How Roof and Rafter Writes About Roofs

Roof and Rafter is written by The Roof and Rafter editors for homeowners who have a roof problem or a roof decision in front of them. Pages are written to the rules below.

Who is talking to you

The editors write as a team under one byline. We are not licensed contractors, building inspectors, engineers or insurance adjusters, and we do not present ourselves as any of them. Nothing here replaces an on-site assessment by someone who is. A page can tell you what to look for and what to ask. It cannot tell you what is wrong with your roof.

A roof is a local matter

A roof is built to the local building code and to the installation instructions of whoever made the product. When a page depends on either one, it says so and sends you to your building department or to the manufacturer’s published instructions for the exact requirement. Outside sources are code bodies, government sites and manufacturers, such as the International Code Council, which publishes the model codes many places adopt with local changes.

So the pages seldom settle details such as fastener spacing or attic ventilation. The document your inspector uses does.

Climate matters as much as code. Snow load, hail, high wind, heat and humidity decide which problems are common and which materials suit a house. A page that leans toward one climate names it, and a page that applies everywhere says what changes from place to place.

Why the pages carry no prices

Material and labor costs move with region, season, access and the shape of the roof, so a figure printed here would be wrong for most readers. What the pages do is explain what raises or lowers a quote, so you can read the ones you receive and ask better questions about the lines that look odd.

Work we will not walk you through

Some roof work needs fall protection or a trained crew. Our guides describe what the work involves and what to ask a contractor for. They are no instructions for climbing onto a roof. When a page suggests looking at something, it starts from the ground, the attic or a window.

Reading the paperwork

Several pages teach you to read the documents a roof job produces: the quote, the inspection report, the warranty. Each contractor words these differently, so we describe what a line usually covers and what to ask when it is vague. Warranties get the same treatment. A manufacturer’s warranty on the product and a contractor’s warranty on the workmanship are separate promises from separate parties, and the page you are reading cannot tell you what yours says. Your copy can.

Claims and coverage

Insurance advice stays general. Policies, deductibles and state rules differ, and your insurer decides coverage under your policy. Anything here that touches a claim is a prompt to read your own policy, never a forecast of what it will pay.

Where to find things

The Roof library holds the reference material: checklists, a glossary, a hiring guide, a materials table and the roof area estimator. The topic sections go deeper on single questions such as leaks, replacement quotes and storm claims. The about page says who we are writing for.

What the library will not settle

If a question comes down to whether a particular roof is sound, how long it has left or whether a leak comes from the flashing or the deck, the answer needs someone standing on or under that roof. The guides get you to the point of asking that person the right thing.

Out of date or wrong?

Every page shows the date it went up, and a second date if it was changed later. Use the contact page to report anything that has aged or is incorrect. A confirmed error is fixed on the page, and the change is dated openly instead of being tucked away.