So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Friday, February 4, 2011

Energy Star Amenable Residential Roofing Equipment and Fire Protection

By Ashley Stern


I'm not a residential roofing specialist, but I do know to how to do a simple roof repair. As a teenager I used to work for my dad in the summer months; he was a roofing contractor back in the sixties. My father used to be a consultant and a member of the Roofing Contractors Association of Southern California. Needless to say, I did not become a roofing contractor, but I do understand what goes into a residential roofing project.

In late October of 2008, my family and I lost our house to the Santa Ana wind-driven wildfire that approached the Getty Center. Our new home had a shake wood roof just like our old house did, so the first thing we opted to do was to replace it with fire resistant roofing resources.

There are quite a few types of residential roofing materials that provide fire protection; we decided to do the major area of the dwelling with a new type of metal roof system that also meets Energy Star compliance. Our new home is an architectural beauty; there is a section of the house that boasts a flat roof top patio that looks out over downtown Los Angeles.

After doing a bit of research I found out about green roofs and how architects and roofing contractors are using new environmentally pleasing technologies to make breath-taking self-contained garden spaces atop commercial buildings. I wished to utilize that new technology in my residential roofing application.

To do green roofs on flat roof buildings there are some structural issues that need to be studied. The roofing contractor I ended up getting to do the work had previously done a few green roofs on some residential roofing jobs back in the summer of 2008. I was fortunate enough to have purchased a home that was designed by an architect that used commercial grade materials for the house's residential roofing structure.

The biggest change that had to be made to the roof was a roof coating that was sprayed atop the commercial waterproofing that was on the material from the time it was built in the nineties. There is not much difference to using a roof coating on a residential roofing job than there is when utilizing one on a commercial application.

My new house is now entirely remodeled and we have newly moved in. The whole pitched area of the roof has a fire resistant metal roof that was manufactured with an Energy Star compliant roof coating that directs the Southern California suns heat away from the interior and the flat section of the house has a roof top garden area that looks out over downtown. What really makes me happy about using environmentally appealing techniques on my remodel project is the fact that we saved a lot on our taxes.

With the federal government offering tax payers a credit for using Energy Star compliant materials and with the wealth we are going to save on utility costs, I think more people should use more environmentally helpful materials on their residential roofing applications. If you believe that it is time to swap your roof, I suggest you consider looking into using the new technologies that provide not only fire protection but that also help cut energy pricing.

Even though we lost everything in the wildfire, I'm satisfied knowing that we have a house that is Energy Star compliant and gives us protection from any future fires.




About the Author:



No comments:

If You Are Unable To Be There But Want To Show You Love Them Then Send -