Resources
Guides for homeowners
Five free guides to the questions that come up when a roof needs work. All five were published in September 2026, and none of them asks you to go onto a roof.
Index
All five guides
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Reading drawings
How to read a roof diagram
Planes, pitches, ridges, hips and valleys. What the lines and labels on a measured roof diagram mean, a labeled sample drawing, and what a diagram cannot tell you.
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Measurement
Roof pitch and roofing squares explained
How a footprint becomes a roof area, why pitch changes the number, how waste is added, and why starter strip and ridge cap are counted separately.
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Flashing and leaks
What flashing is, and why leaks often start there
Water tends to get in where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or a vent. Where flashing sits, how it fails, and what to look for from the ground.
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Decisions
Repair or replace: how to decide
Five questions to take in order, from the age of the roof to the condition of the decking, a yearly cost comparison, and the cases that sit on the line.
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Quotes
How to compare roofing quotes line by line
Settle the size of the roof, compare every total against one trusted square count, then line up the items quotes often leave out.
Terms you do not recognize are defined in the glossary.
Before anyone starts work
The hiring checklist covers licensing, insurance, permits, warranties and payment terms, and the roof documents section explains the reports you may be handed.
