Posts Tagged ‘colorado roofing’

The appearances of roofs can be deceiving, and roofs that look one way but are structured another are something that can prove to be a danger to firemen when they’re called upon to battle a blazing building.

A & H Roofing has been in the roofing business for decades and we want to bring to the public’s attention a small idiosyncrasy in roofing construction that, if noted by the homeowner, may help save your home from being destroyed in a fire and also protect the firemen who come to help fight it.

In this particular case, we are talking about double roofing. The homeowner only needs to have a heightened sense of concern if their roof, typically after a remodel, mirrors some of our examples below.

We are not talking about the extra membrane of shingles many people put on their roofs to protect against the elements such as snow and rain. We are speaking about a mansard – the type of double roof that is installed to give the building a different look. Pictures A and B are the SAME building with drastic aesthetic differences, or a “double roof” laid over the original frame.

A:

B:

When drastic changes are made and new additions are built, especially those intended to work on top of and mask the original foundation, they run the danger of the following:

In addition to giving the building a different appearance, these new roofs and the mansard have also done the following:

• added combustible concealed spaces that may be connected to existing concealed spaces throughout the rest of the building.
• trapped a significant amount of combustible materials (the old, dry roofing materials) inside the concealed spaces.
• changed the way in which a fire will behave in this building.
• made vertical ventilation a more difficult and more hazardous option.

Due to a significant rise in remodels and the unexpected behavior of fires around these remodeled spaces, firefighter deaths fighting fires in structures like these have risen recently.

A & H Roofing is keenly aware how brave these men are, who risk their own lives to keep our families and properties safe. With the advent of the Colorado wildfires we are especially thankful for these men and women being with us in our time of need. So in order to do our part and give the slightest bit back to them we would like our blog readers to be aware that if you have a remodel, specifically one that involves laying over or adding to the roof, make sure the new structure is thoroughly and properly noted in your house plan.

As a responsible community business, A & H Roofing thought letting you know something as simple as that could help save your house…and possibly a firefighter’s life.