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Is it any wonder why almost 80% of homes in north america use asphalt shingles as the roofing material of choice. The prevalence of asphalt shingles has created a vast assortment of fittings and fixtures designed to work with them. Items such as a multitude of flashing configurations, edge products, and almost every skylight manufactured has an appropriate base configuration for a weatherproof connection with asphalt shingles. All of the material that you need for a proper installation, such as the shingles, tarpaper, nails, vent boots and chimney flashing are available at any home improvement retailer.

The primary attributes of asphalt tiles are:

• reasonably priced (economical),
• require very little maintenance,
• versatile,
• provide excellent protection on steep sloped roofs,
• are weather and sunlight resistant,
• easy to cut,
• can be nailed by hand or with powered nailers.

There are two different types of asphalt shingle base material construction - composition and fiberglass. Composition shingles use a base material termed organic felt, which is a blend of paper and wood fibers. Fiberglass, on the other hand, uses a base that is comprised of a fiberglass mat. In both cases, once the base material is produced it is soaked in an asphalt compound. In numbers sold, fiberglass leads the market. They are less expensive, weigh less because they are thinner, have a longer wear life and have a better fire rating than the composition base shingles.

average cost of a shingle roof is $50 to $150 per square, installed. Removal of old shingles will cost between $30 and $50 per square.

Both types of asphalt shingles are manufactured with embedded mineral granules. Seeing the granules in your eaves trough (after the initial installation) is a sure sign that you need to repair or replace the shingles.

Where just a few years ago asphalt shingles were only available in simple tab configurations in blacks, grays and browns, the manufacturers have expanded their product lines to include a vast array of colors, profiles and with the use of laminate coatings have created as assortment of eye pleasing textures. Special chemicals are also being blended into the shingles to make them mold and algae resistant. Although these additional features do increase the price per square, asphalt shingles are still the most economical roofing material available.

Drawbacks:

The serviceable life of asphalt shingles is the lowest of all the roofing materials. Although they are available in numerous grades designated by the expected life, from 15 to 50 years they often need repair or replacement long before their supposed life has expired. The hotter the climate, the shorter the life of asphalt shingles. Many of the asphalt shingle problems that are encountered by homeowners are a direct result of two factors:

• poor initial installation
• damage due to sever weather

Poor installation usually occurs in the area of deck preparation, and not providing adequate flashing around items that are protruding through the roof such as vent pipes and chimneys. Other poor installation methods are not using the required amount of nails per shingle and nailing in the wrong area of the shingle. There are many fly-by-night roofing companies that will quote low prices, because they won't be around to stand behind the workmanship. Choose a roofing contractor carefully.

Roof Repairs:

You should inspect your shingled roof and all the flashing at least once a year and after any major storm such as a hurricane. hurricane winds will remove entire shingles and lift others. sun and rain can cause asphalt shingles to crack. You should also go into the attic and look up, any sign of daylight means that there is a hole. When inspecting the roof look for shingles that have lost the granule minerals - bald spots, cracked and/or curled.

If you have to make a roof repair, choose a warm day so that the shingles will be flexible and unlikely to crack when lifted. The roofing cements also spread easier in warmer temperatures.

You will know when you have a roofing problem when you see beige spots appearing on ceilings and walls close to the ceiling. Beige spots are a sign of water damage.

Maintenance:

Roofing cement is the equivalent of duct tape for roofs. It will repair most leaks, cracked or torn shingles, patch flashing around vent pipes and chimneys. You can also use the roofing cement to cover nail heads that have been exposed.

Shingles fade with age so any replacement shingles used will most likely be visually obvious. Shingle over damaged ridge shingles, by nailing down all the corners of the old shingle first - do not remove them.

If you have to replace an entire shingle, lift each of the tabs and pry the nails out of the shingle of the one that needs to be replaced. Remove the top corners of the replacement shingle and very carefully, without damaging the tarpaper, slip it under the existing shingles.

Use roofing nails (large head, galvanized) to fix the new shingle to the roof decking. Use roofing cement to cover the nail heads.

Planning and knowledge are the keys to any successful home improvement, remodel or landscaping project!

For additional information on roofing materials for your home or other renovation projects, including landscaping, visit Renovation Headquarters

When most of us think of a Bug detector we think of the process involved in finding those creepy crawling creatures that may live on our kitchen floor, under the bed or out on the front porch.

We all know that these creeping creatures can be a nuisance and may cause our skin to crawl when thinking about them however this is not the Bugs or Bug detector that is referred to here.

The Bug detector referred to here is a device used to locate hidden cameras, audio bugs, listening devices and real time GPS tracking devices that may be invading your personal privacy.

Are you bugged? Several low cost devices now exist on the market today that make it easier than ever for someone to watch, listen and record your private conversations. Hidden Cameras and Audio Bugs can be purchased very easily on the Internet or even at your local toy store.

You may have to ask yourself why someone would be interested in placing a bug or a hidden camera in your home or place of business. There are several situations or reasons that we may all consider when the possibility of someone bugging us is high.

For example this may include situations such as: You may be pending or going through a divorce. You may be going through a long drawn out custody battle. You are engaged in long term projects that you want to keep secret. Your company may be offering competitive technology or may be going public. You may have private investigators watching you. You may have a jealous boyfriend or you simply may be very attractive and worried about your perverted neighbor getting out of hand next door.

Hidden cameras and bugs are generally very small and can be hidden and located very easily just about anywhere. They include wired and wireless cameras, micro audio bugs and can be as common and simple as your cell phone.

Hidden Cameras can be purchased and placed just about anywhere. They can be installed in your light switch, VCR, lamp or mirror. FM audio bugs are very small and can be purchased and placed easily. They are designed to transmit on a FM signal that can be heard by tuning in on a FM radio while parked across the street.

Several cell phones have the option to be called without hearing the ringer and automatically picked up. The user on the other end can then hear everything that the cell phone can hear when it is live and in use. A disgruntled employee could simply leave his cell phone live during an important meeting transmitting confidential information to your competitors on the other end.

Most hidden cameras and bugs use wireless technology to transmit the audio and or video to a receiver where the signal can then be viewed and recorded. The power of that signal will depend on how far it is transmitting to the receiver. Some devices may be transmitted to the room next door and others may be transmitted up to 3 to 5 miles away.

These frequencies obviously can not be seen with the naked eye but can be detected by using a Bug detector. A RF bug detector is simply a device used to detect frequencies that are being transmitted by a hidden wireless camera, GPS tracking device, live cell phone or audio bug. There are several bug detectors out on the market and vary in price and quality.

The bug detector is a receiving device and if it is to sensitive it may give you a false reading around electromagnetic interference. If it is not sensitive enough it may not detect low power transmitters easily. Some bug detectors have a sensitivity adjustment on them to allow you to eliminate unwanted interference and allow you to close in and find the source of your target signal. You will also want the bug detector to have a wide range of detection around 0 ~ 6 GHz.

You will want to find a bug detector that is reasonably priced and of good quality for your needs. If you travel a lot there are many key chain detectors available that work very well and are easy and simple to use. For example you may just want to do a quick scan before entering the dressing room or tanning salon. If you have serious security concerns you may want to hire a professional to perform a complete bug sweep on your property.

If you feel that you may need protection from hidden cameras, audio bugs or GPS tracking devices and would like to learn more about obtaining a Bug Detector you can visit http://MicroVideoX.com for more information on Counter Surveillance