What are the Indicators That You May Need a New Roof?

When it hasn’t rained recently in Toluca Lake or anywhere in SoCal, for that matter, how do you know that you need a new roof before it rains again?

Begin by inspecting the interior of your home for peeling paint or bubbling plaster on ceilings or walls. Also, if it does rain in Toluca Lake, check for new stains on your ceiling after the rain, as this is a sure sign that you have a leak.

Inspect your gutters for shingle debris and on your lawn. Climb up to the roof and look over your roofing material. Check for shingles are buckling or curling or blistering.

Remember that your roof is always exposed to the harsh elements of Southern California – the heat of the sun and the winds even when it does not rain in Toluca Lake. The daily ultraviolet rays with extreme heat of the sun does eventually age roofing materials, so make sure to check the south and west facing slopes, especially.

The occasional strong winds can cause your shingles to lift. Once lifted this can cause dry rot and threaten the structural integrity of your roof.  When it does rain, lifted shingles can allow the rainwater and even debris underneath the shingles. Once that some of your shingles have torn off, it’s more likely for remaining shingles to loosen and rip or blow off.

Need a New Roof or a Roof Repair

Need a New Roof or a Roof Repair?

Make sure you clean the gutters twice a year or more if you have large trees. Leaves in gutters and on your roof can cause rot from the moisture they hold. The leaves also block drainage and can cause standing water. Keep an eye out for tree branches touching your roof as that can cause damage to your shingles.

So whether you need a new roof or just a roof inspection or repair, J and J Roofing  is known to be one of the top roofing companies servicing Toluca Lake. Visit our website to schedule an appointment or just give us a call.

J and J Roofing services Toluca Lake and the broad surrounding communities.

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Why Hire a Licensed and Insured Pasadena Roofing Company?

Are you faced with the need to re-roof? Many Pasadena homeowners are finding the costs to re-roof their home to be quite a bit more than they hoped it would be. So, when looking for a way to cut costs, they may find it’s cheaper to skip hiring a licensed and insured roofer.

Often Pasadena roofing material is made from petroleum. That seems to increase in price with every passing year. Labor cost is driven by an ever-shrinking work force (there are few technical colleges, if any, that teach roofing).

Because of this, many homeowners who are staggered by the costs are then tempted to hire an inexpensive roofer who may not exactly be legal. While an uninsured or unlicensed Pasadena roofer can be cheaper, there are more reasons than meet the eye to think twice before you do.

licensed and insured roofer

Always hire a licensed and insured Pasadena roofer

What is a contractor’s license? Yes, he has passed tests to prove he knows roofing, but also must be bonded. Also, he has to have done a good enough job that people are not filing complaints against him with the CSLB.

Roofing can be a fairly destructive activity and is a major change to your home, removing the earlier roofing and so forth. If things do go wrong with an unlicensed roofer, you have little recourse.

J and J Pasadena Roofing is both a licensed and insured roofer. Why?

Roofers have two kinds of insurance. Workers compensation (workcomp), for labor injuries, and general liability, for everything else.

Workcomp is the most important. If one of his guys falls off your roof,  you don’t want the bill for it. General liability isn’t a must (it’s not legally required). But, if your home is worth money or it’s a commercial property it is probably something you will want and it comes with a price. A roofer with full coverage general liability (like we have) will cost more. Ask before you hire your Pasadena roofer.

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Do I Need a New Roof or a Roof Repair?

The rains came this year. Lots of rain. Did you hear that dreaded “drip, drip”?

If so, you now need to establish if you need a roof repair or a whole new roof. But you should not just climb up on the roof and check it yourself. First you need to find a reputable roofer. You can ask friends and relatives, check Angie’s List and YELP or do a Google search for a Los Angeles roofing company. Then, read all the reviews. You can do all of that. Or find a local roofing supply company and ask them for a referral. Ideally both.

A reputable roofer has a lot of experience – seeing various leaks, over, and over, and over again. First, they are looking for the obvious signs of water entry.  This might be water stains on the ceiling or sediment under shingles in places it should not be – this indicates water entry or rusty nails heads underneath, etc.

