How to Prepare Your Home for a Roof Replacement

A roof replacement is something every homeowner is bound to face. Getting a new roof is a major, long-term investment that needs to be carefully planned. Once you saved up enough money for your home improvement project and hired a professional crew, it’s time to prepare your home, inside and out, to make roof replacement go as smoothly as possible. Some things you probably remembered to do yourself and others might slip your mind. If you are looking for a roofing contractor then look no further than American Way Exteriors to get the best service. Here’s a comprehensive list of things you can do to get your house and your family members ready before the roofing contractor arrives.

Home decorations

Heavy machinery used in roofing will have your whole house shaking at times, possibly damaging some house decorations. Remove any pictures on the walls you might have to prevent them from falling due to the shaking of the walls. If you have any glass figurines put them away too. Pack up the plates, mugs, and glasses from the kitchen so they don’t start falling and breaking. Also, if you have anything else hanging from your ceilings, like chandeliers, or anything that’s not firmly attached to the wall, take them off.

Protect your attic

Attics are usually packed with useless stuff that we are emotionally attached to. To keep your precious belongings from being covered in dust and debris even more, cover them with some old sheets or blankets that you don’t plan to use anymore. After the work on your roof is finished, be prepared to vacuum the attic space.

Move your vehicles

Remove your vehicles away from your house and your driveway. If you’re in good standing with your neighbors maybe you can park in front of their house, if not, park down the street for the time being. The roofing crew needs space to park their truck, unloading it, and do some heavy lifting. Also, the old roof will be most likely thrown down around your home, so make sure that you leave nothing behind, like bikes or quads. Needless to say, close your garage doors.

Trees and grass

If you have any tree branches leaning against your old roof, prune them so that the working crew has clear access to your home. The contractor will most likely cover your lawn and plants, but to make his life a little easier make sure that your grass is neatly cut. This will also make the clean-up process go faster. If you have a sprinkler system turn it off, naturally.

Protect Other Outdoor Personal Possessions

According to TRC Roofing, it’s important to prepare the worksite in order to protect your personal possessions. Choosing a reputable roofing company is one way to make sure that all your garden furniture and lawn ornaments will be removed. Decks, pools, plants, and shrubs will be covered before the delivery of roofing materials to your property

Satellite dishes

Obviously, your antennas and satellite dishes are going to be obstructing the work. If you are not sure how to do it, call your cable company to remove them before the work starts. If it’s an old one, ask a professional roofing crew politely to remove it for you, and they will most likely do it. While at it, if you have some Christmas light still hanging from your roof or gutters, take them down to protect them from damages. Every roofing contractor with a professional crew will tell you to keep your satellite dish on the pole near the house, and not on the roof. This can cause serious damage to roof shingles leading to leaks and can affect the warranty. For more detailed insight about maintaining your new roof, as well as learning about roof repairs and replacement, visit roofingelgin.com.

Clean out the patio

If you have any patio furniture, remove it as far away from the house as possible and cover them with sheets to shield them from the dust. You should do this also with any other items left, like patio ornaments, kids’ toys, grills, footwear, lighting, garden pots, pets’ toys, etc. A garage would be the perfect place to put all this stuff if you have enough room. Bear in mind that most contractors won’t help you out with this, since these are your personal items, so ensure some help if you need any.

Locate power outlets

Roofing installers are going to need some power source for their equipment. Power tools are going to require outlets, as close as possible. Scour your exterior for available power sources. If you don’t have any, resort to the outlets in your garage. It’s not ideal but it’s better than spreading extension cords across your home.

All sources of possible electrical hazards must be eliminated to avoid fire or physical injury, such as electrocution. You can shut off some electrical lines supplying your patio or garden to avoid accidents. If you’re unsure of what to do with ensuring electrical safety, you can consult an electrician to provide you such services.

Take care of the kids and pets

Re-roofing can look very exciting to your kids, and even more exhilarating to your pets. Before the roof installation workers start, you should decide whether you are going to keep your family at home and ensure their safety by not allowing them to go outside for a few days, or you are going to opt for relocating them completely until the work is done. The latter might be a better solution since it will be a lot of disruptions in a family routine, not to mention the noise and the debris. Keeping them inside might be an impossible task, so to be safe choose to visit a relative, or go on a vacation if possible.

Inform your neighbors

Every responsible homeowner will let the neighbors know about the noise that’s going to affect their lives too while replacing your roof. They should be prepared about the disturbance, especially if you have little kids in the neighborhood. Letting them know upfront will spare you of explaining all the racket coming from your home. Also, inform them about the expected duration of the work, so that they can adjust their schedules accordingly.

Think about the workers

Ensure that the installation workers have plenty of open space for maneuvers. They should be able to park nearby your home, without going long distances back and forth to get supplies. Furthermore, they are going to need a bathroom that they can use at any time. You are not obliged in any way to provide food and drinks for the crew, but offering a cold lemonade on a hot summer day will surely be much appreciated.

The following are some helpful tips when welcoming workers on the project site:

• Make sure that all workers have the right gear and workers’ compensation to avoid being liable in case of injury. Know this beforehand by asking the roofing company representative.
• Ask about the workspace they would need while replacing your roof, so you can set the off-limits area for family members to avoid work delays and disruptions.
• You can set up portable restrooms for a large and long-term project to avoid disruptions as restroom schedules may conflict with family members.
• Replacing a roof is a lot of work, for you, your family, and the contractors. Preparing your home upfront is going to make you feel more comfortable once the workers arrive, and it will certainly make their job easier.

If you want to learn even more about this topic, visit RBS Roofing.