Roofing Supplies - What Supplies Are Needed For a Roof?

The term "roofing supplies" covers a wide range of materials and items needed for roof construction and maintenance. This includes not only shingles but molding, lumber, pipes and vents, roofing cements, ladders and all the necessary tools, even roofing nails.

Starting at the top, let's consider the roofing material. This is considered the roof proper and includes wood shingles, ceramic tiles, asbestos shingles, metal roofing sheets and tiles, rubber roofing sheets and shingles, and more. Location is a prime concern when selecting material, so that the roof will stand up to the local elements and issues that impact it.

Lumber is used in a roof primarily as the support structure or frame. This generally consists of a triangular truss and a lattice of beams. The frame serves as the base which is laid over the top. Lumber is used for other elements including the cornice, part of the frame that hangs over the wall, the fascia, or underside of the cornice, the eave, beam ends of the wood frame that allow water to drip away from the roof, and the soffit, or underside of the eave.

Pipes and vents protrude from the roof. They help the house breathe, and are also the escape routes for smoke from a fireplace or cooking hood, as well as for hot air from the attic. The bottoms of pipes and vents are commonly sealed with a boot, or metal strip, including a lead based or plastic sealant. They have one way shields sealed with rubber so that the air or smoke can escape, but water doesn't flow into the pipe or vent.

Roofing tools include the ladder to climb up to the roof, as well as others used for maintenance, installation and removal. These include simple items such as a broom and bucket to hold waste shingles, a slater's hammer complete with a hammer as well as an ax and blade, a slate cutter to cut through shingles, seaming pliers to grasp shingles, and a hip runner to install the ridge cap, the portion of the roof on top of seams.

When it comes to roofing nails, they must be long enough to extend through the shingles and go further to about 3/8 inch below the underside of the shingle. Anything that interferes with the nails biting into the wood might cause the nail to spring out of the shingle, and eventually the loss of shingles. This includes shingles with ridges, some under shingle materials, and of course nails that are too short. A good roofer can drive a roofing nail with one solid hit. A homeowner doing it themselves will find that they can drive the nails with one hit after only a few minutes.

Roofing supplies aren't as simple as they first seem. But with a little planning, you'll have everything needed for a quality roof.

Roofing Supplies - What Supplies Are Needed For a Roof?

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Roofing Supplies - What Supplies Are Needed For a Roof?

Roofing Supplies - What Supplies Are Needed For a Roof?
Roofing Supplies - What Supplies Are Needed For a Roof?

Chokyi Ooi runs a Home Improvement and Family Resources site and hopes this site can help us to improve our home and family lives. To learn more about Roofing Supplies [http://home-and-family.chokyi.com] and lots of other guides, feel free to drop by [http://home-and-family.chokyi.com].

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How to Clean Your Chimney

Springtime chimney cleaning is very important. A through cleaning is recommended after a long winter of burning fires. The initial cost of purchasing a brush and the rods for cleaning your chimney can be in the 0 - 0 range depending on the size of your flue and the height of your chimney. Many times a chimney sweep can charge up to 0 to clean your chimney depending on the height and how dirty it is. Once you've purchased the brush and rods the rest of your chimney sweeping only requires some elbow grease instead of paying for a cleaning. If you want to share the cost see if a neighbor might want to split it with you. Cleaning your chimney isn't difficult; the hardest part of the job is getting out the ladder. Once you've dug the ladder out of the garage you're well on your way. Don't forget to take a tape measure, pen and paper up there with you, (there's nothing worse than getting back on the ground and forgetting what the dimensions were). Now that you're on the roof if you have a chimney cap remove it. Some chimney caps can easily be removed by loosening 4 thumb screws at the base. Some chimney caps are permanently mounted and the screws are on the lid.

Next measure the inside of your flue tiles and write it down. Take a good look at your chimney while you're up there. Creosote will tend to be the heaviest at the top of the chimney were it starts to cool during the burning process. If there appears to be little or no creosote buildup just black soot a wire brush will work fine. If the creosote is really thick you may want to consider a flat wire brush that will give you more surface contact.