Some of the time, they will look and not immediately figure out what is the source of the problem.  Other times, at first look, it is obvious what is causing the leak. And sometimes, it may take destructive testing (tearing open the roof) in order to be able to find out where the leak is.

On a shingle roof, there are signs to tell a good roof from a bad one. Sometimes the shingle lines are not straight but wavy and sometimes you can actually see exposed nail heads.

Roof Maintenance Check

A flat roof may look “too clean” – where the rolls overlap there should be black lines, unless they covered them with extra white granules. This helps the roofer to find the problem.

You should be able to get a free roofing estimate. Call a professional roofer and have them check your roof so you know if you need a roof repair or a new roof. If you call J and J Los Angeles, there will be no charge and no obligation.

Los Angeles roofer, J and J Roofing, also servicing all areas including Burbank, Encino, Northridge, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Los Feliz and Silverlake for all roofing needs.

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Is a New Roof a Good Investment?

There are different scenarios that answer the question in different ways. These include a leaky, worn roof. Also, upgrading to a new roof for aesthetic purposes will have another answer. A homeowner should know the different choices in roofing materials in order to make an informed decision.

Of course, if your roof is leaking and obviously worn out, you must get a new roof, because the investment in the purchase of a new roof will certainly keep your home from decreasing in value. Failure to replace a worn roof can result in interior damages to your attic or home. It can cause structural damage and other problems.

Fixing a leaky roof may save you the cost of repairing any damage that may be caused by a leaky roof. I have seen walls, ceilings and floors that needed to be repaired because of water damage. If you let it go long enough you could even get mold and that is a very expensive repair.

Replacing your ordinary roof with a premium roof can be a good investment prior to a sale, particularly if you are in a neighborhood surrounded by homes with higher end roofs. But if you live in a moderate neighborhood, it’s not likely that a new superior roof will get your investment back on the sale price.

If you are not selling your home and you wonder if putting a beautiful new roof on the house will increase your home’s value, that is not certain. You are more likely to get a better return on your investment on a new kitchen or updating other interior parts of your home.

If you must get your roof replaced make sure that you have hired a roofer with years of experience, who has the insurance and licensing in place needed by your city and your state to legally roof your home. Cutting corners to save money on a roofing job is one of worst decisions you can make.

Take a drive around your neighborhood. Look over the different types of roofs. Go to a nicer area and look them over. And then go to a lower income area and look at those roofs. That will give you a good idea of the minimum quality of roof you want to choose.

New Roof

Then call J and J Roofing. We will come out and give you a free estimate. You can compare the cost of roofing with different types of roofing materials. Then you can make an informed decision on what to do about your roof.

J and J Roofing is a Los Angeles Roofing Company servicing many surrounding communities including Northridge, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Studio City, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Encino, Los Feliz and Silverlake for all roofing needs.

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Do You Have a Roof Leak? How Do You Know?

If there’s water dripping from your ceiling, you probably have a good idea that you have a roof leak. But it’s not always that simple.

Sometimes you may not be aware of it because it doesn’t show up inside your home.  There can be many causes for this. Perhaps your home has extensive overhangs and the roof leaks there will often will not show up inside the home. Many homes have insulation and a roof leak dripping onto the insulation will get soaked up and may not actually show up on the ceiling. Also, leaks can drip down inside walls and not show up as wet spots.

Do you get the idea now? These roof leaks can happen without being visible. This can lead to damage to framing or mold that the homeowner is not aware of until it becomes extensive. When we remove roofs, it is not uncommon to find extensive dry rot in the wood deck and even in the structual framing. This rot is due to leaks which have often been ongoing for many years, maybe decades.

You want to make sure to have your roof checked every year. Early in the fall is best, and definitely  by a professional roofer. The cost of a roof check is minimal and roofing estimates should not cost you anything and not obligate you to hiring the company.

If a roofer says you have roof problems, you don’t need to take his word for it. You want to see photos that demonstrate the reason they need to do the work. You can always call a few companies and get a second quote.

Roof Leak?

How Do You Know if You Have a Roof Leak?

If you haven’t had your roof checked for a while, make an appointment with your Los Angeles roofer. The best time to do this is before winter, but go ahead and do it now!

