Roofing System Facts from Expert Roofers in Dallas

Although roofing definitely isn’t ROCKET SCIENCE, it can be a little confusing and even intimidating to learn about your roof system. Our specialists at Rainy Day Roofing & Exteriors are Roofing Experts, but we don’t expect you to be one. We do, however, want you to understand the basics of your roof system. And if there’s something else you’d like to learn about that we haven’t addressed here, we are happy to help with that too.

As a preferred Owens Corning roofing contractor we know roofing and our partnership with Owens Corning keeps us trained on the latest roof system innovation, roof repair and roof installation techniques. We service the entire Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, Plano, Allen, Rockwall, and Frisco areas in North Texas.

What exactly is a Roof System? It’s more than just shingles…

Here’s a very basic explanation of your roof system:

The roof system really begins with your attic insulation. This is the layer pink, white, or yellow stuff in your attic that rests on top of your ceilings. If you look up you will see 2”x4” or 2”x6” boards every 2’ or so. These are called rafters. The rafters support your roof. If you look a little closer you will notice lots and lots of nails sticking out of flat boards. Those boards are called decking (or sheathing). The nails you see are the ones holding down your shingles.

More roof system components…

Although the next layer is hidden, it is still a very important part of the roof system. That is the underlayment. It’s also called felt paper, tar paper, or vapor barrier. The layer on top of that is the shingles – this is the layer you actually see.

Shingles come in a variety of styles and colors. The last component is the ventilation. You need soffit vents to let the air in and roof vents to let the air out. Roof vents come in several styles as well.

Other roof system components…

You may have heard terms like valleys, ridges, flashings, etc. Think of a roof as mountain range. The peaks of the roof are called ridges and the sections where two slopes come together and the water tends to run like a river are called valleys.

Flashings are made of metal and are used to cover the gaps between the shingles and walls, chimneys, and skylights. In fact there are different types of flashings too. Step flashing is a 90 degree piece of metal where the flat part is nailed to the roof decking and the vertical part rests alongside the wall, chimney, or skylight. Counter flashing is also a 90 degree piece of metal. But it is installed in exactly the opposite way. The flat part is embedded in the chimney brick and the vertical part rests on the outside of the step flashing. This ensures that no water can leak between the step flashing and the wall.

Walls or chimneys with siding do not need counter flashing because the siding achieves the same effect.

If you’d like a professional evaluation of your roof system and you live in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Denton, Duncanville, Fort Worth, Rockwall, or anywhere in between, contact Rainy Day Roofing & Exteriors today.

Click on one of the following links to learn more:

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Special Note: Owens Corning Duration® Premium Cool shingles meet initial solar reflectance of .25 for ENERGY STAR® requirements. The colors Frosted Oak, Harbor Fog and Sunrise meet the ENERGY STAR® ratings for the American Reinvestment Recovery Act of 2009. They also meet 2009 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards, Title 24, Part 6 requirements, which call for a Cool Roof or equivalent improvement. Duration® Premium Cool shingles are also rated and listed by the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRCC) for solar reflection.

Call Rainy Day Roofing today for a FREE Roof System Evaluation.