Front Range Roofworks

Why roofs fail

Ultraviolet at altitude, and a freeze that arrives most nights of the winter. A roof here is worked from two directions at once.

A roof rarely wears out evenly. It goes at the joints, and on the sunny side. A mile up, sun and freeze work the same points from opposite directions.
Garage Point 1: ridge caps 1 Ridge caps: worked loose by the daily swing Point 2: the field of the roof 2 The field: UV dries it out Point 3: valleys 3 Valleys: meltwater runs longest here Point 4: flashing 4 Flashing: chimney, garage line Point 5: vent boot 5 Vent boot: cracks early up here Point 6: eaves and ice dams 6 Eaves: ice builds where the attic leaks heat
  1. 1 Ridge caps. Worked loose by a temperature swing that happens every single day.
  2. 2 The field. High-altitude sun dries the covering out from above, faster than the calendar says.
  3. 3 Valleys. Where two slopes drain as one, and where meltwater runs longest.
  4. 4 Flashing. Chimney joints, and the line where the garage roof meets the house.
  5. 5 The vent boot. Rubber cracks early at this altitude, well before the shingles do.
  6. 6 Eaves. Ice builds at the edge wherever the attic is leaking heat into the roof.

The six

Thin air, and what it lets through

A mile-high sun that dries shingles out years ahead of their warranty, and a freeze-thaw cycle that works every fastener and sealant strip. Ice damming at the eaves each winter (an attic-heat problem, not a snow problem). And flashing that outlives its sealant at every chimney and vent. Not one of those needs weather worth remembering.

Roofing across the Denver Front Range →