The best roofing system is slate / tile. You can find roofs over in Europe that have held up for over a hundred years. Very few products even come close to the longevity that slate / tile offer. Wood shingles / shakes and even asbestos tile roofing can get up to 50+ years but the majority of products today are fortunate to get 15 years or better.

Typically the longer lasting roofs cost 4 - 5 times the price. What is intriguing is how a manufacture of metal will offer a 50 year warranty but the cost are often 3 times the price of a 35 year warranted shingle. Other then aesthetic beauty, why would one pay $300.00 for 50 year product (most of their finishes are only have a 10 - 15 year wear) versus paying $70.00 for a 35 year shingle.

Shingles are fairly easy to install but installation cost is often driven up by insurance overhead. Twenty five (25%) percent of an insured roofers labor cost goes directly to his worker compensation insurance. Roofers and dry wall installers have some of the highest insurance premiums due to the amount of workers that get hurt doing these jobs. While you can find uninsured roofing installers to do the job quite a bit cheaper, whoa unto you if they get hurt on your property. You can be held liable for their injuries.

Some of the things to look for on roofing is that flashing is properly in stalled, any exposed nails, such as those on the ridge caps, are caulked, roof has proper ventilation, proper shingle overhang, and no nails are showing between or below roofing tabs.

Again, make sure the roofing company can show valid proof of insurance before they begin the job.

The boot needs to be replaced and also the exposed rusted nail was never caulked.

This roof has a hump in it, upon further investigation we found two trusses that were out of align by almost 2 inches. As we have discussed in the framing section, these framers did not care to fix the problem, they just sheeted over it as did the roofer. This is a fairly new home, track home that is, enough said.

Notice the square foam blocks, they are used on hot days to keep from scarring up the shingles.

Vinyl siding can and does look attractive without the hassle of repainting every few years.

Brick offers charm and durability.

This customer once had a deteriorated wood deck, its now been replaced with a brick patio and vinyl railing.........maintenance free.

These two houses are located on waterfront property near where we are building a custom home for a client. The brown house  has wood siding on it and the gray house to the right of it has the infamous T-111 siding. The foundation on brown house is made of stone.  Both homes will require continued maintenance to their respective veneers.

Another reason brick cost more is the overhead (equipment) expenses it takes to operate a masonry company.

Only thing left is to plant a few trees and bushes and this job is finished.

Wood (T-111) and Masonite siding was prevalent during the 70's and 80's. The problem areas you often find with these products are directly related to the lack of continued sealing of these veneers. Often the original coating of paint or sealing agent is the only coat ever put on these products. This accounts for the poor life cycle, often 5 - 10  years, that these products have. It doesn't matter what the product is, if the manufacturer requires the product be sealed, then there is a reason for it, not adhering to instructions of the manufacturer will often void any warranties that came with the product.

In the 70's we also had a short lived product called aluminum siding. Anyone that has ever installed this stuff, myself included, looked forward to the day this would become extinct. Doctors were able to make their car payments due to stitching up installers of this product. It wasn't until the 90's came around did manufactures try to bring metal back onto the scene in the form of steel. I personally don't think steel will take hold, it's like the 8 track tape of the 70's.......your parents can explain that one.

From the 80's to present, vinyl siding has taken hold on the exterior veneer market. This product became very strong after the demise of aluminum siding. While it is not offered in dark colors (fading issue) it does come in various attractive styles and colors. The reason people love this product is the maintenance or lack thereof that is needed for it. As long as windows and doors are caulked around the j-channels, this product will often last a life time.

When properly installed, sufficient overlap and proper nailing (nails should not be driven tight against the sheeting nor should you nails longer than 2 inches) this product will do what its suppose to, protect the shell of the structure.  

Brick and stone dates back to the the days of Moses and beyond. This product is a favorite choice in upper end homes. It is attractive and strong, as we found was the case in the story of The Three Little Pigs. The wolf may be no friend of brick but we are. The mortar joints may have to be re-pointed once in blue moon but the majority of problems associated with brick are human related. Either the footer was weak (see article on same) or the mortar was not properly mixed or installed at below recommended temperatures.

A few comments I will say about brick / stone is this. DO NOT allow hanging vines to grow on this product. If there is a crack anywhere in the mortar, vines and such can and will find it and do their damage.

While doing a window replacement on a house, I went to the the back bedroom to measure the windows. To my amazement I found vines coming through the walls between the window casing and sheet rock. Upon further investigation I found the side of the house covered in vines. The homeowner thought this was novel. I showed her the mortar joints and what it was doing to the brick. She laughed and thought nothing of it. Like the bible says, a fool and his money are soon parted.

The other comment I will make is addressing a deceiving commercial that was put out by the brick industry. This commercial made a false claim that brick is only 5% more then vinyl siding. Now the person who made this promo must have held a job for a certain political party that has the habit of lying.

Anyone can play with numbers and stats and get what ever result that is sought after, however simple arithmetic can and will show that brick and stone are about 3  - 4 times the price of vinyl siding. A turn-key siding job cost me on average of about $2.00 per square foot. A brick or stone veneer cost be between $6.00 - $8.00 per square foot.  Eight divided by two is FOUR (4), six divided by two is three (3). For my friends that sell brick......I give you permission to copy and paste my mathematical findings! If I had a dollar for every customer that quoted me this 5% nonsense.................and if I ever find the person that started this lie I will gladly punch him in the nose and beat him over the head with a brick.......well.....maybe not a brick, just a piece of vinyl siding.

Lastly, let us talk about Asbestos. There has been and still is a growing concern about asbestos products. If you house was built prior to the 80's, there is a good chance that it has an asbestos product in it. Let us go over asbestos before we leave.

Asbestos filled products have been around for hundreds of years. Not until the 80's did the manufacturing world get away from the product as a result of law suits and pressure from the federal government.

To this day people have been taught to become alarmed when they here the word asbestos. I could write a whole article on asbestos alone, however let us give you the short version.

Asbestos is a natural mineral. There are various types of asbestos. The primary type that is used in the construction industry is called Chrysotile. It is used as a binding agent. Chrysotile compromises about 90 - 95% of all asbestos products used in the U.S.

Asbestos products can be hazardous to your health when it becomes "friable." Asbestos products that are encapsulated, such as siding and roofing tiles, unless these products are pulverized, they present no danger to its owners.

We just finished rehabbing a 1940's home that has a asbestos tile roof on it. This is the original roof, while it has discolored and aged, the product itself is still structurally sound. As a matter of fact this product typically will out perform many products on the market today. For a roof that has gone through 60 years of storms, cold and hot weather, hurricanes and tornados......its is amazing. 

The average American inhales over 4 hours of gasoline vapors a year while pumping gas into their vehicles and they never think twice about that. While I do not recommend anyone to stick their noses in their gas tank, there are various levels of danger that everyone faces everyday, weather its walking along a sidewalk with 3000 pounds of steel zooming by (cars), hiking in a national park with snakes and bears in the same park, cooking on stove that can reach temperatures of over 400 degrees.........we all accept certain levels of risk.

Environmentalist and alarmist have done such a disservice to our society that it has effected the way we think anymore. Common sense has become a stranger to many people. We are not saying that asbestos is healthy for you, but then again we don't suggest you breath in concrete dust or grout powder either. There are many products out there that are used in the construction industry that could and are considered dangerous if inhaled or ingested, we just ask that common sense be used when making an evaluation on a product.