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Page 18, Whltby Free Press, Wednesday, May 8,1996 A HOME DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENT FEATURE - Roof problems? on'tpostpone repairs Between comet-gazing and looking for the. return of our f.ath.red friends from the south, many people in Ontario have had their ey.s glued te- the heavens this epring. If your a homeowner, Ontario's Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations suggests you continue te keep a pair of binoculars handy and use them te have a look at your roof. "Affar the. long, icy wint.r people should take a good look at their roof for signs of damage that need repair," says Marilyn Gurevsky, a manager with the ministry's Consumer Affaira Branch. People are sometimes tempted to postpone roofing work because of the coet. But this ie aimait always a mistake," se says. "Finding out about any problems your roof may have, tiien getting some estimates on what it will cost te repair now can give you trne te save up for the. work and te siiop around for the. beat contractor." To check your roof, focus the. binoculare on the shingles firet. Signe of wind or weather damage te asphalt ehingles - tii. roof covering moot commonly used in Ontario - should stand out. Shingles that are cracked, curled, loose or missing are signale that repaire are needed. If many of the minerai granules have been baet from tue shingeas, it means they're worn. A note of caution - whether you spot a single crack or sSe that half of the. shingles are missing, don't climb onte tth. roof for a dloser look. Unlese you are familiar with construction work you won't b. safe on a steep, elippery roof. "Roofing probleme can devebop at any Urne, but you ehould begin te expect some trouble when your roof reaches the. age of eight te 10 yeara," says Gurevsky. Most roof shingles sold teday are made te last about 15 years, but the. lifespan of older shingles may b. lese. As well as damaged, worn or missing shingles, consumera should look for other signa of comnion probleme. *»Metal flashinge around the. chimne y or in the valleys at roof joints that are corroded, cracked or have lifted, indicate that water may have seeped in and damaged the roof deck. On a roof lese than 1u-years old, metal flashinge can normally b. patciied. but on an older roof, ful replacement je usually necessary. ,»If the. shingles along the. bottom ofthe roof appear raiaed, it may be a sign of damage from ioe damming - a problem in many Ontario homes. Tm winter, snow at the. top of the. roof melta when warmed by heat escaping from the. attic. The water flows down the. roof under the. snow and freezes again at the unheated edge of the eaves. This ice acta as a dam, puehing more melted water back up the roof and under the. ehingles, wiiere it can leak through. * Have a look in the attic for signe of wat.r leakage. Special trouble spots are tii. points wiiere raftera or beame paso under a roof junction, the. rafters along the. eav.a and around plumbing-venta, and the. chimney. Itfs probably Urne te replace the. oof if it je more than 10 yeara old and you find warp.d, watermarked or rotted wood at a couple of tiiese locations. Once you decided your roof neede repaira or replacement, you'll want te get references from fiends and neigiiboura and calI in three professionals for quotes. "Most reputable roofera provide i a on.- te two-year guarantee on labour, but remember te get all the details of both the. guarante. conditions and the work te b. perform.d in writing, both on the estimat. and the contract," say Gurevsky. qaiidcotatr Sh. says ulfe otaor should want te answer tiiese simple questions for you. *ll the old ahingles be tom off and removed from your property? Shingles n..d only b. removed ev.ry second or third Urne tuey're replaced unlees thery're in very poor shape or there is damage beneath them. The weight from teo many layera of shingles on a roof can cause structural damage te, a building. If the. shingles are being removed, ask iiow long this will take. Then youll know how long you'il have te, put up with a mess ithe. yard. For01 eauea protection to be installed? Eaves protection combats the. problem of roof damage from ice daniming. It je a. mill-on material made te standards approved under the. Ontario Building Code, laid on top of the. roof deck from the. eaves te a foot above the. exterior