The idea of replacing your roof can be stressful to a lot of people. So here is a brief outline of the general process of what to expect with your roof replacement.
If you are filing an insurance claim on your roof:
You will need to contact the Claims Department of your insurance carrier to report your damage. The phone number can be found online and usually on the first page of your policy. You can also log into your account and file your claim online. You do not need to call your agent to file a claim, but they can help you. If you need assistance filing your claim, your Americana Roofing Property Advisor can help you with this as well. You will need to give your insurance company a list or description of your damage and when it occurred. Once you file the claim, you will be given a claim number.
Your adjuster will be contacting you to arrange a time to inspect your property. Please notify your Americana Roofing Property Advisor with this information, so that we may be present at the inspection.
Upon approval of your roof for replacement by your insurance company, you will receive a check from them for the “ACV” portion of the work to be done. If this check is joint checked to you and your mortgage company, you will need to contact the mortgage company for instructions on getting the check endorsed by them.
If the check is above a certain dollar amount, the mortgage company may place the funds in escrow and will issue back a portion to you, joint checked to Americana Roofing, to be able to start the job.
Once you have funds in hand, with all necessary endorsements, you are ready to start work.
Upon completion of the work and if funds are held in escrow, the mortgage company may perform an inspection and release the remainder of the funds, also joint checked to Americana Roofing.
Upon completion of the work, Americana Roofing will send a final invoice to the insurance company to collect the “Recoverable Depreciation” and any “Supplements”. These funds will be mailed or direct deposited to you, not Americana Roofing.
Preparing for your roof replacement:
Consider mowing before we arrive to replace your roof. Shorter grass allows us to do a better job of cleaning debris from your yard and makes it easier for our magnets to collect lost nails.
Move any vehicles out of the garage that will be blocked in by our material delivery, and clear the driveway the day that we come, to make room for our trucks and trailers.
If you have delicate art or decorations hanging on your walls or shelves, you may consider taking them down- especially if you have an older home. The hammering and moving of roofing materials often will shake and vibrate the house, possibly causing furnishings to fall.
If you have pets, please consider boarding them for the day. The hammering on the roof and “strangers” in the yard can be very stressful to some pets.
Move any patio furniture, potted plants, or yard art away from the home to protect it from falling debris from the roof. We can assist you with this if needed.
If you have delicate landscaping that needs special/additional protection, please make the roofing foreman aware of this on the day of the job.
Unlock any gates to give us access around the property.
Turn off lawn sprinklers on the day of the roof replacement.
We may need to access your attic during the day to inspect air conditioning freon lines and furnace exhaust vents.
If you plan to be away from home while we work, make sure we have a phone number that we can contact you on.
The roofing process:
In most cases we will have our supplier deliver the materials to your house the day before or morning of the installation. These are usually set in the driveway to one side or the other. You will want to be sure to move any vehicles out of the garage that would otherwise be blocked in. You will also want to move them out of the driveway on the day of the work.
Most roof replacements will take one to one & a half days. Larger houses and more complex jobs will take longer.
On the day of the roof replacement, the crew will be at your house typically between 7am and 8am, and earlier in the summer. We will back a truck or trailer into the driveway to haul off all debris.
The first step is to place tarps and ground protection around the house, and then begin to remove the old shingles. This is a very messy process. During the day, your yard will look like a bomb went off! But rest assured that everything will be cleaned up by the end of the job.
Once the old roofing has been removed, the new roofing is installed.
In addition to the mess, be aware that the roofing process is very noisy. If you plan to be home during the work, be prepared to listen to constant hammering for 10-12 hours, plus air compressors, saws, leaf blowers, and other loud tools.
Occasionally, homeowners will get “nail pops” in their drywall during the roofing process- especially on vaulted ceilings. A nail pop is when drywall mud over a nail head loosens or dislodges, leaving a small bump or exposed nail head. This happens because of the vibrations of our roofing work and can’t be avoided. See our proposal for specific exclusions due to nail pops.
We make every effort to avoid damaging air conditioner freon lines, gas lines, electrical wires, etc., in the attic. But occasionally one of these lines may be hit when we drive new nails into the roof if the lines weren’t installed correctly to begin with. See our proposal for specific exclusions due to improperly installed lines.
Once complete, everything gets cleaned up, and we take a magnet around your property to pick up loose nails. The average roof will use 15,000-20,000 nails, which means that is how many nails are also being torn off. While we strive to pick up every nail, this is virtually impossible. You should expect to find some nails afterwards. If you feel you are finding more nails than should be expected, please let us know and we’ll come do an additional sweep with our magnets.
After the work is finished:
As mentioned previously, we strive to pick up every nail, in addition to all debris. However, you may find some small roofing scraps and some nails in your yard or landscaping afterwards.
After the first couple rains following your roof replacement, you will see a lot of roof granules on the ground, especially at your downspouts. This is normal. These granules were loosened from the new shingles during manufacturing, shipping and the installation process and are nothing to worry about.
Your new roof may look much lumpier or uneven than your old roof. This will eventually smooth out as the new roof gets heated from the sun and the shingles relax and lay down. The process will take a few days in the summer and even longer in colder weather.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Accept
