Summon Your Nashville Contractor For Existing Porch Add-Ons

Building on to your home is a series of ever progressing upgrades that take place over time. As your family grows, so does your home, with new kitchens and bedrooms added on to the original design as they are needed. For millions of families across America, this expansion often includes building a porch or a deck on to the exterior of the home. A wonderful place where the family can relax and enjoy the outdoors, these structures usually begin life as a simple platform, exposed to the elements.


At some point, the family gets the idea to build a cover onto the already existing porch structure. Whether you want to cover the entire deck, or just arrange for a roofed over portion to use in rainy weather, it is a wise idea to summon your Nashville contractor when making such an alteration to an already existing porch or deck.


The reason for this is simple: As your Knoxville roofing experts can tell you, roof structures tend to hold up far more securely when they are braced with a single supporting unit from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Simply nailing a couple of two by fours onto the outside of the deck railing isn't going to cut it when it comes to extending beams for roof support. Your existing deck is going to require major modifications and safety installations if it is going to hold up the finished roofing for any amount of time.

If you attempt to make such modifications without professional assistance, you run the risk of having your entire deck roofing collapse around you from lack of proper support. Your Knoxville roofing experts will be more than happy to help you install the roofing over your existing deck, while implementing all of the appropriate safety measures that your situation calls for.


If you bring your Nashville contractor from from the very beginning, you may be able to build a roof onto your existing porch without requiring any major modifications or rebuilding efforts. However, if you start making modifications without having an expert's assistance, you may very well muck things up to the point where your entire deck needs to come down.


Calling in the professionals to help with this add-on construction is the safest way to go about covering your deck or porch with a roof. To make sure that all of the necessary precautions are in place, and all of the bracing and extensions are done correctly, have your professionals help you from the very concept of the idea. They can help you learn what supports and braces you need in order to do the job yourself if you insist, or your Knoxville roofing expert can do the entire job for you, including matching your home's existing shingles. For the best results and the best safety possible, relying on expert opinions and assistance for your extension needs.

Tips From Your Knoxville Contractor On How To Spot Gutter Trouble

If you're like most Americans, you don't fancy the idea of dangling off a ladder two stories in the air unless you really have to. The reason why the average homeowner doesn't realize that their gutters are in trouble until they're falling off the house is because they don't understand the classic warning signs that a gutter system needs maintenance. Here is a brief guide from your Knoxville contractor to help you know when you need to clean out your gutters.


Visiting Wildlife


When you look up at your gutters and notice that you have animal visitors hanging around, don't think of it as a cute situation. As your Chattanooga roofing experts will tell you, animals that have made their homes inside your gutters mean that they have brought their home with them. This means your gutters are full of nests of twigs, piles of seeds and nuts, and possible offspring. Look for birds, squirrels, frogs, lizards, opossums, raccoons, mice, rats, and snakes in your gutter system. Evidence of their presence should be dealt with immediately.


Greenhouse Gardens


There are many places that your home should have plants growing around to share their beauty, but your gutters are not one of these locations. As your Knoxville contractor will tell you, seeing sprouts or seedlings peeking up from within your gutter is an immediate sign of trouble. If those plants are growing, it means that there is enough build-up of dirt and debris for them to take root in. As we all know, roots and homes don't mix well.


Erosion Lines


Around the base of your home, the landscaping should be nice and smooth. If you begin to notice visible erosion lines that mirror the lower-most level of your gutter system, then those gutters aren't hauling the water away like they should. As your Chattanooga roofing team will explain, these erosion lines are coming from where water is routinely escaping your clogged gutters and dripping onto the ground below. If it's been going on long enough to cause noticeable erosion lines on the ground, you have a serious problem in the gutters above.


Waterfall Spectacles


The next time you have a good rainstorm, grab an umbrella (unless it's lightning!) and take a stroll around your home. Look for any waterfalls coming from your gutter system. These occur around seams where different gutters meet, and are a classic sign of trouble, as your Knoxville contractor will tell you. Either there is a crack in the gutter at this location, something is blocking the water flow completely, or the gutter simply isn't up to the task at hand. Note these waterfall spots and have them inspected once the rain ends.

By keeping your eyes open for these four common warning signs, you can know when your home's gutter system is failing. Heed these warnings, and have your gutters cleaned and inspected before the system fails on you completely.

Tips From Your Tennessee Roofing For How To Spot Potential Roof Damage

In order to know when your roof needs to be repaired, you must know how to spot signs of weathering and weather damage on your shingles. Making the occasional visual inspection from the ground will alert you to potential problems on the parts of the roof that you can see, but monitoring those sections of the roof that you can't see from street level can make the job even trickier. Here's how to know when to call your Chattanooga roofing expert in to have a closer look.

Obvious Damage

There are occasionally times when you simply know that damage has occurred on your roof. Your Tennessee roofing professional should be called in for repairs without hesitation in the event that your area experiences extreme weather. When hailstones reach golf ball size, they are causing damage every time they impact your roof. If a large tree branch comes down on a section of your home, or a large chunk of debris blows in and lands on your shingles, you should assume that there has been damage and have it repaired immediately.

