The good news is that spring is well underway. Meteorologists have been hinting at 50° weather in our near future. The longest winter, in what only seemed like forever, is almost over.

Spring is the best time to take a visual inventory of your home. Once the snow has melted enough to venture outside, take some time to inspect the exterior of your home for any winter-related damage.

Be sure to check your roofing shingles. Are there any shingles that are lifted and curling, or are there any that are downright missing? These are warning signs that scream winter roofing damage.

Icy roofs can be red flags for improper ventilation or insulation, either in the roofing itself or in the attic. This lack of ventilation and insulation can do some serious damage to your roof and gutters.

Other places to look:
-Roof Staining
-Flashing on Roof – Loose, Detached or Cracking
-Clogged Gutters
-Interior Ceiling Staining

If you notice any of these problems, it is time to call in an expert! Replacing your roof before too much damage has taken effect can save on structural repairs during the installation process. Weather Tight can help as we offer free, no obligation quotes. Give us a call at (414) 459-3888 or fill out the form on our website.

For more information on visual roof inspections, click here.

Hurricane Sandy swept the east coast last fall, causing millions to be without power and a total of $75 billion in damages in the United States alone.

Photo Courtesy of Kristie Crofts

In Southeast Wisconsin, we dealt with high waves on Lake Michigan, but the storm didn’t have as much direct impact as our neighbors to the east.

So, how does this affect your roofing project? It’s a story of supply and demand.

When hurricanes hit, materials are needed to repair the damages. As in this case, there was so much damage that there was a great need for roofing materials. Manufacturers like Owens Corning shipped supplies to the Sandy-stricken areas, leaving the rest of the country short. In order to prioritize the orders, manufacturers raise prices.

Owens Corning has announced a double-digit price increase that took effect on March 1st and an additional increase on April 15th.

Where is the silver lining, you ask? All suppliers order their shingles in bulk, and wait to raise prices until their stock is depleted. Once the stock is depleted, however, the prices will rise. At Weather Tight, we leave you with a price that is good for a full year. This gives you the opportunity to lock into our current pricing before the current stock is depleted!

These videos and many more can also be found on the Weather Tight You Tube Channel.

Stop into our West Allis showroom between 11am and 2pm for our Baseball Bash!  We will be serving lunch for just $1 - and all proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity!  To top it off, we will be drawing the name of a guest to win a pair of tickets to the May 13th game – right behind home plate!

In addition to the baseball fun, you can receive a voucher for a FREE WINDOW with the purchase of $3,000! The promotion will only be valid for May 5th only, so be sure to stop in and pick yours up!

Painting a home is a big commitment, and one you don’t want to take lightly.  Many homeowners are surprised that it often makes more sense to invest the money you would spend on painting into new siding instead.  To help you decide, you’ll want to know the average cost to paint a house. Here’s the data:

What Makes a Painting Job Complex?

Even a simple painting job might turn out to be a bit of a nightmare.  Many things can make it more difficult to paint your home.  For example, if you have thick layers of paint on your walls, stripping it is an added expense.  If you have damage hidden under layers of paint, you will need spot repairs or sometimes even more to prep the home for painting.  And, worst of all, if you have lead paint on your walls, you need to strip that out which is costly.

Lead paint must be stripped while following strict EPA guidelines.  This means more than wearing masks to keep lead particles out of your lungs: you also need to properly dispose of the waste.  If lead paint were left to fester, it could seep into the soil and become hazardous.  Because of the complexity and regulation, you’ll want to find an expert in lead paint removal, which can be very expensive. In this case, the cost of new siding might be more appealing.

The Average Cost of Paint Materials

Small painting jobs on small homes are fairly cheap, with costs ranging from $500-$1,000.  The larger the house, the more you will spend on materials.  An average-sized home costs between $800-$1,200, a large home $1,000-$1,800, and an extra-large home $1,500 and up.

For more information visit: http://www.unitedhomeexperts.com/blog/bid/100571/How-Much-Does-it-Cost-to-Paint-a-House

-Use the sun to your advantage! Open your curtains and blinds during the day to help warm the rooms. As the sun beats down, it will warm up your home for free! Don’t forget to close them at night to keep the warmth inside.

-When using a dish washer, wash full loads only. Running two half-full cycles can DOUBLE the cost! Wait until your dish washer is full to get the most for your energy and water usage.

