BBR Bulletin – September Newsletter

Brown Bros Roofing was founded in 1932 as a roofing company. We have expanded our services over the years, but we are still true to our roots as roofers. With the weather starting to change, we thought it would be helpful to provide an “Asphalt Roofing” primer to our customers.

BBR installs both CertainTeed and Owens Corning asphalt roofing products. Whether you select the locally sourced, CertainTeed made at the old Bird Plant in Norwood, or go with the

Pink Panther, you’ll be sure to have a beautiful and functional roof for years to come. We also install cedar, slate, and rubber roofs, which we will discuss in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

And as with any other home improvement project, roofing isn’t inexpensive. To help ease the burden, we partner with Hearth, and their 18 lending companies, who offer convenient monthly payments.

In three easy steps, you can fund your project:

1) we send you a link to an online application

2) you complete a short online financing form and

3) you select your preferred option and are funded in as few as 24 hours

(Asphalt ) Roofing 101

Despite the term, “asphalt roofing,” the composition of asphalt roofing shingles is more complicated than just “asphalt.” They are generally made of a layer of fiberglass for strength, coated with asphalt to provide weather resistance and adhesion to the next layer, a mineral filler to improve fire resistance, wind resistance, and weathering, and finally, topped with “surfacing material,” generally mineral granules, to provide resistance to impact (e.g., hail) and ultraviolet degradation, and to improve fire resistance.

               Roofing Terms/Definitions

Following are definitions of some common asphalt roofing terms.

Ridge — the uppermost, horizontal external angle formed by the intersection of two sloping roof planes.

Flashing — pieces of metal used to prevent seepage of water into a building around any intersection or projection in a roof such as vent pipes, chimneys, adjoining walls, dormers and valleys.

Hips — the inclined external angle formed by the intersection of two sloping roof planes. Runs from the ridge to the eaves.

Fascia — the main vertical members that form the sides of a window and hold the glass panes in place.

Downspout — a pipe for draining water from roof gutters.

Rafter — the supporting framing member immediately beneath the deck, sloping from the ridge to the wall plate.

Underlayment — felt or specially engineered synthetic material used between shingles and sheathing to provide additional protection for the deck.

Valley — an internal angle formed by the intersection of two roof slopes.

Eaves — the horizontal, lower edge of a sloped roof.

Drip Edge — a corrosion-resistant metal used along the eaves and rakes to allow water run-off to drip clear of underlying construction.

Rake — the inclined edge of a sloped roof over a wall.

Gable — the upper triangular portion of a sidewall that comes to a point at the ridge of a double-sloping roof.

Soffit — the finished underside of the eaves.

Gutters — the trough that carries water coming off the eaves to the downspouts.

Vent Pipe — an outlet for air that sticks up through the roof deck.

Roof Field — used to raise and lower or open and close sashes.

Square — a unit of roof measure equaling 100 square feet (a 10’ x 10’ area).

Sheathing — exterior grade plywood used as a roof deck.

Types of Roofs

Following are some common roof types.

Hip Roof (1) — A type of roof containing sloping planes of the same pitch on each of four sides. Contains no gables.

Gambrel Roof (2) — A type of roof containing two sloping planes of different pitches on each side of the ridge. The lower plane has a steeper slope than the upper. Contains a gable at each end.

Mansard Roof (3) — a vertical portion of roofing. It contains two sloping planes of different pitch on each of four sides. The lower plane has a much steeper pitch than the upper, often approaching vertical. Contains no gables.

Gable Roof (4) — A type of roof containing sloping planes of the same pitch on each side of the ridge. Contains a gable at each end.

Dormer (5) — A framed window unit projecting through the sloping plane of a roof.