Always use the bush that is the same size and the flue tiles. If the brush is too small you won't make surface contact or if too large you will jam the brush and bend the bristles. Next determine the total height of your chimney, from smoke chamber to the top. If it is a one story home the chimney would average 15', two story around 25'. Chimney brush rods are available in 3' 4' 5' and 6' sections that screw together. Chimney brush rods are made of fiberglass and are very flexible; they can bend 90 degrees or more. This allows for cleaning any bends in your chimney.

When selecting a chimney brush you will be amazed at the differences and cost. The double spiral brush contains more bristles which will give you more surface contact. This is great for moderately cleaning the soot. A single spiral brush with fewer wires is great for the quick sweep when there is just a light dusting of soot. The flat wire brush is best for the heavy jobs. If you have a metal chimney or your chimney has been relined a poly brush is recommended for cleaning. A poly brush will not scratch the inside or your pipe.

How to Clean Your Chimney

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How to Clean Your Chimney

How to Clean Your Chimney
How to Clean Your Chimney

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Safely Getting More Heat From Your Wood Burning Stove

There is nothing like a wood fire - whether it is from a fireplace or a wood stove. Yet how do you get more heat out of the two to heat your home or cottage? The following deal mainly with how to get more from a wood stove to heat your areas to supplement your furnace heating.

In this day and age optional accessories and fittings are available to make wood stoves basically more efficient and effective in throwing out heat - more like a furnace. Not long ago these tools and add ons were simply not available in the heating trades' marketplace.

Two of the most widely recommended by heating trades people and heat and furnace contractors are what is referred to as a "heat extractor" and a stovepipe oven. Heat extractors work by salvaging and scavenging heat that would otherwise be lost up the chimney flue. Stove-pipe ovens will adapt these wood stoves for baking as well. Both can be said to be utilized in a most safe manner if a concurrent stack type thermometer is utilized to monitor temperatures.

In terms of the heat extractor devices the most common varieties that you will find - either recommended by your trusted heating tradesman or at local big box hardware home renovation stores essentially consist of a metal box, with two short stovepipe connections, that is designed to replace a standard 24 inch section of stovepipe that is close to the fire box. The metal box has between 10 and 14 collector tubes running through it horizontally. Flue gasses flowing through the box and around the tubes make them very very hot indeed. When they reach a temperature of in the ranges of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, room air is blown through them by a small electric fan simply activated by a thermostat.

Nearly all newer stoves and the vast majority of older models can benefit from such an addition. The average wood burning stove it seems can send intense heat - between 750 degrees and 1150 degrees Fahrenheit into the collar of the flue that is the area just above the firebox. If you can just harness some of this wasted heat output, your stove thermal output and heating efficiency can be boosted up to the range. One case in point to watch out for - an exception are the what is referred to as "airtight stoves' which are designed to control the heat that they generate within their fire boxes so that all in all relatively little waste heat escapes into the chimney flues. Indeed just to prove the point of where the heat is going - in the home rather than heating up the outside - the collars of flues of these airtight variety of stoves only register on thermometers in the range of 300 degrees to 550 degrees maximums.

One last point about the safety of using heat extractors. Overall you are further ahead in terms of safety and household fires as the duct system runs much cooler. Yet on the other side with the chimney pipes and flues running cooler residue - especially creosote soot buildup is a concern. Previously running much hotter these residues and surface coatings either never occurred or were "burned off". Take the time and attention to basically double your chimney cleaning efforts - that is reduce the time intervals by 1/2 or double the amount of cleanings per year. Next also add to the cleaning routines that the tubes in the extractor also be cleaned.

By following these procedures and adding these devices to your wood stove heating system you will find that your home or cottage is more comfortable with less raw wood heating costs all in a fire safe manner.

Safely Getting More Heat From Your Wood Burning Stove

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Safely Getting More Heat From Your Wood Burning Stove

Safely Getting More Heat From Your Wood Burning Stove
Safely Getting More Heat From Your Wood Burning Stove

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