LEED Gold Star certified Residence in Orleans

Cazeault Roofing recently installed am EDPM membrane roof system with a Live Roof Green Roof. The roof and building was trimmed outt with Revere Freedom Gray Flashings. The Genertal Contractor on this project was Cape Associates and the project was recently featured in the Contemporist. Click here for more Photos & the complete story.

Time to Clean the Gutters !

We've all seen it - Neighbors with trees growing from the gutters. It doesn't take long, as debris build up quickly over the seasons. Left alone, gutters will decay prematurely. Cleaning your gutters is one of those chores that needs to be done twice a year. Once in the spring, and again in the fall. Its also a great way to get a closer look at your roof and identify any potential problems and get them fixed before they happen.
To help cut down on the amount of debris, pruning trees and tall shrubs will help keep less leaves from falling, as well as cut down on the moss & lichen that grows on shady roofs.
Gutter cleaning is a service that Cazeault Roofing cheerfully provides. Either as an automatic or on clean on request service, we clean hundres of gutters each spring and fall.

Custom Copper Finial Reproduction

We recently were asked to help with the renovation going on at the Railroad Museum in Chatham. With extensive remodeling being done, they wanted the existing finial duplicated. As you can see from the pictures, our coppersmith did a remarkable job not only creating a beautiful copper finial, but making an exact duplication of the original. Now you can view the newly created finial atop the buildings roof, while the original finial is being displayed inside the building. View more pictures on our Flickr Page

Energy Secretary Wants White Roofs

From a recent new post; Steven Chu, the US Secretary of Energy and a Nobel prize-winning scientist, said yesterday that making roofs and pavements white or light-coloured would help to reduce global warming by both conserving energy and reflecting sunlight back into space. It would, he said, be the equivalent of taking all the cars in the world off the road for 11 years.

The white revolution: How it would work

* The idea of painting surfaces white to conserve energy is being actively pursued by the US. Earlier this month, Barack Obama's chief scientific adviser, John Holdren, received a scientific memorandum on the subject.

* Scientists estimate that making roofs and pavements white or more light-coloured would counter global warming with "negative radiative forcing" – reflecting sunlight back into space. They said that retrofitting urban roofs and pavements in tropical and temperate regions with solar-reflective materials would offset about 44 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

* The scientists said it would lower the cost of air conditioning, making buildings more comfortable and mitigate the "urban heat island" effect caused by the concentration of concrete surfaces in cities.

Truth in Advertising

We all need to advertise, its how we let others know that we are out there. We also have all been on the other side too - in need of a product and service. What do people do ? Most turn to the internet or open the yellow pages. As a roofing contractor and someone who as been in the business a long time, I always scan the yellow pages to look at all the ads. Its an ever changing landscape. The Cape has three Verizon Directories and as well as two other directories (Yellow Book & Yellow Pages of Cape Cod). The Verizon directory always has 27-32 listings for roofers.  If you go back five years half of the companies have turned over. Go back ten years and about a forth of the current advertisers were listed. We are one of four who have been listed in the Yellow Pages twenty five years ago.  

Another interesting item to note is the claims that companies make. Many contractors use and list manufacture logos, implying that they are certified. However, once the yellow pages are published, its impossible to correct the error and large manufactures do not resources to fact check each directory in all 50 states. 

I've also seem contractors advertise services that I know they could not possible provide. The main culprit being tar & gravel. I am 99% sure that no tar kettles exist on Cape Cod anymore. We had the last one, which we sold about 8 years ago. So question any ads that claim they install tar & gravel roofs - its a classic bait and switch. They will tell you they can give you a better price on a rubber roof. 

its not just roofing, Ive seen ads from plumbers, electricians and landscapers to mention a few. I don't mean to sound cynical. The average consumer probably wouldn't notice and maybe doesn't care, but take care when  choosing a contractor based on claims and statements in ads and put more weight on established time-proven companies. 

Virtual Home Remodeler

GAF has a great tool on their website for those who are re-shingling and considering changing the look of their home or business. It allows you to choose a picture and see what it would look like. It also allows for different siding options (vinyl, brick, etc) and also allows you to change the color on those as well. Just go to the GAF website: www.gaf.com. Once there look for the virtual home remodeler under the residential roofing category.

Pre-Screened Contractors

Have you ever seen those sites on the internet that offer three bids from "pre-screen" contractors ? They are everywhere - Service Magic, QualitySmith, and a few lesser know brands. Would you like a little insight into the screening process ? It's simply a credit card.....if you are willing to pay - they will list you. They are trying to recruit contractors for all 50 states for about 30 different service categories. Thats a large area and a lot of contractors. They do not have time or resources to properly qualify these contractors.

