Sterling Heights Expert Roofing: Shingle, Metal & Flat Roof Replacement & Repair

A full roof replacement strips every layer down to the deck. On a 1970s house that deck is often plank boards or early plywood, and the soft sheets only show up once the old roof is off. They get cut out and replaced, and the roof is rebuilt in order: metal drip edge at the eaves and rakes, the ice barrier, synthetic underlayment, flashing at every wall and chimney, the shingles, then ridge vent and cap.

Sterling Heights allows no more than two layers of roofing. If yours already has two, the next roof is a full tear-off. And on any tear-off the city wants ice and snow shield on the deck. Our advice: put a few sheets of decking in the budget, even if the roofline looks straight from the street.

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Architectural shingles (also called laminated or dimensional) bond two layers into one thick shingle. They're the usual pick when an old 3-tab roof comes off. InterNACHI estimates about 30 years for architectural shingles and about 20 for 3-tab. HomeGuide says thicker architectural shingles stand up to gusts of up to 130 mph, compared with 60 mph for 3-tab.

Two ratings are worth asking about. The wind class comes from ASTM D3161 or D7158 and is printed on the bundle. Impact resistance comes from UL 2218, and Class 4 is the top rating. In the Class 4 test, a 2-inch steel ball is dropped from 20 feet and the shingle can't crack through.

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Standing seam metal panels lock together at raised seams over hidden clips, so no fasteners go through the face of the panel. Exposed-fastener panels cost less but rely on screw washers that wear out. Steel shingles are a third option that look like slate or shake from the street. InterNACHI puts metal roofs at 40 to 80 years, longer than any shingle or flat-roof membrane.

Metal sheds snow in sheets, which is good for ice dams and bad for a walkway under the eave. Snow guards above doors and driveways keep the snow on the roof.

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Attached garages, rear additions, porches and some split-level sections around Sterling Heights have low-slope roofs that can't take shingles, so they get a membrane instead. EPDM is black rubber sheet with glued, taped seams. TPO is a white membrane welded at the seams with hot air. Modified bitumen goes down in torch-applied or self-adhered rolls. HomeGuide gives EPDM 15 to 20 years on average and TPO 10 to 25.

Flat-roof leaks usually start at the edge metal, at a wall where the membrane turns up, or around a vent pipe. Water sits on a flat roof for days, so those details matter more than which membrane you choose.

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A water stain on the bedroom ceiling rarely sits right under the hole. Water runs along rafters and the deck first, so a proper leak repair starts in the attic, tracing the stain back up to where it comes in. On Sterling Heights houses the usual culprits are cracked rubber pipe boots, step flashing along dormer and second-story walls, open valleys, and nails that have backed out and lifted a shingle.

A lasting repair replaces the failed boot or flashing. Roof cement smeared over the top might buy you a season, and on a north slope it may not see spring.

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NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged hail up to 1.75 inches, golf-ball size, in Macomb County on July 20, 2023. Five weeks later, on August 24, its wind reports had trees and power lines down across the county. Hail leaves round bruises where the granules are knocked off. Wind creases tabs and lifts them off their seal strip, so the next storm peels them away.

A roofer can mark and photograph the damage for your adjuster, then repair it or quote a replacement if the roof is past saving. Whether insurance pays is up to your policy. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) tells homeowners to report the claim, protect the house from further damage and photograph everything before anything is thrown out.

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When a limb comes through the roof or a strip of shingles blows off before rain, the first job is getting the house dried in. A heavy tarp gets fastened over the opening with wooden battens, run over the ridge so water can't get under the top edge. Keep the receipt for the tarping, because protecting the house from more damage is part of the claim process and your policy may cover the cost.

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A roof inspection covers the outside and the attic. On the roof the inspector checks shingle condition and granule loss, curled or cracked tabs, flashing at walls, chimneys, skylights and pipes, valleys, the drip edge, and loose or missing ridge cap. In the attic: water stains on the deck, daylight at the wrong places, wet insulation, and whether the vents are clear.

People ask for one before buying or selling a house, after a storm, or when they want to know whether a leaking roof is worth repairing. Ask for photos of what was found, not just a verbal verdict.

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From December through March, the National Weather Service's normals for Detroit put daily highs at or just above freezing and lows below it (January: 32.3°F and 19.2°F), so snow on a roof melts by day and refreezes at night. Building Science Corporation explains ice dams simply: when the roof deck is warmer than the eaves, snow melts higher up and refreezes at the cold edge, and the water behind it backs up under the shingles.

There are two parts to the fix. The first is a membrane that stops the backed-up water: the code calls for an ice barrier from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line. The second is a cold deck, which takes air sealing and insulation on the attic floor plus balanced ventilation. The code sets net free vent area at 1/150 of the vented attic area, or 1/300 when 40 to 50 percent of it is high near the ridge and the rest is low at the soffits. Foam baffles keep insulation from blocking the soffit vents.

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Seamless aluminum gutters are formed on site from a coil to the length of each run, so the only joints are at the corners and outlets. Micro-mesh guards over them keep out maple seeds and oak leaves and still let water through. DIFS advises keeping gutters clear to help prevent ice damming.

It makes sense to do gutters with the roof, since the drip edge has to sit over the back of the gutter, and new hangers should go into solid fascia, not rotted wood.

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When a chimney or skylight leaks, look at the flashing before you blame the brick or the glass. Chimney flashing has two layers. Step flashing is woven into each shingle course, and counter flashing is cut into the mortar joints and lapped over it. Wide chimneys get a cricket on the uphill side to split the water around them. Skylights get a step-flashing kit and an ice barrier around the curb. The residential code also requires rusted or damaged flashings to be replaced when the roof is redone.

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