Get to Know Your Roof: Flashing, Drainage, Ventilation, and More

1 year ago

Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home. It protects your house – and your family – from rain, wind, and debris. But many homeowners aren’t told much about how their roof works or what the parts that make up a roof are. Knowledge is power, and knowing the parts of a roof structure can help save you time, money, and headaches when it comes to repairs and dealing with roofing contractors.

What Are Roof Parts Called?

Your roof has many different areas, parts, and structures, all of which work together to make your home safe and secure. In this blog we’ll discuss the ridge beams, the valleys, and the gutters.

A ridge beam is a wooden beam that rests horizontally at the apex of the roof, and is used to support the rafters, which lean against it. Its primary function is to ensure that the rafters stay upright and straight.

The roof valley is an area of your roof that forms when two roof areas meet, creating a slope.

The gutters are a part of your roof you’re probably acquainted with, as they can get clogged and may need to be cleaned periodically. Your gutters are designed to protect your roof from water, and they work by diverting the water along their length so it doesn’t pool near your roof or your house’s foundation and cause damage.

Components of a Roof

Your roof is made up of dozens of components. Some of the most important ones to know about are:

Flashing: Flashing is a thin piece of metal that is used to divert water away from openings on your roof, and it’s usually placed underneath the shingles. The areas of your roof that typically have flashing are the roof edges, any roof penetrations (including vents, chimneys, and skylights), roof valleys, and the side and front walls.
Roof Vents: Your roof’s vents are an important part of your home’s system. Roofing ventilation is essential to making sure moisture doesn’t build up in your attic, which can lead to mold.
Underlayment: Roofing underlayment is a material, either felt or synthetic, that’s placed between the roof deck and the shingles. The underlayment is an important part of your roof’s protection of your home, as it provides another layer beneath the shingles to defend against rain, wind, and debris.
Shingles: Your shingles are your roof’s first line of defense against the elements. They come in many different materials, such as clay, slate, or even concrete.
Decking: The roof decking is what your roof’s shingles are installed on, underneath the underlayment. Decking is made up of wooden boards, either planks or sheets. Your roof’s deck is a crucial part of the roof’s integrity.

We hope this blog made you feel more confident about understanding how your roof works, but if you have any more questions – or if you’d like to schedule a free estimate – call Roofstar Arizona now at (480) 426-1915. We’ll tell you the truth about your roof!

I have a new roof today thanks to Roofstar. From the estimate with Chris with understanding the process. Able to talk to all top brass with the care and interest in sharing the process through the team that showed up and did The work. Always willing to answer my questions I am thrilled with the results. Thanks Jeff, Jose, Juan, and Chris. I would highly recommend your team. Your onsite workers were fabulous. Make it a great day.

Nancy H.

This is a great company to work with. Worked with them twice over a 10-year period and both great experiences. The last experience involved a very difficult leak in a sun room/solarium and the owner, Jeff, came out and hunted down the leak and made sure that it was resolved. Cannot recommend them high enough. Thank you to Jeff and the Roofstar team.

Michael K.

I have had several neighbors ask about your company and have given favorable recommendations to this point. Your team was very professional and I think to this point did a great job! I am in sales as well and just to let you know Mike was very professional in his meeting with me and his presentation and follow up made the difference between other companies.

Steve Y.

Scottsdale, AZ

Thank you Jeff. Your team (Juan Diaz and crew) did an outstanding job and we really appreciated the daily clean up. Awesome.

Sheryl S.

Fountain Hills, AZ

From start until finish, Roofstar Arizona was the perfect choice for our house. We were given a very clear and thorough quote for the work our 30+ year old roof needed; we could’ve choose to ‘band-aid’ key areas and spend less, or we could spend the money and fix it right. We had saved and knew we’d have to spend a good amount of money for the work, but Roofstar was professional enough to offer choices. We had a slight miscommunication with regard to instruction with the on-site supervisor, and though we were able to easily clear things up, Roofstars’ owner Jeff drove himself to our home just to make sure our minds were at ease. Excellent touch. The workers were courteous and very thorough with the work. They stuck to the time needed to complete (we had good weather), and our home has a new roof, ready for the next 30 years. It looks great, and we have the confidence knowing the job was done right. Great work, guys. Highly recommend this company.

