How to Prepare for a Roof Replacement: 10 Practical Tips | South Shore Roofing
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A roof replacement is a great long-term investment that will turn your home into a safer, more efficient and functional place to live.

Once you have arranged all the details of the roof replacement with your local roofing company and set the date, you probably think that there is nothing left to do but wait.

However, if you can’t just sit idly by and wait for them, if you like to keep busy, and especially if you want the replacement job to go as smoothly as possible, then there are several things that you can do.

You can start preparing for the roof replacement project and make the process easier for you, your family, and the roofers.

Making sure that both the interior and the exterior of your home are ready, as well as the residents themselves, can go a long way towards the successful completion of the project.

Read on and find out how best to prepare your home!

Preparing Your Home’s Exterior 


For the next few days, your home will be a worksite. There will be roofers walking around and a lot of work being done.

With all the best efforts of maintaining a clean worksite, there is bound to be some debris falling around your home, which is why it is important to properly prepare the entire exterior and your home’s surroundings to prevent damages, injuries, and make room for the roofers and their equipment.

1. Relocate Your Vehicles

Removing any vehicles that you have away from your driveway and the garage is important for two main reasons.

First of all, the roofers will need space for their trucks so that they can load and unload the shingles more easily, as well as for the dumpsters where they will put away the debris, old shingles, and other materials. 

Second of all, by keeping your vehicles at a safe distance from the worksite, you will prevent any potential damages and scratches to it.

2. Clear Out Your Yard and Patio

Clearing out your yard and patio is an essential part of the preparation. It is, first and foremost, a safety precaution, as you don’t want the roofers to trip over the children’s toys, for example, the bikes, patio furniture, etc.

Therefore, make sure to put everything safely away and clear the area. This also includes the grill, potted plants, lawn ornaments, lights, birdhouses, statues, and similar movable items.

This way, you will also prevent any damages to those objects.

3. Cut the Grass and Prune the Trees

Even though the site is always maintained clean and tidy, at certain phases of the roof replacement, there will inevitably be dust, debris, and some nails falling around your home so it will be much easier and faster to clean it all out when the grass is cut short. 

Apart from that, if there are any trees that are overhanging the roof or some long branches hanging near it, it is best to cut and prune them so that the roofers can have clear and safe access to the entire roof.

4. Remove Any Satellite Dishes and Antennas

You can remove the satellite dishes and/or antennas from your roof on your own, especially if you don’t use them anymore, but roofers usually do it themselves before they start the replacement.

After the roof is done, you will need to call your cable provider to reinstall the antenna or the dish and we highly recommend to have it installed on a pole near the house and not on the roof itself.

Preparing the Interior of Your Home


Even though there will be no actual work inside your home, it is very important to properly prep its interior in order to prevent excessive dirt, debris, and potential damages.

Here are some of the crucial parts of your home to consider.

5. Clear and Protect the Attic

Your attic is located just beneath the roof, so some dirt, debris, as well as vibrations are always expected during hammering and similar actions.

We recommend moving any valuable and fragile objects out of the attic for the duration of the roof replacement and to protect the rest of the space and objects in it, we recommend covering everything up with a tarp or some old sheets.

6. Remove Wall Decorations

The roof replacement process, as it was mentioned before, includes some vibrations. These vibrations, usually from the hammering on the roof, can affect all the walls in your home, especially the ones on the top floors.

Therefore, to prevent any objects from falling off the wall, make sure to take them off before the replacement starts. This includes any framed photos, paintings, mirrors, ornaments, and similar.

7. Secure Your Windows

The previously mentioned vibrations and debris that can fall from the roof can also damage and scratch your windows.

In order to protect them, it is best to board them up for the duration of the project or at least until the old roof has been stripped off completely.

8. Protect Fragile Items

Take care of any fragile objects that you have in the cupboards on the walls, such as plates, glasses, vases, and similar breakable objects. Make sure that they are away from the wall, i.e. that they are not touching the wall or each other.

Preparing the Residents


We always try to cause minimal disturbances to the home’s residents, but a roof replacement can nonetheless sometimes be loud and a bit stressful. That is why it is important to make some decisions and proper preparations when it comes to the residents themselves, especially small children and pets.

9. Decide if You Want to Stay or Temporarily Relocate


Depending on the type of the project, of the scope of the replacement and the size of your roof, the job can last anywhere from one to several days.

You should, therefore, decide whether you and your family will stay in the house (if you don’t mind the potential noise and some disruption) or if you want to relocate to a friend’s or family member’s house for that period.

10. Prepare Your Kids and Pets


If you have small children and pets, the best solution is usually to have them stay at a family member’s, neighbor’s or a friend’s house as the process can be a bit overwhelming for them.

In case you all decide to stay, then make sure to keep your kids and pets away from the worksite, keep them inside as much as you can and warn them about the dangers of stepping on a nail and similar debris around the house.

Final Thoughts 


If you want to make the roof replacement as easy and safe as possible for you and your family, follow our advice and take the mentioned safety precautions.

It will help keep your belongings undamaged, your family protected, and it will speed up the cleanup process afterward. 

At South Shore Roofing, we always try to make the process as stress-free as possible for the homeowners and we maintain high standards of cleanliness and organization throughout. All that is left after us is a new quality roof.

For any other questions or additional information, your #1 local roofing contractor is at your disposal.

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