St. Louis Real Estate - Building Inspection - BOBI

BE OBSERVANT, BE INFORMED by Harry Morrell, ASHI Certified Inspector, Allied Building Inspections, St. Louis , MO

As a home inspector, I cannot stress enough to home buyers and sellers alike to be observant and be informed. I believe it is your duty as citizens of this great country we live in to make it your personal responsibility to be observant and informed, especially when making an investment of a lifetime. I’m referring to the house you will call home and the home you will raise your family in, AKA the American Dream. Your home inspector will be able to help you with all the structural and mechanical questions you may have and help you make the right decision before your purchase or sell.

As a home inspector one of the many questions and concerns I get from my clients has to do with the roof and roofing material. Everyone knows that your home is your shelter and its occupants want to be dry and protected from the weather. Most of all my clients take a look at the roof and roofing on their first showing. The best and only way to inspect a roof and roofing is by walking the planes of the roof and inspecting the decking from the attic. This is where your inspector takes center stage.

One of the many specific concerns I get from buyers and sellers alike are those ugly black streaks marring the roofing material. These streaks can give a black eye to an up-scale well maintained home that appears to be professionally maintained inside and outside. There is no doubt about these ugly black streaks, you can’t hide them and pretend they are not there; however not all the news is bad news. To most buyers and home owners alike these streaks are specifically UGLY. It’s algae build up, and makes roofs look dirty and neglected and maybe causing significant damage. However, unless you get deep, thick growths, usually moss in valleys and/or on the sloped roof surfaces that can impede the flow of rainwater and force water under shingles or behind flashings, the problem is cosmetic only.

Problems arise especially when home owners try to power wash these stains away. The worst case scenario is that you end up blowing your roof away. At the very least you can damage and loosen the aggregate on your shingles and cause a significant service life reduction. I would always recommend a professional to take care of this type problem, and always encourage owners or future owners to stay off the roof. Traversing a roof is one of the most dangerous things a home inspector does during an inspection.

Professionals use special roof and deck cleaners for this type job, and never use power washing equipment. There are even special metal strips that can be installed to prevent future stains from occurring. These strips are placed and installed near the peak of the roof. As the rain water washes over the strips, the oxides of the metal travels down the roof, inhibiting algae growth. In addition I would advise home owners and buyers alike to request shingles that contain magnesium and copper granules in the top coating, or the aggregate or grit as some people call it. This prevents the staining from taking place.

Your inspector will go over these conditions with you in detail and show you close up digital photos of the conditions at the time of inspection. Be sure and ask your inspector any additional questions and concerns you may have. And remember; keep yourself informed, so you will be able to make the responsible decisions for the purchase of your life.

harrymorrell@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Building Inspection News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.