Fall Foliage

Those trees that provide shade around your home are beautiful, but the leaves that they drop on your roof are a potential source of damage. Unless you keep these leaves off your roof by removing them forcibly, they will begin to rot where they lay. This will result in sources of rot being introduced to the shingle surface, which can cause breaches in the water proofing that the shingles depend on. If you have leaves that have completely rotted away, and can clearly see the outlines they left behind, then you should summon your Chattanooga roofing expert to have a look.


Visible Mold

Mold is great, when it's on rocks and the sides of trees. When you can see spots of mold on your roof, you need to call in your Tennessee roofing specialist immediately. Where there is mold, there is moisture, and enough of a breach in your roof's defenses for the mold to have taken root to begin with. Although some homeowners consider mold on the roof to add an air of charm, it should be viewed as a dangerous situation and dealt with promptly to prevent further damage.


Interior Leaks

You hope to spot trouble on your roof before it comes to interior leaks, but sometimes the unexpected happens. When you wake to the rhythmic dripping of water on your carpet, grab a bucket and settle in for the long haul. Hope that this rainstorm doesn't last for the next three straight days, and summon your Chattanooga roofing specialist immediately. The problem with a leak is that where the water enters your home may not be anywhere near where the roof is letting the water in. Having the roof searched promptly is the only way to prevent this small leak from becoming a catastrophic roof failure.

5 Ways Installing Vinyl Replacement Windows Can Increase Your Home's Value

Homeowners everywhere are concerned about the value of their property. This value is determined from many different sources, including the condition of the home and the land around it. One of the easiest ways to improve your property value is by updating your windows to modern vinyl replacement windows.

Here are 5 reasons this simple and relatively inexpensive improvement can help your property value increase.

Curb Appeal
While your home may have been built with wooden or aluminum windows, your Knoxville windows specialist will be the first to comment on their appearance versus the modern window style. These older window styles are often set deep in their settings and have been damaged by the elements over the years. They rarely match the rest of the house in appearance, and become the proverbial sore thumb to your home's value.

Weather Damage

Non-vinyl windows have multiple weak points, all of which have been exposed to the elements since the day the window was first installed. For wooden windows, it is rare that the wood has been treated appropriately throughout its life. This wood needs to be oiled and varnished on a regular basis in order to prevent warping and weather damage. Aluminum windows have a bad habit of developing rust spots in the tracks, which often prevent the window from being opened properly. Installing vinyl replacement windows will deal with any existing weather damage in the process.

Proper Insulation

As any home inspector will point out when trying to sell your home, older style windows are rarely properly insulated. Whether single or double paned, these older window styles allow cold and hot air to pass directly through them with little resistance. Your Knoxville windows team will show you how upgrading the windows around your home can not only improve your home's value, but save on your heating and cooling costs as well!

Consistent Appearance

Older windows, even old vinyl ones, rarely had the correct color options available to make your windows stand out or blend in like your home's appearance needs them to. Whether you want your windows to make a statement, or to become a hardly noticed part of your home's appearance, modern vinyl replacement windows will provide you with the colors and styles that you need to get everything looking just the way you want it.

Draft Problems

Older windows commonly suffer from minute changes in the home's structure over time. As the ground beneath the home shifts, an ongoing process in all corners of the globe, the windows come out of their proper setting ever so slightly. This results in hairline cracks around the window that, although not visible, allow air to seep through them and play havoc with your cooling costs. Allowing your Knoxville windows specialists to replace your windows with modern versions will seal these hairline cracks over and provide your home with the protection it needs.

7 Reasons For Sunroom Installation On Your Property

For those home owners who are considering having upgrades made to their property, the sunroom is an option that is all too easily overlooked. Whether you are thinking of having sunroom installation performed as an attached fixture of your home or a freestanding unit, your Tennessee contractor will be able to provide you with the information you need about this choice. For now, though, here are 7 ways that a new sunroom could be used on your property this spring.


1) Entertaining Guests - Having a sunroom installed by your Knoxville contractor team can give you a perfectly enclosed portion of an outdoor patio. With windows that open and wide entry ways, enclosing half of your normal entertainment area in a sunroom would provide you with options when the weather turns sour during a gathering.

2) Intimate Arrangements - A small, cozy sunroom installation on your property can give you and your loved ones a quiet place to retreat to in order to gather your sense of personal space again. Perfect for enjoying your morning coffee, watching over your koi pond, or meditating, these comfortable areas can likewise host a guest or two while keeping them out of your home.

3) Staging Area - The sunroom that is attached to your home by your Knoxville contractor can provide your family with that extra space that is needed to keep those items that shouldn't be in the home corralled. From muddy boots to wet jackets, the sunroom lined with shelves and pegs can help these items to dry, as well keep them from being strung all over your home.

