Why The Type Of Roof Dictates The Contractor You'll Call
If you've never dealt directly with roofing work, it can be easy to assume that a contractor is a contractor in the industry. This is far from the truth because the type of roof on a building dictates what sort of capabilities you need to work on it. Let's look at some of the differences that will shape your decision in hiring a company to handle your situation.
Work on Commercial Structures
Most commercial roofing projects involve surfaces that are large because most businesses are trying to maximize the available footage in a building. That means materials have to be light and durable and they have to be spread out across significant areas that are usually flat or close to flat. Commercial roofs usually require more regular maintenance, but they're also made from materials like metal or some mixture of tar and gravel. This means they can be more readily patched.
Work on Homes
Conversely, most residential roofs are peaked, especially in regions that get lots of snow or rain. They're smaller and tighter, with more support structure under them. For that reason, you see a lot of residential roofing work performed with asphalt shingles. Such shingles are very heavy, and they'd be downright dangerous spread out across thousands of square feet without extensive support. On the other hand, over a small area with lots of support, they provide decades of service with minimal maintenance.
Materials
This is one of the bigger deciding factors in who you'll hire. It's not uncommon, for example, for some companies to focus on only doing specialized work that requires unique equipment and training. Metal products for roofs are a classic example of something that attracts very narrowly-focused companies. On the other hand, lots of folks deal with the old stand-bys like asphalt shingles.
Matching Equipment to the Roof
Some roofs are just plain difficult to deal with, and that often means dragging in more equipment to do the job. If you have a house with extremely sloped peaks, for example, the company doing the work may have to utilize several sets of roof jacks to put in safe operating platforms just to start the job. The reality is that every company has limits to how much equipment it has or can even rent for a project. If the roof on your house doesn't look like all the other roofs in the neighborhood, there may be issues that require significantly more equipment.
For more information, visit a website like http://www.us-roofing.com.