For a Free Estimate – contact ushttps://jandjroofing.com/los-angeles-roofers-raining-business-2/ at 323.913.4190 or on our website.

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Why the Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

What a conundrum. Los Angeles roofers are raining business this year. Why? First of all, as of the beginning of February, downtown LA had gotten more rain in 2017 than the average norm in an entire year. This is pretty much the tale across Southern California.

Since December the rain stats have been almost two times the average throughout much of the state. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, the period from October 2016 to February 2017 was wetter in California than any other years since the records began in 1895.

Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

KTLA reported:  “The National Weather Service on Monday afternoon said the downtown weather station, which is at USC, had recorded 15.44 inches of rain as of 2 p.m. In a normal “water year,” the site gets 14.93 inches of rain.”

“This winter, after five years of drought, the state has seen heavy rain and snow. Statewide snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a crucial source of drinking water, was at 173 percent of normal as of Monday. By the end of January, nearly half the state was out of drought, according to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor. A year earlier, more than 95 percent of the state was in drought.”

J and J Roofing, located near Silverlake and Los Feliz and servicing all of  Los Angeles Roofing,  has been flooded with calls and is raining business. (Yep, play on words.) Known for their quality and customer’s trust level – it was not surprising that when roofs began to leak they got under water with all those phone calls.

“People don’t even know they have a leak until it starts raining, usually.” Says John Glass, one of the owners. “We try to convince people to get a roof check every year or two, but you know – out of sight, out of mind. When the rains began we would get literally hundreds of calls a day.”

J and J Roofing, top Los Angeles roofers, had so many calls they had to stop accepting new clients until this month. So if you have some roof work you need done, now is the time to make an appointment.

For a Free Estimate – contact us at 323 913 4190 or on our website.

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Ask These Questions to Choose Your Roofer

You have checked around and found a few roofers who are coming over to look at your roof. What do you ask to know which is the best roofer to hire?

Will a written estimate be sent to me? If the estimator offers you the estimate immediately after his inspection and attempts to close you, right then and there, we suggest you look for a different company. This estimate will likely be too high or missing essential details.

If the plywood is rotten or the decking is soft, what will you charge me for the replacement of the plywood? The estimate should include a dollar amount per sheet of plywood or per running foot of deck boards. If not, you may be overcharged.

Hire a Roofer

How to Choose a Roofer

Where will the waste container be kept and for how long? They will need to properly dispose of all the refuse from the job including shingles, old wood, packaging, etc. You must have this setup in advance so you know how much driveway or street space will be used up. The cost for this should be included in the bid.

Who will take off the old roof?  It could be the roofing company or they could hire out another company. Your bid should include the cost of removing the existing shingles or not.

What happens if it is very windy or rains during the work? How will my property be protected? Do you ever have to postpone the work?

Make sure to find out that company’s policy during inclement weather. Your home’s interior must be protected by tarps or plastic covers on the roof, if it rains. If the weather lasts a few days in a row, make sure someone comes out and ensures the covering is still in place. In the case of wind, similar precautions should be taken.

Will you protect the landscaping and rest of my property during the project? Begin by walking around the property and pointing out any area that may concern you. Remember there will be several workers coming and going and a variety of equipment will be used.

What if you are not ready to get the work done? The company should be a longstanding, local roofing company, so the answer you should get is “not a problem”.  If someone tries to “hard sell” you to start immediately, you may not be dealing with a reputable company.

Make sure to get the contact info for the onsite person who will be running the job. 

These are great questions to ask when you must decide to hire a roofer. J and J Roofing is the leading Los Angeles Roofing Company.  For a fair and Free Estimate – contact us at 323 913 4190 or on our website.

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Studio City Roofer Offers Roof Checks for Leakage

When it rains, it pours! That’s a very true adage in the roofing business. When it rains, it pours. Your roof leaks are exposed by the rain and roofers can be so busy it takes weeks or months to get an appointment. Which can make for a very messy scene inside your home.

Right now at J and J Roofing Studio City and all of Southern California, we are seeing more rain than we’ve seen in a very long time. Every year the local news guys shout out “El Niño – El Niño!” – to the extent that they can legitimately be accused of crying wolf! But… this year, we may really be heading into the heaviest rain in decades. 