It works like this, you fill out the form, whether it be for roofing, siding, a new kitchen, fencing, etc. - They take the three closest people in their network that are signed up and offer them the leads - they cost the contractor on average $ 75.00 per lead. The company will generate $ 225 for you to fill out that inquiry form. On the other end, they offer affiliates (people with websites) anywhere from $ 7.00 to $ 25.00 to place and ad or link that people can click on to take them to an inquiry form where hope the homeowner fills out the form. Net profit: about $200.00 per lead.

You the homeowner have nothing to lose by using these services. The contractors are just like the ones you'll find listed in the newspaper or yellow pages; some good - some bad. Generally, the contractors paying for these lead services are newer, less established contractors. Just be informed and realize that they are not pre-screened and you must still do you homework and check references and insurance. In short, you'll do better to ask friends and co-workers for recommendations.

The Importance of a Sheet Metal Shop

Roofing & Sheet metal go together like coffee & donuts, cars & gas, teachers & schools. Most don't quite get the connection, so I will explain.   First there is the obvious- metal roofing. Something that we do quite a bit of. Its almost impossible to do a quality job without having a proper sheetmetal shop. Its a little like trying to operate a five star restaurant out of an apartment kitchen. 

Then there is the flat roofing systems; back when tar & gravel was the dominant system and single ply rubber roofs had not yet been established, all the flashings were metal based. Edging, roof to wall, pitch pockets, plumbing stacks, and so on. Even now with the rubber roofs, proper metal edging can make all the difference in the world. With a sheetmetal shop, we can custom make the proper size and color edge metal so it blends rather than stands out. Sure... you can get by with pre-fab flashings sold at lumber yards - or even worse- that ugly 1" bar some guys screw around the edge, but the difference is noticeable, and if your into athstetics - you will appreciate  our craftsmanship. 

Lastly (at least for now) having a sheetmetal shop comes in handy for doing residential shingle jobs. We custom make our own drip edge which is stronger and more durable than the mass-produced standard drip edge. We are able to make a custom vent pipes for old cast iron pipes for which a standard flashing will not fit over, we can fabricate copper chimney crickets, apron flashings and reglets. We even make our own copper strips to help prevent algae growth. 

So when people asks us what makes us different than the next guy, I tell them about our sheet metal shop and how important it is for a quality roof job. 

Shoddy Workmanship

It never fails to amaze me - it happens at least every other week, sometimes more. It happened again yesterday. I was sitting down with a customer who is having leak issues in their living room. The amazing part is the roof is only four years old. The gentleman told me that the other company was supposed to install ice & water shield on the area in question. After closer examination I found that neither ice & water shield or felt paper was used. What a waste! The last thing this poor guy wanted to do was pay to re-do a section of roof that should have lasted him another 25 years. While I am grateful he called us, its not the kind of job we like having to do. The contractor cut some corners and is now nowhere to be found. These are the people that give all contractors a bad rap. Bottom line is you need to choose your contractor carefully. Whether it be a roof, deck, kitchen, or paint job - a good local contractor who has a history of serving your community, along with references and proper insurance are less likely to commit this type of fraud. Poor workmanship takes time to show up... and usually by then the fly by night is long gone. Quality work does not cost - it pays!

Cazeault Roofing on Flickr.

We have done hundreds of projects on Cape Cod & the Islands, probably thousands.... we've been so busy installing roofs, sidewall shingles, gutters, and more that we forgot to count. They say a picture is worth a thousand words - so here you go - you can find us on flickr and see some of the jobs that we have done. Click here for job photos and be sure to check back often. 

Green Roofing

We at proud to announce our affiliation with Live Roof.  Russell Cazeault & Robert Cazeault recently attended the training sessions at the Live Roof facility in CT.  Live roof is is a fully vegetated green roofing system that arrives and is installed 90% vegetated.  You can lean more about Live Roof at www.liveroof.net. The website is well designed and has lots of information. Paul J Cazeault & Sons Roofing is the certified installer for the Eastern Mass area. 

A Liveroof system extend the live of a typical roof by protecting the roof for the ultraviolet radiation which tends to breakdown & degrade roof membranes over time. A green roof system also saves energy, especially in the summer by keeping the roof temperature cooler, thus reducing the cooling costs and saving an average of 25% on your air conditioning bill. 

Make sure you follow our blog as we will be adding pictures of some upcoming green roof projects scheduled for the summer of 2009. 

 

Welcome to Our Blog

It's taken us over 80 years to finally get around to starting a blog. Well... the internet wasn't around for the first 60 years or so of that. Cazeault Roofing has had a website for some time now - but figured that a blog would be a great way to post relevant material, pictures of recently completed jobs, answer common questions as well as educate and inform those who are considering a roofing project, whether it be a complete re-roof, repair - or something in between.  Welcome and be sure to check back often.