The best way to prove what type of shingles you have (by weight, not years) is to have proof of shingle type from previous installation or to have the shingles measured for thickness with a micrometer. A professional roofer can assist you in this manner. For replacement purposes, previous warranty length is not necessarily relevant. Make sure you are receiving the proper estimate from your insurance company so you do not sacrifice any of the value in your current roof.

Virtually eliminate your exposure to hail storm damage with impact resistant roofing.

You need to know about impact resistant roofing. Impact resistant roofing can save you money on your Homeowners insurance, can eliminate the vast majority of hail damage experiences, save you money on your deductible and save you from considerable aggravation.

Impact Resistant Roofing Makes Living with Hail Storms Much Easier.

Welcome to Hail Alley USA. In the Spring of each new year - from very late March thru June Texans are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Texas is the hardest hit state in the Union for hail storms and hail damage. 40% of all homeowner's claims in Texas relate to hail damage to roofs. Tarrant County is the hardest hit of all Texas counties. Major hailstorms hit Texas in 1992 and in 1995 and again in 2003

Hail losses are a plague to homeowners and to the insurers that cover their homes. There is no win here for either insurers or homeowners. But there are people who profit from storms by taking advantage of Texans. Storm chasing roofers and opportunists flock into storm areas and take advantage of homeowners under stress and disoriented by hail damage. We are compiling information here to help make sure you are never among their victims.

Impact Resistant Roofing Can Save You money on Your Homeowners Premium

There is nothing we can do to stop hail; there are viable options for minimizing your exposure to hail damage. This is great news because new roofing products labeled "impact resistant roofing" can reduce your homeowners policy by up to 35%. Homeowners can save millions on their premiums, insurers can save millions on paying for damages and homeowners will be saved the aggravation of dealing with roof damage from storms. Impact resistant roofing is the way of the future.

Impact Resistant Roofing Can Virtually Eliminate the Stressful Hail Damage Cycle

The homeowners insurance pays the bulk of the loss; still, the individual homeowner shares in the loss by contributing the amount of their policy deductible toward replacement of the damaged roof. Avoiding the deductible becomes a major incentive particularly, for some policyholders who have two or three total roof losses in a decade.

With increased confidence in the "impact resistant roofing, homeowners can consider choosing a higher deductible which will i n turn lower the insurance premium you are paying. This too can be a sizable saving to the homeowner.

And beyond the deductible and dealing with the insurance claim, home owners are pleased to give up dealing with contractors inside and on top of the house making repairs to the premises. Reducing the hail risk to your home gives added peace of mind knowing that your risk of hail damage has been greatly reduced. Owners of homes protected with "impact resistant roofing" will be sighing with relief when the hail comes again and their less prepared neighbors are calling the roofer and calling their insurance company.

And speaking of the deductible, if you have confidence your roof will survive future hail storms, you will more likely be comfortable choosing a higher deductible which will in turn lower the insurance premium you are paying. This too can be a sizable savings.

Use Joe Hall Roofing as a Resource

  We can help you understand whether impact resistant roofing makes sense for you. There are a tremendous number of options available with impact resistant roofing. Come visit our roofing showroom. You can feel and touch the products and find the product that not only protects your home but creates the look and feel you want in roofing

Product, technology, manufacturing and marketing advances point to another windfall this year for the producers of oriented strand board (OSB)

OSB has already taken a whopping 70% share of the North American residential market for floor, wall and roofing sheathing (decking). The structural panel, veering from its commodity category, is now cracking new value-added markets, a development that is expected to further spark demand

OSB for the first outstripped plywood by a slim margin in North America structural panel production last year, totaling 40.2 billion square feet (3/8" basis). According to the APA, The Engineered Wood Association, that margin will increase to 5.6 billion square feet a 65% share for OSB, by 2002. The following factors explain why OSB will continue to gain major strides:

 1) Low Cost

OSB has the lowest cost structure of all structural wood panels. That means huge savings for and consumers. In addition, OSB is now one of the most profitable sectors in the wood industry.

2) Environment Factors and Advantages

The erosion of softwood plywood production will switch demand from plywood to OSB. Wood products consultants Leonard Guss, of Leonard Guss Associates, estimates that at least six billion square feet of plywood production will disappear in eight to ten years, due to mothballing of antiquated plants and the diminishing availability of construction grade plywood.

