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Your roof, siding, and even windows can all make a big difference in your home’s energy efficiency and the quality of its building envelope. You may be concerned about this mainly for the purpose of saving money on your energy bill, or you may want to increase home value or environmental friendliness.

Either way, here’s what you need to know about how to get the most out of outdoor remodeling materials for energy efficiency.

Insulation Value

No matter which part of your house you’re replacing or remodeling, its insulation value (measured in R-values) can add to or detract from your home’s energy efficiency. For instance, the siding can hold heated and cooled air inside your home, and a roof with insulating qualities can reduce heat transfer into and out of your attic during extremes of hot and cold weather.

You have probably heard that cleaning your roof off regularly is critical to keeping your roof as healthy as possible for as long as possible. But dead leaves are not all that heavy, so why should they be a problem for your roof? Keep reading to learn four reasons why clearing your roof is so important.

1. Debris Can Hide Damage

If you have a pile of leaves on your roof, you may not be able to see the damage from a recent storm. Damage could occur during the same storm that dropped the leaves on your roof. For example, part of a tree branch may have fallen and bounced off, or hailstones may have caused roof shingles to crack or curl up before the debris collected in that spot.

Keeping your roof clear of debris will help you keep a closer eye on its surface and identify any visible damage when you perform your post-storm inspection.

Should you add a skylight to your home or business? This roof feature can add a great deal to any room, but it does have some downsides that owners should consider before making their decision. To help you choose the right overhead complement for your space, keep in mind these pros and cons of installing a skylight.

Pros of Skylight Additions

Skylights add a wonderful visual appeal to the property and even help solve some decor issues the space may have. Because skylights add natural lighting, a skylight opens up any space and makes it appear larger, taller, and airier.

Skylights also serve as excellent statement features in a room that lacks direction or focus. They naturally draw people to the space. And if you have a beautiful view outside, a large and open skylight could be a fun and surprising way to enhance it — boosting your own mood and enjoyment of your home. 

As you evaluate a potential new home, you’ll want to spend plenty of time ensuring that all the main home systems are adequate for your needs and fully functional. Inspections can help with this, but some of the work you’ll have to do yourself.

Here’s a to-do list to help you evaluate the roof when you’re thinking of buying a new home.

1. Get Maintenance Records

Any records for maintenance, repairs, and replacements that took place during the previous ownership are invaluable information for a new owner. If the roof isn’t brand-new, you’ll need to know when it was last repaired or maintained so you can schedule regular maintenance to keep it in great shape. This also lets you see what kinds of problems the roof had in the past.

Another reason you’ll want to look at maintenance records is to make sure the previous owner hasn’t simply been neglecting the roof. Check dates on maintenance records to make sure the seller has been scheduling regular maintenance with a reputable contractor at recommended intervals.

Winter storms can involve wind, snow, and ice. Hail can even be a possibility, especially as warmer temperatures move in toward the end of the season. One way to minimize damages from storms is to catch any problems early so that a quick repair can be scheduled before the damages worsen.

Here are three types of damage from winter storms you should look out for and how to fix them.

Wind Damage

Storms sometimes come in with a roar, tearing shingles off roofs or damaging other components. Issues can be worse when high winds are combined with temperatures below freezing, since roof components can be more brittle in the bitter cold.

While your roof might not be the first thing you think of when you start planning for the winter months, neglecting it can lead to leaks, damage, and costly repairs. Prepare your roof for the cold weather ahead to ensure you’ll stay warm and dry until spring comes around again.

Check Shingles, Flashing, and Sealant

To keep your family safe and warm this winter, make sure your roof isn’t already damaged. Check your roof for missing shingles that need to be replaced. Shingles that are curling or showing visible signs of wear with the granules missing also need replacements to minimize the risk of leaks.

The shingles are not the only important part of your roof. Underlayment, flashing, and ventilation for your new roof are all critical parts of a roof, which is why you shouldn’t try to DIY roofing projects.

Here are some ventilation mistakes that an experienced contractor can help you avoid.

1. Not Checking Old Ventilation Patterns

When you have a new roof installed, you can’t just assume that the old ventilation system is good enough. Your old ventilation may have worked for the old roof but may not be sufficient or up to code when you install a new roof. And the old system may not offer enough ventilation to optimize roof efficiency and help you create a cool roof.

Rain gutters are a crucial part of your building’s roof. If your roof doesn’t have gutters along the edges, nothing stops rainwater from running down the walls of your building, pooling along the foundation, and causing water damage. And while pitched roofs and gutters are more common on houses, both homes and businesses alike can fall victim to damage that rainwater caused.

If you need gutter installation services for your home or business in the Marengo, IL, area,  call Jerry Newman  Roofing & Remodeling Inc.

Discover the Importance of Gutters

Are you losing energy through your roof and attic? If you’ve found that your energy usage keeps going up year by year, you may have an issue with the energy efficiency of your home. Your roof is often the most likely source of these issues; you just need to consider a few things before you start the repairs.

1. Determine Whether Your Roof Is the Main Culprit

Many things can cause a home to lose energy. Whether you feel cold throughout winter or warm throughout the summer, there are some easy ways to tell whether you’re losing energy primarily through your roof.

In the winter, look at your roof compared to your neighbor’s roofs. Does yours have less or more snow? If your snow melts very fast, it means that you’re losing a lot of heat energy through your roof. You will know if your roof has this problem because the lack of snow will be readily noticeable.

In the summer, you can call in a professional to look at your home through a heat gun, which will reveal the colder areas of your home. If your roof looks colder than the surrounding areas, that’s a bad thing, not a good thing. A cold roof means that all of the precious cold air from your AC somehow escapes your home through the roof instead of staying inside where it belongs.

Picking a material for a new roof can be a challenge. Many factors can come into play. You need to select a type of roof that is durable, energy efficient, and well-suited for your climate. Knowing each variable to consider can help you decide on the best roofing material for your needs.

Color Affects Energy Efficiency

Color and energy efficiency are directly linked. Dark colored roofing materials absorb heat. In warm weather climates, this heat absorption can cause the attic to become heated. In the middle of the summer, a dark roof can force the home’s HVAC system to work much harder than necessary to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Light colors reflect light, which can help keep the shingles (and the attic) relatively cool. Many homeowners shy away from installing white shingles. However, light gray, light green, and beige are all popular shingle colors that can simplify indoor temperature regulation.