How To Prepare Your Home For A New Roof Installation

You’ve selected the best roofing contractor in the Bay Area, ordered all your materials, and set the new roof installation date. 

Now, there are a few things you can do to help your contractor out and prepare your home for the roof installation process. 

9 Steps To Get Ready For Your New Roof

Most importantly, we want to ensure that none of your pets, cars, belongings, furnishings, etc., are damaged during a new roof installation process. Secondly, the more you do to prepare the area, the more efficiently we can work and the sooner you’ll have your new roof.

Move all of your cars/trailers/toys out of the way

Our crew will need to park their cars and trucks with the roofing materials so we can easily access them throughout the roof installation process. Also, we want to ensure no roofing debris falls from the work zone onto a vehicle, so having them out of the way keeps them safe.

Park them in the garage, under a carport, or down the street, and we’ll do our best to park respectfully along your street and driveway. If you will need access in and out of the driveway or garage, just let us know so we can be as accommodating as possible. That said, it’s best not to enter/leave the home while we work to err on the safe side. We don’t want to inconvenience you, but we want to make sure we don’t cause any damage.

Secure precious/fragile belongings on walls and shelves

Yes, we work outside the home. However, a complete roof installation requires hammering, sawing, drilling, etc., and that can cause notable vibrations. Mirrors, framed art, and other precious items hanging on the walls may shake loose from their nails or wall hooks. 

By securing precious items or removing them and storing them somewhere safe for the duration can ensure nothing falls or gets knocked off.

Have overhanging branches trimmed/pruned

First, remove any branches or tree debris that’s fallen on your roof. Then, evaluate whether other branches need to be cut back or pruned. Pruning large trees near your home is one of the best ways to protect your roof. If you can’t remove a large limb that overhangs the roof, we recommend pruning it to minimize the risk of falling branches. Keeping up with landscape maintenance protects your roof and your property during fire season. 

Also, limbs that hang low over the roof are harder to work around, which could make the roofing job last longer. We make roof safety a top priority for our crews, and low or overhanging branches increase their risk. 

Make arrangements for babies, small children, and pets

This is loud and constant work. It can be agitating for adults, but they understand what’s happening. Babies, small children, and pets are another matter. If possible, it might be a good idea to get them out of the house for the bulk of the days we work on your home. 

If that’s not an option, you may want to think about sound-canceling headphones to help soften the noises for them. Have them practice wearing them for a few days ahead of time so they’re used to the feel. Pets may feel more secure if they’re in a kennel or shut in a single room with their bed, water/food, and favorite toys rather than free in the home.

Protect anything you have in the front, back or side yards.

Anything that’s exposed in the front, back, or side yards is at risk of being damaged while we’re working. We recommend moving:

• Ceramic potted plants
• Children’s toys
• Patio and other outdoor furniture
• Inflatable or collapsible pools
• Lawn ornaments or similar decor
• Barbecues/grills

Getting these out of the way ensures they aren’t damaged by any falling debris during the roof installation process.

Cover items stored in the attic 

The same rattling and banging that can disturb wall decorations can also shake dust and other particles from the attic ceiling. If you use your attic for storage, we recommend covering everything with sheets, drop cloths, or tarps. Once your new roof is complete, you can carefully fold them up, take them out of the attic, and shake them off outside.

While you’re up there, this is a good time to evaluate the status of your insulation. If your home is ready for a new roof, it may also be ready for an insulation upgrade if it’s been 10 or more years. Your insulation company can also help you clean up the attic and prepare it for new insulation, which optimizes roof function and whole-home energy efficiency.

Contact satellite or internet providers

If you have a satellite on the roof or your internet/cable attaches near the house’s roofline, contact your provider at least a week before your scheduled roof installation. Let them know you’re replacing your roof, and they may want to schedule an appointment to remove/disconnect their equipment and then put it back up once the job is done.

Think about power sources for the roofing crew

We’re going to need power to run our tools, including the saws that we use to cut the flashing and our nail guns (responsible for many of those loud noises we talked about in #4). If you have outlets on the exterior building, we’ll use those. 

If you live in an older home without exterior outlets or know yours don’t work, we’ll need to pull power from the house. Let us know if that’s the case so we can determine the best place to run our cords (like through the garage door for garage outlets or through a slider to access interior outlets). 

Let the neighbors know

Because there will be extra cars parked on the street and lots of noise/activity, we always think it’s nice to let your neighbors know you’re replacing your roof and that the job will take about two days (unless you’ve been told it’s longer or something else delays the work). They may want to make different arrangements for their cars, young children, or pets, too. At the very least, it’s just nice to be prepared anytime construction is happening on a neighboring home. 

Central Bay Roofing Provides Stress-Free Efficient Roof Installation

Here at Central Bay Roofing, we do all we can to help clients prepare for their new roof installation. Do you have questions about yours? Does your street, driveway, or location pose a challenge? That’s okay! After more than 40 years in the business, we’ve seen and handled it all.

Contact Central Bay Roofing for specific instructions about preparing your home for a new roof installation. Your preparation makes our job easier, and we’re happy to help in any way we can.