The scarcity of larger trees has affected plywood, which must be made from individual veneer strips, or peeler logs. OSB is made from strands of small-diameter trees like aspen. The strands of aligned longitudinally and laterally in alternative layers for structural strength and bonded with water-resistant resins under heat and pressure.

Using all parts of the log, bark and fines are collected for fuel in the production possess, OSB is an extremely resource-efficient product. It makes the most of fast growing trees, a factor complementing environment consideration.

3) Product Advantages

Guss, a respected products consultant, says OSB is not only an adequate replacement of plywood but convincingly better. "OSB has unlimited sizes variations, even up to 8' x 24'. It's good on both sides and offers a broad array of thickness." Guss says OSB's blending process allows for a more thorough distribution of resin and wax of the strand surface, thus permitting a good control of board properties.

4) Consolidation

The largest wood products acquisitions in resent times occurred last year. They involved the two largest OSB manufactures in North America, Louisiana-Pacific and Weyerhaeuser, buying out Le Groupe Forex and MacMillan Bloedel, respectively the second and third largest Canadian OSB manufacturers. Duplicating functions of combined entities will be cut and efficiency increased.

These moves underscore a new strategy by manufacturers moving toward manufacturing wood products to supply higher margin building materials. A decade ago firms were not pressured to adopt such a strategy because traditional lumber was plentiful and higher quality panels.

5) Technology

Consolidation is being accompanied by a frenetic push to upgrade existing mills and develop new mills with the latest technology that will make them most efficient facilities producing lower-cost but higher- quality panels.

6) Performance Manipulation

Manufacturers are mass producing high-quality boards with a very high degree of efficiency. Change the process, manipulate resin content and strand orientation, and flexible or stiffer panels can be produced. Board dimensions can also be customized from the factory floor to fit the needs of builders, home owners and value added product manufacturers.

7) Marketing and Branding

An interesting trend, pointing to far-reaching ramifications, has companies installing whole engineered flooring systems, combined I-joists and OSB panels into a single branded product. There is no end in sight to the expansion of this value-added approach. Firms will race to supply an entire OSB roofing,

flooring and wall systems, in which multiple components will be branded as value-added single products with 25- and 50-year guarantees. No longer can OSB, in this context, be considered a commodity production.

8) Engineered Wood Boom

The boom in engineered wood, employing products that are stronger and more durable than traditional lumber, will further increased OSB demand and accelerated value-added OSB use. A striking example involves wood I-joist. Composed of a thin OSB web that is bonded to the top and bottom flanges of lumber or laminated veneer lumber, I-joists are commonly used in roof and floor systems.

From virtually no market share in the early 1990's, it is estimated that half of all homes in the North America will be supported by I-joists floor systems in several years. Structural installed panels (SIPs), foam sandwiched by OSB panels, are beginning to be used by buyers of energy efficient homes, and could be making the same sort of impact as I-joists over the long run.

9) Housing Fundamentals Still Strong

Despite concerns about housing starts slowing, there are no signs of a dramatic downturn, If starts do begin to slow, due to interest rate hikes, the home repair and the remodeling market would take up some of the slack, since potential new buyers would motivated to hold off on purchases and renovate existing homes. The popularity of OSB, as with engineered wood, is also dovetailing with the shifting residential needs: homes are larger, as well as garages, and more materials, including OSB, are required for each residential unit.

•  The Key Ingredients of a Quality Roof
•  Roofing Safety Concerns MUST be Paramount
•  Protection of Your Property is Critical
•  Methods of Picking out a Quality Contractor
•  How many ways are there to make a mess of a roof?
•  Proper roof ventilation is essential to protecting your home and your roof

We want you to have the information you need to make sure you are not buying a roofing problem that you will get to pay for later. Quality roofing is much more that the roof not leaking when it rains. We see roof problems every day that were created when the roof was installed. Defects allow leaks that can destroy roof decking and allow the proliferation of mold but these same defects might never accumulate enough water to expose a leak in the interior.

We will not undersell your roofing project just to get the work. We have great confidence in and take great pride in our ability to get roofing projects done right the first time. We are interested in the long-term good relationship with clients. This is much more important than a single sale. We would like to win all our bids now, but many we have to win later after the prospect's roofing choice has turned into a problem.

The Key Ingredients of a Quality Roof

Every aspect of the roofing system, roof decking; chimney flashings, stack vent flashings; skylights - all components of your roofing assembly beyond the simple installation of roofing materials are carefully considered.

