCool Gable Fan has a phone app that allows you to control the fan. The settings can be adjusted according to preference and need. The app displays current fan speed, attic temperature, and attic moisture, all variables that are very important in managing your attic (particularly moisture levels in the winter).

One of the best things about the QuietCool fan is how little energy it uses. In running some quick numbers, if the fan runs on high all day, the cost is approximately 3 cents per hour or 36 cents per day – a very inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way to cool your home!

The best system, however, is to have both an attic fan and a whole house fan. The attic fan will run all day to keep the attic as cool as possible, and in the evening the whole house fan will come on to bring in cool fresh air. The attic fan can be programmed to be on at the same time as the whole house fan, creating a literal wind tunnel of cool air through the house and out the attic.

Obviously cost is a consideration when performing any home improvement project. If a homeowner needs to choose between just one fan which should they use? My preference would be an attic fan. If I can reduce the heat in my attic, I believe that will keep the house cooler overall. Having super-heated stale air in the attic all day long, and then running a whole house fan in the evening will cause the AC to work harder than necessary.

To maximize your cooling efficiency and help reduce your energy bill, installing both an attic and a whole house fan at the same time is truly the best way to go.

Excel Roofing also appreciates efficiency, so if you schedule to install both fans at the same time, we’ll give you a 25% discount on your installation! Contact us and schedule today!

If you would like to have an Attic fan installed call or e mail us and we’ll help you stay
cool.

J Bretz, Owner
Excel Roofing

Roofing Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

October 3, 2023November 23, 2020 by Excel Roofing

Owning a home is a great investment, but protecting your investment comes with work. Some tasks are easier than others, but every system in the home depends on the roofing system to work properly. If you suspect a roof problem, or know you have a leak, take care of this as soon as possible! Procrastinating roof problems or clogged gutters will only cost more the longer you wait.

First, Get a Professional Inspection

If you have any questions about your roof, you should get a professional inspection. A professional from Excel Roofing will let you know if anything is wrong with your roof. The door knocker companies always recommend filing an insurance claim. Excel does not do this; we never recommend filing an insurance claim unless there is clear damage that exceeds the homeowner’s deductible. If a roof repair is necessary, we have a full repair department to take care of you. Would you believe most residential roofers don’t do repairs?

If you have trees around your home, trim them and don’t forget to clean the gutters!

Leaves and branches will clog gutters and cause them to overflow. Excel has seen gutters get pulled off of the home because of excessive weight! Clean your gutters regularly and cut any branches from nearby trees that overhang your roof. Clogged, leaking, and improperly draining gutters will cause damage to your home’s paint, wood, and foundation. Excel has flat rate pricing for cleaning gutters:

1 Story Roof $199

2 Story Roof $299

3 Story Roof $399

The advertising for gutter protection systems makes them seems like a great solution for clogged gutters. Unfortunately, Excel has never seen a system that works well. Most gutter protection causes heavy rain to overshoot the gutters, they also cause icicles and ice damming problems. Gutter protection systems can also be awfully expensive, $20 or more per foot ☹

Flashings and Roof Leaks

A professional inspection will verify all the flashing is sealed and no water is accumulating behind chimneys or skylights. Standing water and ice will penetrate the roof and cause leaks. We are experts at finding leaks. The best way to find a roof leak is to spray water with a hose on the suspected area and have a person in the attic determine where the water is coming in. This sounds straight forward, but some leaks are extremely difficult to find. When the leak is found, the area should be re-done and then perform another water test to verify the leak is fixed!

Attic Ventilation

Does your attic have proper ventilation? This is critical to keeping your home cool in the summer and will prevent premature shingle failure. How do you know if your house has proper venting? Walk around the outside you should see a grated vent in the soffit every 10 to 15 feet. The soffit is that area between the gutters and the house wall. The home should have a number of vents on the high point of the roof. The air goes in the soffit vents and out the roof vents. If the system does not have a place for the air to go in and out, it’s probably done wrong. You can find more information about this here.

Attic Insulation

Attic insulation is particularly important in keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. R-49 is the recommended amount of insulation for attic in our area. This roughly equals 20 inches of insulation. The insulation should not cover the soffit vents at the lower edge of the attic; sunlight should be visible through the soffit grates, if you can’t see light, this should be fixed. Excel is not an insulation installer; however, we work closely with insulation contractors because insulation is a vital component of a complete roofing system. To learn more about the complete roofing system click here.

Protect your largest investment. If you have any questions about your roof call Excel. If you have a leak, suspect hail damage, or need your gutters cleaned we are your go-to company. Excel has been in business since 1993, serviced over 36,000 customers, has an A+ rating with the BBB, and is personally recommended by Tom Martino. The most important thing that every consumer should demand from contractors working on their home is Excel’s motto: You Don’t Pay A Cent Until You’re Content!

Leave it to the Pros: Why DIY Roofing Is Not a Good Idea

February 11, 2022November 13, 2020 by Excel Roofing

DIY projects can be fun and you can learn a lot from them, however, there are just some projects you should not do on your own – roofing should be number one in that list.

Roofing is one of the most dangerous jobs in America and professionals get hurt every day. Every year, more than 500,000 Americans are injured falling off roofs. Saving some bucks on the project should not be a priority over your life. Read to find out more on why roofing should not be your next home project.

Very Dangerous

You can seriously get injured. If you get injured and you have to miss days off of work, are you really saving any money? Not to mention the medical bills!
Do you have the safety equipment to work on your roof? Are you doing it by yourself or is someone helping you? Have you done this type of project before? These are the type of questions you need to ask yourself if you are considering doing it on your own.

More Complicated Than It Looks

Roofing may seem easy to some but there are so many components and moving parts. It is not just about installing a roof, it is about the underlayment, ice and water shield, the gutters – it is an entire roofing system.
You also need the knowledge and skills on how to correctly install the roof – professionals know how to do it correctly and in a timely manner.

No Warranty

You do not get any warranty when you do it yourself and it may cost you more if you have to fix or re-do anything.
Materials always come with instructions on proper installation and you void manufacturer warranty if you do not do it correctly.

You may save some money, but it is really worth to put your life at risk without guarantee on the quality of the job? The roof is a crucial part of the home and not worth the long-term risks it can cause. Incorrect installation can put your house structure at risk and can greatly impact the resale value. Give us a call today and we’ll be happy to help!