Imagine, you're standing on the sidewalk, looking at an average house. You see the siding, the windows, the front door, and way up above, you see the roof. Does the roof have asphalt shingles? Wood shakes perhaps? Maybe it's made of metal or rubber tiles? What you see is where the focus goes, but it's what you don't see that really matters. There's more to roofing than meets the eye. So let's talk about what goes on, under the shingles. The Roof Deck We learn to crawl before we walk, so when talking about roofing let's start with square one, the surface area of your roof which is made of wood. Your wood roof deck is comparable to an automobiles metal body. It is installed on top of the basic house frame to give a surface area on which to install Shingles. Without a roof deck installed on your house, there would be nowhere to install your Shingles. And of course without the shingles, your roof deck would rot away due to exposure to the sun, rain, snow and ice and etc...not a comfortable home at all! On Newer Houses, sheets of plywood or OSB boards are fastened on top of wooden trusses in your attic to form the roof deck. Plywood or OSB boards are installed in a staggered formation with small spaces between them to allow wood to expand and contract as the wood heats in the summer and cools in the winter. Older homes often have lengths of 2" x 6" installed instead of plywood or OSB board. When the time comes for you to replace your Roof System, remember to have your Essex Roofing Contractor replace any and all damaged wood. Remember, if your roof deck is rotting or damaged in any way, people walking on your roof could potentially crack or break through the wood, causing further damage to the roof system, such as to the shingles...and to the person who walked on it! However, most roof decks can withstand a little bit of exposure to water or ice before it needs to be replaced.
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