Are You Throwing Money Out The Window?

There are several reasons to replace your windows with Simonton energy efficient windows. They reduce your heating and cooling costs, with single pane windows, 30 percent of heating and cooling energy go literally go the window. They block the sun's Ultraviolet rays with low emissivity glass, keeping your furniture and carpet from fading. They give your home a more comfortable feel and are less drafty than single pane windows that let enough air in to blow the curtains around, even when the window is closed. Vinyl windows are resistant to dirt and pollution, and never need to be painted, saving you time and money in maintenance. The double pane reduces external noise transmission giving you a quieter home. The double pane window is more durable allowing it to stand up better against extreme weather and home invasions. They enhance the beauty, value, and “curb appeal” of your home. Simonton windows are the only windows we use and recommend for your home. Established in 1946 and innovators in vinyl doors and windows since the early 1980s, Simonton continues to be recognized through the many industry awards they have won throughout the years. If you're tired of letting heat in the window and money out the window, or if you want to improve the appearance of your home, Give us a call at 1-844-5RESTORE or visit us at www.8445restore.com.

Do You Know Who To Trust?

Hail storms have already hit North Georgia this year and now is the time to look for a contractor to repair the damage hail and wind can cause. Even if the storms haven't hit your home, it's a good practice to have a company if the storms hit and you need someone to repair hail damage on your house, here's a few questions to ask yourself when looking for a contractor:

Are they experienced professionals? Or are they new to the industry? You need a company of people who have experience in the storm restoration field that have the knowledge, skill, and expertise to get the job done.​​ You need a contractor that won't waste your time, that can tell you right away that hail has done damage to your home and that they can repair it.

Are they established? Or are they just working out of a truck? Serious contractors have a centralized address, a tax identification number, and a business license. If your contractor can not produce proof of these things, you're putting your house at risk.

Are they working safely? Or they cutting safety corners whenever they can? OSHA regulations are serious business and are put in place for the safety of the employees and clients alike. Take repairing hail damage on a steep slope roof, in some cases a pair of special boots have to be used to grip the roof, and on some cases a harass and rope. The best thing you can do is hire a contractor who will use the right safety equipment from inspection to cleanup.

Are they licensed for your state? Or are they just rolling into town with nothing? Depending on the state, a  contractor may need a license to practice any kind of work. Check your state’s licensing requirements, and then check to make sure that your roofer has a license. If your contractor; for example, is from another state and can not produce a proper license for your state, there's a good chance they're just there to repair some hail damage for a quick buck and take it back home with no little to no real concern for you, watch out and make sure they're legal to do business in your area.

If your contractor doesn't meet these qualifications, call us a call at 1-844-5RESTORE or visit us at www.8445restore.com.

Tha Calm Before The Storm

Here in Georgia, the most dangerous time of the year is almost upon us, and I don’t mean the end of tax season, I mean the beginning of storm season. The effects of weather during this time have the potential to cause minor to great to your house. Here are some tips on how to prepare for the different types of effects storms may bring.

Rain – We’ve all been there, you’re shopping at the grocery store some time after the bottom fell out of a monster rain storm. There’s a large trash can in the middle of the aisle collecting water leaking from the ceiling. If you’ve had a rain leak at your house you can understand that it’s out of the staff’s hands that they have to fix the problem until the leak can be repaired. Leaks can be a result of a roof that’s too old, damaged, or defective, a flaw has been exposed to the rain and it’s getting through that flaw and onto your floor. There’s not much that can be done about it during the storm, but it is best especially if you know you have an old roof, to have buckets ready to be put in place. To prevent leaks from happening before the storm, consider the age of the roof, a 3-tab roof is known to last anywhere from 15 to 18 years and an architectural roof is known to last 24 to 30 years. If your roof hasn't been replaced in the past 25 years, it may be best to consider replacing it before the storms come.

Lightning – When dealing with lightning, there’s always the possibility of a power outage. The proper precautions are elementary, keep flashlights and candles ready. There are also other things to consider in the electronic department, power surges can mess devices such as TVs and computers. Unplug these devices that aren’t connected to surge protectors. While power strips are convenient for connect multiple devices, not all power strips are surge protectors, make sure power strip your computer station power strip is surge protected before you keep working on it during the storm, if it’s not surge protected, it’s best to turn off the power strip, unplug it, and wait out the storm, it’s a minor inconvenience compared to what could happen if a surge reaches your computer.

Hail – Hail is a common subject here at RCS, even if the damage caused by hailstones is minimal, it can play a major role in letting rain leak through whether it be tomorrow or six months from now. If you have electrical boxes in your neighborhood, check them for dents after a storm. If the hail is capable of denting metal, it’s capable of knocking granules off asphalt shingle roofs.

Winds – A tale-tell sign your home has been affected by wind is when your shingles are in your neighbor’s lawn, unless your neighbor has a thing for using asphalt as a lawn decoration and you’re helping him, but let’s be honest who does that? The more subliminal way wind affects the shingle is that it is still on the roof but is loose. In a heavy storm, you’re surely not going to go out and see if they’re flapping around. Naturally we recommend you call us to send a storm damage specialist to take a look, when the wind dies down loose shingles is not obvious, but those compromised shingles are a window for leaks.

Fallen Trees – Speaking of windows, trees near house run a risk of falling and crashing through windows, heavily damaging homes and property inside the home. Trees can fall from the wind building up and knocking the tree down, lightning also strikes a heavy branch tree causing it to fall. During the storm, it’s best to stay away from windows where trees are. A tarp is a good thing to have ready in case a tree does fall, it provides temporary protection from the elements until the damage can be repaired.

