Challenge

Flashing is a crucial piece to any home improvement project. It’s the difference between cutting corners and doing an accurate, detail-oriented job.

So what is flashing exactly? It’s essentially a means of preventing water from being able to get caught where you don’t want it. It’s usually done with a piece of waterproof material that catches water over small cracks and spaces.

Chimney

Chimneys are one of the most popular areas for leaks, usually because of careless or missing flashing.

What we’ll do to combat this is first attach an L-shaped piece of metal on the shingles and up alongside the chimney. Another piece is embedded in a small groove in the chimney, covering the first piece of flashing. This allows all water to run along the metal flashing and down the roof. This method is referred to as cut in flashing.

Windows

The problem with water damage with windows, is sometimes it can be hard to identify or notice for a while. You won’t necessarily see your wood rotting on the inside or notice the function of your window slowly declining. If left untreated, you could see mold grow and spread.

So how do we prevent water from getting in? Between the water-resistant layers and under the siding of a wall, we’ll usually place a “Z” shaped flashing to stop any water from finding it’s way into unwanted areas around the window. This offers all-around protection from potential water damage and continues a safe flow for the water.

Siding meeting roof

Another area you absolutely have to flash with care is any place where your roof is adjacent to your siding. It’s easy for water to run down your roof and get caught under shingles near any siding.

So how do we prevent this? We’ll install a piece of flashing under the siding and over the shingles to allow the water to flow towards the gutter.

Proper water management

Water has a way of finding it’s way into every small crack and crevice that you definitely don’t want it to find. This can compromise the structural integrity, cause mold to grow, and lead to costly repairs.

which is why we have a bunch of different ways to manage water from gutters to water resistant seals to snow stoppers. They all stem from the goal to protect sensitive areas from water.

The difference between some contractors

A lot of our customers who need new windows and roofs suffer from damage that professionally done flashing would have prevented. These small details are what differentiates good contractors like Global Home Improvement and bad contractors.

It’s crucial to find a contractor that would build a custom flashing to mold around the project as you need it, not cut corners and hope that caulk will suffice.

Solution

There are numerous places on your house where water can easily find it’s way causing mold to grow, rotting, health hazards, etc. So we flash to protect our homes vulnerable points.

Concerned your flashing might not be up to par? Give us a call.