Your home is one of the most important posessions you have, and keeping it safe is your roof. Your roof is made up of many different components that work together to keep your house water tight and safe from the elements.  Below are the components that make up your roof, and why they are so important.

Cap Shingles

Cap shingles are the shingles that go on the hip or ridge of your house to give it the smooth transition from slope to slope. 

Skylights

Skyilghts are both a beautiful addition to, and allow for extra light in your house, but they can also be a major cause of roof leaks.  Proper flashing is important when installing to make sure the new skylight does not leak in the future and cause major interior damage to your house.

Ridge Vent

Ridge vent is the venting that goes on the ridge of your roof that allows the air to flow through your attic keeping your roof dry and cool.  Ventilation is very important as In the summer, heat build-up encourages the premature aging and cracking of wood and other roofing materials. Unwanted heat also can transfer back down into living areas - which reduces energy efficiency. In cold weather, warm air generated by laundry, showers, dish washing and cooking can linger in the house and cause moisture build-up.

Ice and Water Shield

Ice and Water Shield is a water-proof material that is used in various places on your roof to make sure that your roof stays water tight.  It is used around chimneys and skylights to help flash them, and can also be used in valleys and eaves as an extra precaution to make sure no leaks occur.

Flat Roof

Flat roof materials are special materials that are used when the pitch of a roof is too low for normal shingles to be of use.  It seals against itself to make a water tight bond that keeps water from leaking through and damaging your roof.

Shingles

Shingles are the most recognizable and most important part of your roof.  They come in many different colors and types.  A three tab shingle is a shingle that is one layer cut with two slits halfway through giving it the appearance of having three tabs.  Dimensional shingles are made from two or more layers stacked on top of each other that give it the appearance of being multi dimensional.  Dimensional shingles are genereally better quality as they are made of more layers than the three tabs and able to withstand higher wind speeds.

Felt Paper

Felt paper is the asphalt soaked paper that is rolled on your roof before the shingles are layed on.  This layer of paper acts as another layer of water proof material to keep your roof safe from getting wet and rotting.

Pipe Boot

Pipe boots are the rubber boots that go around the ventilation pipes that come through your roof, and keep the rain from running down the side of the pipes and under the shingles on your roof.

Decking

Decking is the wood that makes up your roof.  The most common forms of decking are plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), and 1X8 wood.  This wood is the anchor point of all the shingles that are installed on the roof, so it is important that this wood stay dry so that it does not rot and lose its strength.

Plywood/OSB

Plywood and OSB are pieces of wood that are used as an anchor point between the frame of the house and the shingles and siding.  Any rotten wood can cause mold, or worse, can decrease the structural integrity of the house.

Drip Edge

Drip edge is a piece of metal that is placed along the edges of the roof that keeps the wood along the edge of the house safe from water and rain that could seep around the edge of the shingles.

Gutter Apron

Gutter apron is a piece of metal that is installed under the last row of shingles and over the lip of the gutters that helps keep the flow of water running down the roof from entering the space between the gutters and the edge of the roof where the gutters are attached.