Finally, we at RCS hope and pray no harm befalls anyone at any time, especially the storm season. With the unpredictability of weather, we hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If your home is damaged during the storm season, we hope you would keep us mind, give us a call at 1-844-5RESTORE or check out our website www.8445restore.com, and let us help you undo the damage.

Roof Leaks & Warranties

As mentioned before in the blog, weather can play a major role in the stability of a roof, hail usually as big as a quarter can knock granules off of shingles, wind can blow shingles away. Age also plays a factor to a roof leaking; sometimes the weather be calm for years and a heavy rain storm hit the area and your home is leaking. Part of this is because hail or no hail, and regardless of the brand of shingle; granules will wear down. This is an unfortunate drawback from the aforementioned slate shingles which were more durable; all asphalt shingles have a life expectancy; many 3-tab shingles; for example, are installed with a 25 year warranty because they are expected to last that long. A good thing on to study up on when a roof leaking is find out when the roof was installed; if the roof is 20 years old or older, it’s usually time to replace the shingles.Sometimes it’s not the age of the roof that is the reason for leaks; sometimes it’s the workmanship. Sometimes a new roof can be installed on a home and it can leak in the next rain storm; this is because even the most professional roofers can make mistakes in the installation process. Any gap in the roofing system can let rain through the wood and eventually through the ceiling onto the floor and in the case of a new roof; something as simple as improper nailing, or can be the culprit for a leak. Flashing is the most common problem for roof leaks; installation errors or bad product quality can be the result of rain on the floor.In a perfect world, there would never be a need of a new roof, all homes would be perfectly built with no need for repairs, but it is an imperfect world and unexpected things happen. This is why GAF covers their Timberline shingles with limited “Lifetime” warranty meaning as long as the homeowner who originally had the roof installed resides in the home or another owner after him or her; this warranty is transferable between owners once. RCS crews are the best at what they do, but even so they’re not perfect installation may have a flaw or two every now and then, that’s why we offer a 10 year workmanship warranty to correct any mistakes that occur during the installation process. There’s no need to be worried with RCS because if a problem does occur, it always shows up in that 10 year window. Find out more at www.8445restore.com.

GAF Roofing: Extreme Shingle Testing

This is why we use only use GAF roofing products when replacing a roof. Check out this video that shows off what types of crazy tests GAF puts their Timberline series through.

When The Hail Storms Hit, Do You Know Who's Repairing Your Damage?

Hail storms have already hit North Georgia this year and now is the time to look for a contractor to repair the damage hail and wind can cause. Even if the storms haven't hit your home, it's a good practice to have a company if the storms hit and you need someone to repair hail damage on your house, here's a few questions to ask yourself when looking for a contractor:

Are they experienced professionals? Or are they new to the industry? You need a company of people who have experience in the storm restoration field that have the knowledge, skill, and expertise to get the job done.​​ You need a contractor that won't waste your time, that can tell you right away that hail has done damage to your home and that they can repair it.

Are they established? Or are they just working out of a truck? Serious contractors have a centralized address, a tax identification number, and a business license. If your contractor can not produce proof of these things, you're putting your house at risk.

Are they working safely? Or they cutting safety corners whenever they can? OSHA regulations are serious business and are put in place for the safety of the employees and clients alike. Take repairing hail damage on a steep slope roof, in some cases a pair of special boots have to be used to grip the roof, and on some cases a harass and rope. The best thing you can do is hire a contractor who will use the right safety equipment from inspection to cleanup.

Are they licensed for your state? Or are they just rolling into town with nothing? Depending on the state, a  contractor may need a license to practice any kind of work. Check your state’s licensing requirements, and then check to make sure that your roofer has a license. If your contractor; for example, is from another state and can not produce a proper license for your state, there's a good chance they're just there to repair some hail damage for a quick buck and take it back home with no little to no real concern for you, watch out and make sure they're legal to do business in your area.

If your contractor doesn't meet these quaifications, call us a call at 1-844-5RESTORE.

Discontinued Shingles, They Seemed Great But What Went Wrong!?

Atlas Chalet & CertainTeed Horizon shingles, I can't tell you how often we replace these shingles due to wind damage. Both Atlas Chalet and CertainTeed Horizon are similar in appearance and problems. When these shingles were used, they were a 3 tab shingle but presented the appearance of a dimensional shingle and as such were passed off as dimensional shingles. Atlas Chalet was a cheap way for builders to roof houses. It all goes south within the first few years. Especially with Atlas Chalet, the granules wear down ten times faster than they should. A tale-tell sign of having either Atlas Chalet or CertainTeed Horizon, if a house was built between 2005 and 2009 and a large amount of loose granules are found in the gutters and downspouts. Both these shingles can be replaced by minimal amount of wind damage.

While they’re not so common, there’s also T-Lock shingles which were once pretty popular. Rather than be glued together, T-Lock shingles were interlocked together using the T formation of the shingles themselves to snap the shingles into place. This made the shingles very resistant to wind; however, when hail storms came along, it was clear the T-Lock shingles were weak to hail damage. 

In the same way wind affects Atlas Chalet and CertainTeed, if minimal hail damage is found on T-Lock shingles, the insurance will replace the roof. If you have Atlas Chalet or any defective product on you home and we find enough damage, you qualify to get a new and improved roofing system. If you've talked to the insurance company before about Atlas Chalet and they did not accept the claim, our best advice to talk to them again. It may not be an easy process, but with persistence the insurance company will grant your request to protect your biggest investment. When a claim is accepted, we work with the insurance company as well. In most cases, we’ll communicate directly with the team or adjuster assigned and the process of putting on a new roof as soon as possible, and we try to make the process as financially painless for the homeowner as possible.