The best way to prepare for a roof installation
If you have scheduled a roof installation and you’re counting down to the day it’ll be happening, there are some things you should do to prepare for it.
Your home and property need some preparations; the same way you do need to prepare yourself for a roof installation. But what does this preparation entail?
You’ll need to make several decisions in preparation for your roof installation. Let’s discuss some of them.
1. Where you’ll stay on the installation day
Many homeowners don’t think about what they’ll be doing or where they’ll be staying in the course of their roof installation. You definitely won’t be standing around the entire time, and it’ll be largely unbearable to be inside your house as well because the noise from a roof installation will probably make it impossible for you to relax or get any work done.
But if you want to observe the roofing process, then you can prepare for the noise and spend the day around.
However, if you’re a pet owner, you also have to think about your pet and decide if they will be staying home, and how they will react to all the noise.
If you think your pet will not be able to cope with the noise, or you have had experiences of them responding negatively to loud noise, then you should consider finding a place for them to stay throughout the period of the installation.
Experts will always recommend that you look for a place for you, your family, and your pets to go on the day of your roof installation.
2. Move your vehicles out of your driveway
If you’re going to be driving out of your house on the day of the roof installation, then you should take out your vehicle before the line of vehicles belonging to your roofing installation company comes in.
If you get blocked in and need to leave during the installation, it might interrupt the entire process.
You’ll also need to move your vehicle away if it is parked close to your roof line to avoid a situation where equipment or debris falls on your vehicle.
You can either move your vehicle out of the way a night before the installation or early on the D-day before the company is due to arrive.
3. Remove everything hanging on your wall
The installation process will cause vibrations throughout your home and the things hung on your wall might fall to the ground. If this happens, your valuable pictures, utensils, or other important properties could get damaged.
Although it isn’t certain that the vibrations will be strong enough to knock things off your wall, an installation method like hand nailing is known to cause a lot of vibrations.
Whatever the case, you should remove anything valuable from your wall. Some roof installation companies spell it out in their contract that they won’t take responsibility for whatever damage that occurs within your home during their operations, so you must be even more careful.
While it might not be possible to take everything off your walls, focus on removing the valuable and irreplaceable stuff.
4. Disable your alarm system
Disable your alarm system on the day of your roof installation otherwise, it will go off during the installation process.
The vibrations from your roof installation could set off your alarm, and if you’re not home to turn it off, the police might get involved. To avoid such complications that will not only stress the roof installers but also you, don’t turn on your security alarm. Instead, lock your windows and doors if you need to go out.
5. Disable your irrigation and other automatic lawn watering systems
The roofing team in charge of your home will walk through your yard while carrying out their duties. While they will move carefully and avoid parking their vehicles on your lawn, you need to ensure that your field isn’t wet.
It is advised that you turn off all your automatic water systems 24 to 48 hours before the installation day so that the grass is not wet by the time the roofing team arrives. Otherwise, having the men move up and down on wet or newly watered grass could ruin your lawn.
If you’re interested in your lawn and desire to keep it in great shape, you should turn off your water system and also speak with the team on whatever precautions you want them to take when moving through your lawn. Many expert roofing contractors already know how to deal with these things, but it doesn’t hurt to inform them again, just as it is important to turn off your irrigation system in advance of your new roof’s installation.
6. Inspect your property before installation day
Inspecting your property before a roofing installation serves two purposes. First, it helps you ensure that you take everything out of harm’s way, including your vehicles and other important property.
Secondly, it helps you to take stock of both damaged and undamaged things on your property. That way, you can identify any damage that occurred in the process of the roof installation.
Take pictures of your entire property, including your light fixtures, gutters, and window screens, whether they have been damaged or not. You can separate the pictures of the damaged property from those that haven’t been damaged. That way, when you inspect the property again after the roof installation, you can tell if anything has been damaged by the roofing team.
Many roofing contractors will also inspect your property and take pictures of things that are damaged before they start working. Many homeowners don’t observe existing damage on their property and they end up blaming the roofing team if they notice the damage after the installation has been carried out.
To avoid such misunderstandings and confrontations, it is important that both the installation and the homeowner keep account of damages. That way, it’ll be easy to take responsibility at the end of the installation.
Rest assured that if you’re working with a reputable roofing company, they will go the length to ensure that none of your property gets destroyed while they’re doing their job.
However, if things get damaged in the course of their job, you can expect them to take responsibility and fix what gets broken.
Remember, as we mentioned earlier, some contractors will want to avoid taking responsibility for damages, and they might even find a way to include it in the contract. It isn’t a good idea to work with a company under such conditions, but you can consider your options closely and decide on what you want to do.
Now you are ready for your new roof’s installation
All the above tips are necessary to prepare you in the days leading to your roof installation date. Once you’re able to get these things done, you can rest easy that you’ve done all you should do to contribute to a smooth process on the installation day.
You can choose to stay around and observe everything that will happen on the installation day or leave it to the experts to handle and carry out your inspections at the end of the process.