Our crews pay careful attention to roofing safety. They don't want to be hurt and we don't want them hurt. Proper safety helps prevent accidents to workers and workman. Injuries are not a pleasant experience for anyone- contractor, employees or the homeowner.

Protection of Your Property

Replacing a roof has a big impact on your home, and is a massive and noisy undertaking. The roofing material on your home can often weigh 10 tons. The old roof is well attached to the deck and needs to come off. This is not only noisy but the process must be carefully controlled to not damage your home or your landscaping.

The protection of your property has our undivided attention. We have  systems to insure that your property is returned to you just as it was except with a beautiful new roof.

Thousands of fasteners hold your new roof in place. These can be lost in the grass and lost in the landscaping. We have a bright eyed young man with a knack for detail work to insure the nails are found and your home is returned to you in the same state as when Joe Hall Roofing first arrived.

 How to Pick the Right Contractor

Nothing is more important than picking out a trustworthy contractor. In Texas, there is no such thing as state licensing for roofers. Any registration of roofers is completely voluntary. When storms come some people get up the next morning and

decide that they will be roofers for the duration of the storm damages. Here are some important ways to pick out a good roofing contractor versus a "fly by night".

Is the company you are considering financially stable? Do they have the financial wherewithal to withstand all possible perils? How can you discern these qualities? Make sure your chosen contractor provides you with a "hold harmless" affidavit. If you have any concerns about Joe Hall Roofing, please give us a call; we are proud to answer any questions that might concern you.

Check references and look around and find your own references for a company. Joe Hall Roofing has thousands of references and many are right in your neighborhood. Roofing the homes of local celebrities does not make you a good roofer, but we are proud of the many local sports and television celebrities who have put their trust in us. We do good work and are very proud of the fact that we have served over 50,000 satisfied customers in our many years of service.

Where is the company located? You might want to drive by and check out their place of business. Are they substantial enough to have a permanent facility or do they represent their location as a P.O. Box? Your probably don't want to hire a roofer if he is operating out of his garage or pick up truck. Drive down Hwy 303 in Arlington and there you will see our

Joe Hall Roofing company facilities. Be sure to stop by and see our roofing showroom!

Just because someone might claim to be a roofer and works to get a job totaled with your insurance company, does not qualify them to install a roof. Our roofing crews are as good as roofers can be. They have put roofing down for years to exacting specifications. They are practiced and experienced teams of professionals that take great pride in their work.

Has your prospective roofer just come to town with the storms? We admire initiative but where will you be when you call your roofer and he has already left town? It is very unpleasant to discover that your new roof was not properly installed because your roofer was greedy or incompetent.

Make sure your head is not turned by glib, compelling personalities high dollar claims bring out the gypsy salesmen who are professionals at getting you to listen to their flowery promises. If what they say is not tempered by reality or just sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do yourself a favor, just relax, you don't have to make a decision now; get a referral from a neighbor that has used a roofer that they liked and trusted.

There are a multitude of ways to make a mess of a roof

Our Roofing systems keep homes dry and waterproof. It takes more than just roofing tile or roofing shingles to protect a home from water damage. Pipes and skylights and vents and chimneys; roof valleys and roof edges all must be properly detailed or the roofing system does not work. All too often structural defects are the result of the rush to get roofing and building construction done. It requires a steadfast dedication to quality to not cut corners to increase profits on a job. It takes integrity to help a homeowner choose the bid that is a little more expensive but does solve all the defects on the roof. We have seen hundreds of ways corners are cut with the result being defective roofing. Click here to see a few samples of how a Roof can be defective.

 Proper roof ventilation is essential to protecting your home and your roof

Our Proper Ventilation to Protect Your Home and Save Money

It is extremely important that roof structures are properly ventilated. Ventilation has often been an afterthought by builders who are more concerned with cosmetic appearance and maximizing profits. It is left to the smart homeowner to insure their home is protected from excess moisture and resulting mold and mite propagation, by proper ventilation.

Proper ventilation is critical to your home

Proper ventilation is critical for keeping moisture out of your home. Good Ventilation also exhausts the build up of summer heat in your attic. The wrong combinations of moisture and heat destroy wood structures, create attractive environments for the growth of molds and the breeding of mites. Poor ventilation will raise your cooling bills and make your home uncomfortable.

Your new roofing warranty requires proper ventilation.

Your new roofing warranty also requires proper ventilation. Without good ventilation, your new roofing materials and your wood structure are in harms way and will not last like they should. Poor ventilation can and will destroy roof decks and create problems with roofing materials.

