Understanding Roof Replacement Terminologies

Roof replacement can be a complex project as it requires precise inspection, assessment, planning, selection and installation. While communicating with the roofing contractor about their home roof repair or replacement needs, one might feel confused with the industrial terminologies that they use regarding the roofing project.

While it is perfectly ok to clarify them with the contractor, it might be very helpful to be familiar with some terminologies to get a clear, in-depth understanding of the condition of one’s roof and the work that the contractors would be doing on it. These are some of the commonly used residential roof replacement terminologies.

Residential Roof Replacement Terminologies

• Algae Discolouration: Discolouration of the roof is caused by algae which may also be incorrectly referenced as fungal growth.
• Asphalt: A waterproofing material with an aggregate mixture of gravel, rock, sand or slags that is applied to the roofing material during the process of manufacturing and construction.
• Back Surfacing: A finely powdered mineral that is put on the backside of shingles to prevent them from sticking together.
• Base Flashing: The part of the flashing that rests on the deck to direct the flowing water onto the roof covering.
• Base Sheet: A sheet material that is meant to be the base in self-adhering roofing.
• Blisters: Bubbles that appear on top of the asphalt after they are installed.
• Cap Sheet: A granulated surface used as a ply on top of a multi-layered roof cover. They are sometimes used independently too.
• Caulk: The action of filling a joint with cement or mastic to prevent leaks.
• Concealed Nail Method: The process of driving nails into the underlying layer of the roofing and covering it with cement so that the nails aren’t exposed to the changing weather.
• Condensation: The process when moisture present in the air comes in contact with a cold surface, the water vapour turns into liquid and gets accumulated on the surface.
• Downspout: Also called a leader. The pipe used for draining the water from the roof.
• Exposed Nail Method: The process of driving nails into the roofing where all the nails are driven into the cement and are exposed to the changing weather.
• Flashing: The metal pieces that prevent water from seeping into the building in projections or intersections of the roofs such as valleys, dormers, adjoining walls, chimneys and vent pipes.
• Gable: Around the ridge of a double sloping roof, a gable is the upper triangular part of the sidewall that comes close to it.
• Hip Roof: A type of roof that contains no sloping planes or gables on its sides.
• Ice Dam Protection: Ice dam is the condition that is formed by the re-freezing and thawing of the melted snow on the roof edge. Self-adhering layers are installed on these rooftops to prevent the damage caused by an ice dam.
• Lap Cement: Adhere to the overlapping piles of roofing using asphalt-based lap cement.
• Mineral Stabilizers: Asphalt mixed with finely ground trap rock, slate, limestone and other inert materials in the shingles that increase the resistance and durability of the roof against fire and weather.
• Nesting: The process of reroofing the old shingles with new asphalt shingles where the top edge of the new ones is butted against the bottom part of the existing old shingles.
• Primer: A thin bitumen liquid that is applied on the surface of the roof to absorb dust and improve adhesion in asphalt-based self-adhering sheets.
• Recovering: The process of adding a new layer of roofing over an existing one for additional stability and protection.

Familiarising yourself with these terms would help them communicate with the roof replacement contractor a little better.