-Use the energy-savings options on your appliances. Many new appliances have energy-savings modes that you can turn on to help cut down on electrical and heating costs.  It is especially useful on dryers and dish washers.

-If you use a self-cleaning option on your oven, start the self-cleaning process directly after using the oven. This will help save money by using the heat that is in the oven from cooking to start the cleaning process rather than having to build up heat from room temperature.

-Lower your water heater to 120° or ‘low’. You will still have hot showers and clean laundry, and you will save money since the water tank will not have to work as hard to keep water at a higher temperature.

If you are in the market for new appliances, be sure to find the ENERGYSTAR® label before you purchase. In order to qualify for an ENERGYSTAR® rating, appliances must reduce energy and water usage by 10-50% compared to standard models in the industry. They may cost a little more in the beginning, but will save you more over time.

Unfortunately it isn’t always just that easy to tell when you door needs to be replaced.  By having gaps between the threshold and door, you could be losing as much heat as having a 3″ square hole in your wall! Here are a couple of tests that you can try on your entry door to check for energy efficiency issues, the dollar bill test and the flashlight test.

Dollar Bill Test:

Open your entry door and place a dollar bill on top of the threshold (bottom of the door frame) and close the door. Next, try to move the dollar bill to one side of the door and over to the next. Does it move, or is it a struggle? If it can move, that is a place where air can move freely in and out of your home.

Flashlight Test:

Have two people stand on either side of the closed door. One person will shine a flashlight around the perimeter of the door. The light will shine through any cracks or gaps in the seal. Can the second person see any? If so, it’s time to replace your door to increase the energy efficiency in your home.

These tips are just some of the interesting facts that you can learn from our owners, Tod and Todd during their videos, Home Improvement Tips with Tod and Todd. Although our series is done for 2011, you can still view all of the videos on our website by going to http://www.weathertightcorp.com/videos-page.php. All of the videos are sorted by projects, so scroll through the list to find the videos that have to do with projects that are on your to-do list.

Join us Black Friday November 25th from 11-3 for a Huge Showroom Sale and Craft & Gift Show. Featuring: overstock windows starting at $99, 18 months no interest/payments with 18 can donation to Hunger Task Force.

Craft & Gift Show: Avoid the mall and shop for gifts from some of the most popular gift suppliers. Vendors include: Lovely Bracelets, The Crafty Ones, Party Lite, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Grandma Vinny’s Cookies, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Dove Chocolates, Celebrating Home, Just Relax! A place to escape reality! Massage & Wellness, Modern Woodsmen, L’Bri, Fresco Art, Usborne Books, & Avon.

Thank you to Weathertight for a chance to share some information with their readers!

Among other things we are a painting contractor in Massachusetts and one of the most common questions we receive is  “what causes paint to peel on my house?”  Most people assume it was just done poorly last time, or “the last painter didn’t use primer”–we hear that one a lot! Sometimes that may be true, but usually it’s a much deeper problem.

If you have significant peeling paint it’s likely that you have 1 of 3 conditions:

1. A really old paint job:  Even a house that was properly painted every time will eventually start to peel especially in U.S. climates that see 4 seasons and varying amounts of moisture.  If your home falls into this category, you have 2 options:  Either paint more frequently (which is expensive) or bite the bullet and go with siding replacement.  The second option will pay for itself in 2-3 paint cycles and add resale value to your home.
2. A moisture problem: Moisture isn’t just a problem from the outside–although in many cases it is. Moisture can also be from an inside source escaping through the walls thus causing loss of paint adhesion.  Sometimes there are ways to correct or minimize this, but what’s causing it? Is it condensation from winter heat escaping through the walls? is it a leak? is it a moist climate?  No matter what the problem is, in most cases trial and error will not lead to a long-term fix.  I’ve witnessed countless people try gimmick after gimmick with the hope of solving this problem only to replace their siding after wasting lots of money.
3. Mill-glaze: When wood clapboard is milled, often the tannins from the cedar are heated by the saw blade which creates a waxy like surface that paint won’t adhere to. When installed smooth-side out, the glazed surface of cedar clapboards will often reject paint altogether and as you can imagine create a massive nightmare.  This problem will never be solved with paint and usually requires replacement of the affected areas.  Some painters will try to sand down the surface and re-paint.  Our experience has been, this is expensive and never works 100%.

Your best solution is to work with a trustworthy contractor who can go over all your options and make educated recommendations.  Study after study show that replacing your siding is a great investment if you plan on being in your home for a long period of time.