- Animals chewing on parts of your home
may seem like a minor inconvenience,
but did you know that they could also cause a roof leak?
If they chew on certain parts of your roof.
Today, we're going to be discussing
animals chewing on your home.
And more importantly, how to prevent it.
(light upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Bill Ragan, with Bill Ragan Roofing Company.
I've been in the construction industry
for over 40 years and started
Bill Ragan Roofing Company over 30 years ago.
At Bill Ragan Roofing Company we want
to ensure that our customers are well informed
so they can make the correct buying decision.
Today, we're going to be talking about animal prevention.
We're going to be talking about what kind
of damage that they can cause.
And we're also going to be talking
about some options on ways
that you can prevent animal damage.
What kind of damage can critters cause?
Two of the main problems that animals cause
on your roof is they can cause leaks.
And it also can create a biohazard in your attic.
When animals are trying to find
their warm space for the winter,
they'll chew through either the back of your gutter.
They'll chew through where a soffit and fascia
meet a roof line.
Like where a gutter comes back to a roof line at that angle.
That's the two most common places that they try to get in.
Once they're in that's when the biohazard is created.
If they've gotten in your attic
and have spent any time whatsoever,
their droppings are going to create a biohazard
and you're going to want to get those removed.
As soon as you get the point of entry found and corrected.
When a critter tries to get in your attic,
they're going to chew a hole in something,
and that's going to let the water in
which is going to create a leak.
You're either going to see it either on an outside wall.
That means they've tried to come in near your gutters,
or you could see it on a ceiling
above where a roof line dives into another roof.
So, you would probably more than likely
see it either on a wall or on your ceiling,
in the form of a spot, or see water
either running down the walls.
What are the options to prevent animal damage?
The two options that we use to prevent
animals from getting in your attic,
mainly squirrels or raccoons or even birds
is we use a 26 gauge steel.
We call it a gutter apron, and what it does,
it comes down the roof, four inches,
two inches into the gutter.
And then it's screwed to the fascia board
in the backside of the gutter with screws, with washers.
And we screw it every two inches.
Normally a squirrel or a raccoon,
when they try to chew through the steel,
it's too tough for them to get through.
So they'll move on maybe to the house next door
or a house down the street
that's got aluminum that they can choose through.
Another thing that we do is we put
powder-coated steel screens over the top of gutters
that tuck up under the shingles and rest on the drip edge.
And then they're fastened to the top of the gutters.
And that prevents animals from getting in your gutters
and trying to get through.
Now, once we find out where they're trying to get through,
like if they're trying to get in where a soffit,
dives into a roof line,
then what we do with that is cover
that with 26 gauge steel also.
And if we can't match the color of the soffit,
then we'll do it with white and just paint it.
But 26 gauge steel and powder-coated steel gutter screens
are our two most valuable options on preventing
animals from getting in your attic.
In order to ensure that you hire a great roofing contractor,
click on the link in our description
and download our questions to ask your roofing contractor.
If you haven't seen the other videos in our library,
go back and watch them.
Or if you want to learn even more,
go to our learning center on our website.
That's all for this video.
And I hope you're feeling more informed.
I'm Bill Ragan, and remember,
if a customer of mine has a problem, then I have a problem.