4) House Plant Area - Those plants that you don't take outside, the ones that you have had since the days you were single, have always needed more light. If you're a lover of house plants, the sunroom that your Tennessee contractor plans out for you can give your plants all the light they could ever want.

5) Garden Protection - Tired of having your entire garden pummeled into nothingness by a single severe storm? A freestanding sunroom with raised garden beds along the walls can double as a greenhouse and a getaway for your family. Including opening windows will keep your plants from getting too hot or evaporating their moisture content too quickly.

6) All Weather Swimming - If you own an in-ground pool or a hot tub, you know how much the weather affects your ability to enjoy your investment. By building a sunroom over this area, you will be able to enjoy it year round. Through temperature control, you can enjoy your pool in the middle of winter!

7) Family Retreat - A sunroom installation on the side or back of your house can be turned into a brightly lit family room. Add a few couches, your favorite books and magazines, and a television, and your family will have a new gathering place that provides a warm, friendly atmosphere.

Benefits of Vinyl Replacement Windows

There are many benefits to vinyl replacement windows. They may be exactly what you have been looking for to beautify your home. They are functional, energy saving and attractive so it isn’t any wonder that they are very popular in homes today. What’s more, many homeowners with older homes are replacing their older, traditional wood or aluminum windows with vinyl replacement windows.

Vinyl replacement windows will increase your home’s value. Their stylish looks and versatile selection will add beauty and charm to any home. They allow you to enjoy the view of your yard and surrounding area while cutting down on the noise unlike many traditional windows. You can enjoy your home better without the bother of outside noise.

These windows are also very energy efficient. They have outstanding insulating qualities, keeping the cool air in during the warm months and the warm air in during the cooler months. The double insulated glass works to keep temperatures stable within the home, saving you as much as 25% on your heating and cooling bill. With rising energy costs, this could be the best benefit of vinyl replacement windows. If you have older style windows on your home, it is well worth it to replace them with these windows even for the reduction in your electric bill alone.

What’s more, vinyl windows are durable and very easy to maintain. To clean all you need is a wet cloth with some mild soap. The rigid grade vinyl makes it sturdy regardless of the climate. The insulation and construction also prevents condensation. Because it is made of vinyl, there is no need for scraping, applying putty or painting. In fact, there is no real maintenance required at all. And, because there is no wood, like with most traditional windows, there is no need to worry about termites. You can protect your investment, your home, by a simple installation of vinyl windows.

Vinyl windows also stand up much better in wet or humid weather. They do not shrink or swell when there is a lot of moisture in the air. Unlike traditional windows, vinyl replacement windows always operate smoothly regardless of whether it is hot, cold or rainy. Plus, they do not rust, pit or corrode.

Your home is your investment so you want to take good care of it. It doesn’t matter if you are planning to sell soon or if that is a possibility way down the road. The time to begin taking care of your home is now. Better to be proactive and prevent certain types of damage than to have to correct the damage later. And who doesn’t want to save money on their electric bill anyway?

Tennessee Contractor Poses The Big Roofing Questions

It has become evident to you that a new roof is needed on your home or business. The constant leaks, and having to run about with buckets and trash cans to keep the water off your floors every time that it rains is a dead giveaway that something is seriously wrong over your head. But now you are faced with a very important choice from your Tennessee roofing specialist: metal, or shingles?

Both of these options have their upsides and their downsides, and both have similar installation costs. Your Tennessee contractor will be the first to tell you that this is a very important decision, and that the outcome will affect both the value and the livability of your home for the next several decades. Here is a guide to help you decide which Tennessee roofing material you should settle on.

Metal Roofing

The metal roofing is a relative newcomer to the stage, as your Tennessee contractor will tell you. The modern metal roof has little in common with its ancestor. These are brightly colored versions of many common metals, including different types of steel, tin, and even titanium, that are applied over your existing roof structure. They come in different patterns as well. If you like the look of shingles, but you're tired of playing find the missing piece to the shingle puzzle after every good storm, your Tennessee roofing specialists will probably recommend switching to a strong metal roofing substance instead.

Metal roofing is good for reflecting the sun's heat away from your house, but still holds radiant heat within so that you can save on your energy costs. The bright colors that it comes in won't fade over time, meaning that a replacement panel you install 16 years from now will be the same color of Caribbean Blue that you put on your roof today. It will hold a weather resistant seal for the same life span as a shingle roof, and provides far fewer seams where water could sneak in. Importantly though, the harder types of metal will stay in place when assaulted with hail stones or strong winds.


Shingle Roofing

Modern shingle roofing has also come a long way since you had your current roof installed on your home. Your Tennessee contractor will be able to tell you all about the modern designs, including its durability and resistance to strong winds up, up to 80 mph for some brands.

Tennessee roofing options for shingles come in a variety of colors as well, so you can be picky in having them match your house or make a statement against it. The shingle design means that your home will have the more traditional curb appeal that people are expecting when they view a home. Modern shingles are designed to hold more heat in the home, providing you with a 60% better energy performance than your old shingles offered, which will translate into savings on your energy bill.