All portions of the roof structure need an air intake at the eave and an air exhaust at the ridge of the roof. These vents must be sized properly to allow the right volume of air to move through the attic to pick up the moisture that is entering the attic from the interior.

Concerns with Ventilation occur during 2 Seasons. Summer:

Proper ventilation can therefore save you money in summer and make you feel better too.

Winter: Moisture is the villain in winter. Texas roofs are usually well insulated. This means that the warm interior is well separated from the cool attic space EXCEPT where the warm heated air in your home leaks into the attic space around light fixtures and bathroom venting ducts. At these small micro-locations moist warm air from cooking, laundry, and shower activities rises and penetrates through air gaps into the attic space.

Warm, moist interior air mixing with the cold air in the attic allows the formation of a dew point. This moisture collects on insulation, rafters, roof sheathing- on anything where the dew point is reached. To prevent reaching dew point in your attic there must be a free exchange of dryer air from the outside environment. Good Ventilation creates this free exchange and thus prevents moisture problems.

We are Always Ready to Help

Joe Hall Roofing would be glad to help you understand whether you have a roofing ventilation problem. Proper ventilation is critical to the health of your home and to the life span of your roof structure. Contact us if you have any further questions or concerns.

To qualify in Texas as "impact resistant roofing" (Class 4), the roofing product must meet Underwriters Laboratory testing requirements under designation UL-2218. A Class 4 roof covering offers the best hail protection and will receive the highest discounts on insurance premiums.

All manufacturers of roofing materials* eligible for the impact-resistant roofing discount adopted by the Texas Department of Insurance must label their products with the following information:

The proper Underwriter's Laboratories label or label from any other testing lab approved by the Texas Department of Insurance

All types of "impact resistant" roofing acceptable in Texas are described at www.tdi.state.tx.us/commish/roofingx.html

Even more specifically, the shingles must meet other more specific requirements of the Texas Insurance Department.

Proper Ventilation to Protect Your Home and Save Money

It is extremely important that roof structures are properly ventilated. Ventilation has often been an afterthought by builders who are more concerned with cosmetic appearance and maximizing profits. It is left to the smart homeowner to insure their home is protected from excess moisture and resulting mold and mite propagation, by proper ventilation.

Proper ventilation is critical to your home

Proper ventilation is critical for keeping moisture out of your home. Good Ventilation also exhausts the build up of summer heat in your attic. The wrong combinations of moisture and heat destroy wood structures, create attractive environments for the growth of molds and the breeding of mites. Poor ventilation will raise your cooling bills and make your home uncomfortable.

Your new roofing warranty requires proper ventilation

Your new roofing warranty also requires proper ventilation. Without good ventilation, your new roofing materials and your wood structure are in harms way and will not last like they should. Poor ventilation can and will destroy roof decks and create problems with roofing materials. Good ventilation is the answer and any roofer chosen must be accounting for good ventilation. All portions of the roof structure need an air intake at the eave and an air exhaust at the ridge of the roof. These vents must be sized properly to allow the right volume of air to move through the attic to pick up the moisture that is entering the attic from the interior.

Concerns with Ventilation occur during 2 Seasons

Summer: Texas gets hot in summer and our attics get even hotter. This hot is hard on building materials. Attic temperatures can soar to 170 degrees in a poorly ventilated attic. This adds stress to your plywood deck and roofing materials. Stress shortens the life of materials. Proper ventilation can therefore save you money in summer and make you feel better too.

Winter: Moisture is the villain in winter. Texas roofs are usually well insulated. This means that the warm interior is well separated from the cool attic space EXCEPT where the warm heated air in your home leaks into the attic space around light fixtures and bathroom venting ducts. At these small micro- locations moist warm air from cooking, laundry, and shower activities rises and penetrates through air gaps into the attic space.

Warm, moist interior air mixing with the cold air in the attic allows the formation of a dew point. This moisture collects on insulation, rafters, roof sheathing- on anything where the dew point is reached. To prevent reaching dew point in your attic there must be a free exchange of dryer air from the outside environment. Good Ventilation creates this free exchange and thus prevents moisture problems.

We are Always Ready to Help

Joe Hall Roofing would be glad to help you understand whether you have a roofing ventilation problem. Proper ventilation is critical to the health of your home and to the life span of your roof structure. Contact us if you have any further questions or concerns.