Four feet. Five feet. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Those are the downspout drainage distances the first four search results hand a Michigan homeowner, and none of them acknowledges the other three. They disagree because they answer three different questions. Surface discharge needs to land at least 5 feet from the foundation. A line piped to
Downspout Drainage: Where Should Downspouts Actually Drain in Michigan? Read More »
Once a year. For a sound Mid-Michigan roof under about 15 years old, one professional inspection each fall is enough. Roofs past 15, roofs under heavy tree cover, and roofs that just took a storm need a second look, and those are the exceptions rather than the rule. That answer is narrower than most roofing
How Often Should You Have Your Roof Inspected? A Michigan Homeowner’s Guide Read More »
A second layer of shingles over the old roof is a real option: widely recommended, cheaper up front, and the right call for some houses. It is also unavailable to a lot of Michigan homes. Michigan’s residential code requires existing roof coverings to be removed once a roof carries two applications, and two layers is
Roof Overlay vs. Roof Tear-Off: Which One Your Michigan Home Qualifies For Read More »
A musty smell in the attic, condensation dripping from the underside of the roof deck, and squirrels or raccoons finding their way in through a soffit gap can look like three unrelated problems. In most Michigan attics, they trace back to the same root cause: poor roof ventilation. The Common Thread: Poor Roof Ventilation A
Attic Ventilation Problems in Michigan: Causes, Signs & Solutions Read More »
Most homeowners who go looking for storm damage do not know which kind they are looking for, and that is the part that decides what happens next: whether the roof needs attention tonight or in April, whether a claim is worth opening, and whether a repair will do instead of a replacement. Wind, hail, water,
Roof Storm Damage in Michigan: What to Check and What to Do Read More »
On a typical Mid-Michigan house with asphalt shingles, the crew is on your roof for one to three days. The project around those days — estimate, contract, material order, permit, a slot on the schedule, a final inspection — usually runs three to six weeks. Most of that span is waiting rather than working. Pitch,
How Long Does a Roof Replacement Take? What Michigan Homeowners Should Expect Read More »
Most people expect a roofing scam to announce itself: bad grammar on the flyer, an unmarked van, a price too good to be true. The versions that work look like a functioning roofing company. Lettered truck, printed contract, a folder of before-and-after photos, a crew using the same vocabulary your neighbor’s roofer used. Appearing legitimate
Roofing Scams in Michigan: How to Spot and Avoid Them Read More »
A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof surface. The “24 squares” on an estimate means 2,400 square feet of roof, which has almost nothing to do with the 1,900 square feet of house underneath. That conversion is where confusion about roof replacement cost per square foot starts: contractors price in squares, homeowners think
Roof Cost Per Square Foot in Michigan: How to Check the Number on Your Quote Read More »
If there is a real chance you will move within fifteen years, asphalt shingles are the right call for almost every Michigan home. If this is the house you plan to keep, metal earns its price back. Metal is not cheaper than asphalt. On a comparable Michigan roof, a steel system commonly runs on the
Metal Roof vs. Asphalt Shingles: Cost, Lifespan & Value for Michigan Homeowners Read More »
The storm just passed. There are shingles in the yard, a branch on the garage, and you’re standing in the driveway with two numbers pulled up on your phone: your insurance company and a roofing contractor. Which one do you call first? If you search online, you’ll get two opposite answers depending on who wrote
Should You Call a Roofer or Your Insurance Company First After Storm Damage? Read More »