Naturally we roofers are happy because roofing and these conditions bring work. And lots of it. But we’re actually concerned it’s going to bring too much work, much like it did in 2005 when most companies (including us) were booked out six months. You may think we enjoy having too much work but really, we don’t.  It’s no fun telling someone you can’t help them for six months.

Roof Maintenance Check
Roof Maintenance Check

Schedule a Roof Check now with J and J Roofing Studio City. If you don’t already have a newer roof, call us at 877 7MY ROOF (877-769-7663) to schedule for our roof check-up service so you can.   We do Roof Checks for $155.00 which is an industry leading price and this includes on-the-spot minor repairs, sealing, drain cleaning (flat roofs), etc. 

Most roofs qualify for this.  Exceptions are large commercial buildings or extremely steep roofs and the like. If your roof does not qualify for the $155.00 service, J and J Roofing Studio City will give you a free estimate on what needs to be done, so – no worries!

(J&J Roofing offers inspections and reports for buyer’s agents or home buyers needing the roof inspected during inspection contingencies, or for any other reason an inspection might be needed. This type of inspection is not the same as a Maintenance Check. Please call us if you are buying a home. We will be happy to take care of that.)

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How to Choose a Los Angeles Roofer

Because you should only need to roof your home every 30 years or so, choosing your roofer wisely is important.

choose a Roofer
How to Hire a Roofer

First, you want to ensure that the Los Angeles Roofer you choose has an excellent reputation. These days that’s easy with Google reviews, Angie’s List, YELP and other review sources. You should ask around – at work and your neighbors, get personal referrals and then check reviews.

The Los Angeles Roofer that you use should have been in business for some time. If you choose a roofer who has just started business or who is in town to help with some overflow of work, they won’t necessarily be there if you have a problem after they are done roofing your home.

The roofer need to have a valid license.  Verify this on cslb.gov.ca (the .ca represents California so input whatever your state is). You can also check to ensure he has no complaints, verify that he has a bond, and proper workman’s comp insurance (for ALL his employees, not just him). Additionally, you should verify that he has liability insurance.

A busy roofer, one you have wait for, is not necessarily a bad indicator. Actually, it’s good. Especially with all the recent rains in the past year or two, most of the best roofers are booked out, so don’t wait to schedule your work, even if you don’t want it done for a few months.  

At J and J Roofing we have been fixing and replacing Greater Los Angeles roofs for almost 30 years. Known for our premiere work, you will find that we fit all these requirements. Reach out to us when you need help with your roof.

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Why the Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

What a conundrum. Los Angeles roofers are raining business this year. Why? First of all, as of the beginning of February, downtown LA had gotten more rain in 2017 than the average norm in an entire year. This is pretty much the tale across Southern California.

Since December the rain stats have been almost two times the average throughout much of the state. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, the period from October 2016 to February 2017 was wetter in California than any other years since the records began in 1895.

Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

Los Angeles Roofers are Raining Business

KTLA reported:  “The National Weather Service on Monday afternoon said the downtown weather station, which is at USC, had recorded 15.44 inches of rain as of 2 p.m. In a normal “water year,” the site gets 14.93 inches of rain.”

“This winter, after five years of drought, the state has seen heavy rain and snow. Statewide snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a crucial source of drinking water, was at 173 percent of normal as of Monday. By the end of January, nearly half the state was out of drought, according to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor. A year earlier, more than 95 percent of the state was in drought.”

J and J Roofing, located near Silverlake and Los Feliz, has been flooded with calls and is raining business. (Yep, play on words.) Known for their quality and customer’s trust level – it was not surprising that when roofs began to leak they got under water with all those phone calls.

“People don’t even know they have a leak until it starts raining, usually.” Says John Glass, one of the owners. “We try to convince people to get a roof check every year or two, but you know – out of sight, out of mind. When the rains began we would get literally hundreds of calls a day.”

J and J Roofing, top Los Angeles roofers, had so many calls they had to stop accepting new clients until this month. So if you have some roof work you need done, now is the time to make an appointment.

For a Free Estimate – contact us at 323 913 4190 or on our website.

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