Bethke Roofing & Restoration

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To begin with, I contacted 4 different roofing companies (all highly rated on Angie's List). One of these used a satellite system for estimating the roof area (measured in and quot;squaresand quot;, 1 square = 100 sq ft.) Three of the four area estimates - including the one that used the satellite system - quoted roof areas that were much higher than the fourth. So I took the satellite image - which had linear dimensions on it, and added a factor for the roof pitch (basic trigonometry) and what I found was that the fourth estimate, which happened to come from Bruce Bethke, was nearly right-on. I have no idea what was up with the other three roofers' estimates (bad at math?), but they all enjoy great reputations on Angie's List... Bruce suggested that I think about a metal roof and offered me a and quot;screw-downand quot; option (where the fastening screws pass through the metal surface before anchoring in the plywood decking below) and a and quot;standing seamand quot; option (where the metal roof panels are clipped into hidden fasteners leaving the metal surface undisturbed.) NOTE: This second type of roof is referred to as and quot;standing seamand quot;, but it consists of panels with pre-fabricated seams that lock together as opposed to a and quot;trueand quot; standing seam roof which is installed with a power crimper that creates the seams onsite by bending the flat panels together. The original and quot;standing seamand quot; roof is significantly more expensive. While there may be a marginal benefit to the power-crimped roof, the pre-fabricated panels have a good track record. The more I learned about modern metal roofs, the more I wanted to go that route. They have 2 major benefits: (1) energy efficiency, and (2) durability. The metal roof (including colored metal roofs) are much more reflective of the sun's radiant energy, so they don't get as hot as asphalt roofs of any color. Furthermore, a metal roof has barely any heat capacity at all; when the sun goes down it has no stored heat to give off, whereas an asphalt roof heats to well over a hundred degrees fahrenheit, and cools down slowly - in the process radiating heat off to the atmosphere - and into the house! Since replacing my roof I have noted that the heat pump barely ever runs between 7 or 8 pm and 10 or 11 am, whereas with the asphalt roof the heat pump ran long and often throughout the entire night and morning. Because the metal roof saves so much energy it has earned an energy tax credit for the year it gets installed. The roof is also more durable - so much so that it meets a U.L. standard for resistance to wind and hail damage - which earns a discounted rate for homeowner's insurance in the state of Texas. Lastly, the roof looks great. Neighbors actually comment on it, and several have said they'd like to and quot;go metaland quot; when the time comes to replace their asphalt roofs. Once I decided to go with a metal roof, I ran the two options by a home inspector who urged me to go with the standing seam rather than the screw-down option. He said that even though it costs more initially, the additional cost is more than made up by the fact that the standing seam roof does not require screws to be inspected and replaced periodically. And the possibility of leaks is drastically reduced because there should be very few if any penetrations through the metal surface of a standing seam roof when installed properly. Back to Bethke Roofing. Bruce Bethke earned my trust with his straightforward estimate, his suggesting the metal roof, and giving me the full facts up front. He's a pretty easy-going guy besides, and I found dealing with Bruce - and his crew to be a very good experience. During the job Bruce suggested replacing the stack roof vent with louver vents on the sheer face of the adjoining wall (parts of the roof are single-slope adjoining a sheer wall face). That was done at a minimal additional cost. His suggestion improved the aesthetics of the roof, eliminated a potential water leak, and improved the attic ventilation. He even gave me some advice on a non-roof drainage issue I had - and his suggestion has proven completely effective, and much easier to accomplish than what I had originally planned. I heartily recommend Bethke roofing to anyone who needs a roof!

Two other houses on the block have the same design of metal roof and people really like it. They prefabricated all the metal so that he had everything right in place and made sure that everything was done in half a day and that was completely amazing. The reason why I went with doing metal roof was because it was fashionable and it was a faded color so it wasn't so bright or shiny. I would rate them high overall and would use them again in the future.