….03/2020–an update–we’ve had a few rainy days since the roof work–and everything is in fantastic order. These guys did a great job for us, and I know they will for you, too.

Dan Y.

We had work done last week, they were thorough, reasonably priced, on time, cleaned up after themselves, and provide before and after photos. They also have an inspector check the work after, they do not try to sell you things you do not need. I appreciate their honesty.

Melody H.

Jeff Knudson and Roofstar Arizona, Inc. came recommended to us. Much time was spent with physical, hands on inspection of our roof and specific “problem areas”. Each issue was thoroughly explained and reasonable solution provided. Repair was scheduled within 24 hours of accepting offer. Repair agents arrived on time and introduced themselves and explained what they were going to do. At the end of day one, the supervisor stopped to check on progress and see if an early start the next morning was alright with us. Each day grounds were cleaned leaving no sign anyone was here. On final day the laborers let us know they were finished. Within an hour Jeff arrived and made many trips up the ladder to inspect and made a short list of things they needed to finish the next morning. Job done! EXTREMELY pleased with Roofstar’s service and recommend.

Clayton T.

Sun Lakes, AZ

If you are looking for honesty and integrity, look no further. I just had Roofstar repair my roof and they did a great job. We had another company re-do our roof 6 years ago and we were not expecting to have issues. I had a few roofing companies come out and give us estimates on fixing what the other company did wrong. All of the other companies said we had to re-do our whole roof, quoting around $12,000. Roofstar was recommended by my brother who is an insurance agent. He said he has used Roofstar for the past 15 years and said Jeff the owner was the nicest and most honest person he has worked with. He recommends all of his clients to Roofstar.

Bill came out and looked at the roof and said we had a unique issue with the roof. He said he didn’t want to miss quote us and wanted to talk to Jeff (the owner) to get his opinion. The quote came in, but I had a question on how something was going to be fixed. Jeff (the owner) came out to my house and spent at least an hour looking at what need to be done. Tell me, what other company’s owner would come out personally and look at a roof??? Especially in the hot Arizona summer??? Not only did Jeff come out, he figured out that we only needed to repair 50% of the roof and saved us over half of what all the other companies were going to charge. Seriously, who does that these days??? Most companies try to over sell so they can make a larger profit, Jeff didn’t do that!

The crew was great, on time and very professional. They did a great job and made sure they cleaned up after they left each day.

It’s sad that we had to have our roof re-done after only 6 years, but now I feel safe knowing the job was done right.

Thanks to Jeff and Bill for the professionalism and the high level of integrity!

I will recommend Roofstar to all of my friends.

Tino G.

Gilbert, AZ

Thanks, Jeff. We appreciate your prompt, professional and courteous service. Your team (Pedro Diaz and crew) was great.

Mike

Tempe, AZ

Roofstar provided professional inspection and detail quotes on the repairs needed to be done for our properties. We collected a few quotes from different roofing companies for comparison. Roofstar repair cost was very competitive and reasonable. We ultimately chose to go with Roofstar because we felt confident that they would take care of the problems. They came back to correct the minor issue that we had and finished the job to our satisfaction without further questions. We would highly recommend Roofstar to our families and friends.

Andrea S.

Free Assessment for Homeowners

We can handle all kinds of residential roof repairs. Call us today to schedule an assessment with one of our Field Inspectors. We also assist with insurance claims. Learn more about Our Real Estate Services.

Schedule your free assessment today!

Get to Know Your Roof: Flashing, Drainage, Ventilation, and More

What Are Roof Parts Called?

Components of a Roof

Free Assessment for Homeowners

Learn More!

Roofstar Arizona, Inc.