wall. It will prevent water that do.s back up from leaking through the roof. *What hindi of ahi ngles and meta fin ahi ngs wil be used? Shinglea with extended warranties will last tiie longeet. In general, good shingles are guarant.ed by the. manufacturer for a minimum of 10 te 15 yeare. A competent contracter wiil b. able te help you chooae a good quality shingle. Some will offer guidance on choosing a cobour that noplimente your home. Gur.vsky advises choosing a ehade that contrastae lightly witii your exterior walls. But se suggests consumera should avold very light colour because they make any damage higbly visible. For more information on home renovations,- or a copy of a standard renovation contract, contact tii. Ontario Home Buildere' Association at 1-800-387- 0109. Ti«ps for a great renovation By Timothy MeKee With today's fast paced lîfestyles, more and more familles are finding themeelves spending a great deal of theïr quality time together in the itchen.. Thie is a radical change from. the way architecte looked at the space needs of the Jones of the seventies when dedicating kçitchen spaoe. When looking at a Itchen remodeling proj.ct, k..p these changes iiin ind. The first thing to do when considering change ie to read. (Jet your banda on any and ev.ry itchen magazine you can. Cut out the. items you like, want and ne.d. Start a liet of 'don't wanta' also. Concentrat. on accessories and INGROUND POOLS COMPLUTE WITH 2Stage concrete harci bottom * Lfetime steel waIl and viny liner warranty 3 mil vyllner* Comnplete excavation and installation 3 Tread stainless steel adder* 3' Concrete deck Deluxe vacuum kit Deluxe f ilter and pump Start-up chemicats Deluxe maintenance ki Lm .. rON PO COMPLETEWUTH M" Wall skimmer o Vacuum hose and retumn * High grade band fifter "Vacuum head @ 3Y4 h.p. pump Leaf Skimmer - Telescl pole "Test Kit - 3-50 lb. bags fifer sand ihawa a 571-0189 r r- r Heidi Schempp 1A ut horized Go nracor LCONSUIJMES CAS ô rio0W Fir7a,"CIno Avallablef -- 325 Hopkins St., Whltby Li N 201 *682252 686-1853 features tuat you feel will b. of benefit te you and your family. Mfany people look only at cosmetica at this point, so don't let yourself get caught in thus trap. Now it ia time te look at a budget. There are a lot of facters which coniribute te tue investment required te create the finisii.d produet. The firat of tues. factera is tue cabinetry you choose. Do you want wood or laminate? Will you get custom or stock cupboards? Another major factor tuat will affect tue pricing of the project is tue labour involved. Trade. people such as plumbers, electricians, plasterers sud carpentera commnand a good wage for their sklle. The other budgetary considerations can b. counters, flooring, windows sud new appliances. The. next step is critical - finding tue firm te design your drean. Ther. are many companues thatecan handle tue project for you, each with, different areas of expertise and prioe pointa. You muet b. sure tuat tue company you choose is tue beet for you. This procees can b. made quit. easy if Since 1982 FREE ESTIMATES C *L 40-52 MTE you follow tiiese steps. 1., Visit thre. or four showrooms in your area sud se. what they have te offer. 2. Look for professional affiliations, tuey should be meïmbera of NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association), or members of. your local- home builders association. 3. le tue design staff suchored by someone who is a CKD (certifi.dkidtchen designer) or ASIID (American Society of Interior Designers). 4. (Jet references, talk te someon, who bas had your type of proj.ct don,. Now that you have found a COMPany tuat offers what you are looking for, get out tuose cuttinge you hav, sud have a meeting with their designer. They will ask you many questions about iiow your lifestyle works; who cooka, cleans, shopsansd iiow or why tuey do it. This information will assiet them in Planning your dream i tchen. Upon completion of tue plans, ensure tuat yom' contract outlines ail tue work te b. done-and who is reeponaible for ita completion. Make suretuat you are comfortable witii tue financial arrangements sud tue payment echedule. Finally, ensure tuat you have a "iioldback" tuat allows you te go through a final inspection with the contractor and have ail outstanding' work orders' completed. Tsmothy McKoe se a oertifled bjtch.i designer and i. co-owne~ q B7 Dealun KItchan & Bath.