Autumn has arrived in Utah, and that means homeowners are turning their attention to home maintenance. Most Salt Lake City roofing contractors know that there are routine tasks that should be accomplished in preparation for winter to prevent some severe problems. While we’ve talked about ice dams, moisture build-up, wildlife incursions, and other issues that can plague homeowners during the colder months, it’s important to note that the solution to these issues is often simple preventative maintenance.
Although the cooler seasons mean more indoor time for residents, interior projects are primarily completed during summer and spring. The routine maintenance and roof repairs that keep your beautiful home snug and safe are the work of October and November. Our first advice is to keep the gutters and drains in good order. During the year, leaves and dirt can accumulate, which will lead to water backup.
Tidy Your House Beautiful
Although the cooler seasons mean more indoor time for residents, interior projects are primarily completed during summer and spring. The routine maintenance and roof repairs that keep your beautiful home snug and safe are the work of October and November. Our first advice is to keep the gutters and drains in good order. During the year, leaves and dirt can accumulate, which will lead to water backup.Once the temperature plummets, that water becomes ice, which can wreak havoc on gutters, and put stress on the roofing structure to which they’re attached. The experienced roofing contractors at First Call Construction know that this is the first point to examine when seeking to ensure a home is prepared for winter.Related to the periphery of your roof are the soffits, eaves, shingling or tiling, and even the beams that support the entire structure. By ensuring that each of these aspects is sound and sturdy, every homeowner can rest easy during the winter months. And since the same winds that bring clutter to your gutters often expose roofing materials to assault by larger debris, a general roof inspection is strongly advised.
The best time to fix issues is when those problems have not yet fully developed, saving time, headaches, and funds. Roofing inspections and a thorough assessment of your attic space can mitigate many of these. And like many Salt Lake City roofing contractors, we at First Call Construction know that the interior of a roofing structure is just as important as what meets the elements outside.We suggest checking for potential moisture buildup from routine activities such as cooking, bathing, and even breathing. Ensuring that your attic space has proper ventilation and insulation will save energy during the winter while also venting excessive moisture and keeping the humidity at an appropriate level.We proudly serve the communities of Salt Lake and Utah counties, providing preventative maintenance, roofing repair or replacement, and many other essential services. If you’re ready to tackle that seasonal to-do list, give us a call for your free quote at (801) 830-4642. First Call Construction is at your service.
Inside and Out
The best time to fix issues is when those problems have not yet fully developed, saving time, headaches, and funds. Roofing inspections and a thorough assessment of your attic space can mitigate many of these. And like many Salt Lake City roofing contractors, we at First Call Construction know that the interior of a roofing structure is just as important as what meets the elements outside.We suggest checking for potential moisture buildup from routine activities such as cooking, bathing, and even breathing. Ensuring that your attic space has proper ventilation and insulation will save energy during the winter while also venting excessive moisture and keeping the humidity at an appropriate level.We proudly serve the communities of Salt Lake and Utah counties, providing preventative maintenance, roofing repair or replacement, and many other essential services. If you’re ready to tackle that seasonal to-do list, give us a call for your free quote at (801) 830-4642. First Call Construction is at your service.
Another consideration is the creation of a unique space. Often basement levels are designed as simply as possible. However, transforming your basement into charming en-suite guest accommodation, an entertaining area or a playroom may require some additional division and points of access for wiring or water. Instead of consulting with several firms, simplify the process and allow us to transform your basement into the useful, beautiful rooms you’re dreaming of.We are proud to serve the communities of Salt Lake and Utah counties in our capacity as Salt Lake City roofing contractors. But we also offer expert services for the interior of the home. If you’re in need of more space and would like to finish your basement, call us today for a free consultation at 
By the time you can see that your roof needs a major repair or a total replacement, there may already be extensive water damage, wildlife incursion, or a pest problem that you haven’t noted yet. This will add to the cost of any roofing task, and may even necessitate additional renovation projects. At First Call Construction, we train our roofing and renovation specialists to assess each situation. Roofing repair in Utah can be costly, but it isn’t always a worst-case scenario.In some cases, a simple patch or replacement of shingles is all that’s needed. Roofing repair often entails being thorough, clean, and consistent, no matter how small the task. We want to ensure that each client receives the best service and products that meet their needs as well as their budget. In the instance that a full roof replacement is essential, we have multiple options and approaches that are price scaled for convenience and ease.
There are many reasons to consider roofing repair or replacement. However, as a part of the communities of Salt Lake and Utah counties, we at First Call Construction want every homeowner to have all the facts before making a decision. If you think it might be time to improve or replace your existing roof, call us at 
We’ve talked about the dangers of small leaks and breaches in the fabric of your roof. These are probably well-known considerations that most homeowners look for during months of storm and lower temperatures. But what do you do about a leak that isn’t a leak? Did you know that condensation in your attic space forms most easily when heat and trapped air commingle? Salt Lake City roofing contractors like First Call Construction encounter this issue on a regular basis, and we know the damage it can cause if it isn’t mitigated immediately.Beneath the shingles and the beams, the attic crawl space can be one of the hottest spots in the home during summer months. This is because traditional roofing materials tend to absorb solar radiation and heat is passed via convention into the crawl space. Couple this with insulation in older homes that is no longer up to code or r-value and this can create an unintentional sauna. When the moisture of daily life—showers, cooking, and even exhalation of human beings—is born aloft on rising air, it condenses in this sauna.
First, our contractors will assess your roof’s integrity and inspect the attic space beneath it to ensure our complete understanding of any issues. Then, we may suggest new and better insulation to mitigate heat accumulation. By preventing solar heat from permeating the roof during the summer, we’re also providing added insulation to retain heat in the winter. This will lower your energy costs for every season. Then, if your roof is ready for an upgrade—most roofs are guaranteed for ten or twenty years before replacement is needed—we will offer a selection of appropriate roofing materials to meet your needs and budget.If you’re troubled about heat accumulation in your attic space, call us at 
We’ve talked about moisture accumulation before, but ice dams aren’t something anyone worries about in July. What every homeowner should be aware of is that moisture infiltration can and does happen all year round in Utah. Our severe storms are nothing to laugh about, with strong winds and heavy rains that can cause both direct and indirect damage to shingles, soffits, and gutters.If we have a few weeks of consistent precipitation, moss can grow on the shingles of your roof, which traps moisture between the shingle and the plant. Over time, this causes the shingle to deteriorate. Once even the minutest pathway for water appears, homeowners should expect to see visible signs of water intrusion. Over time, water will drip into insulation, insinuate itself between walls, damage electrical wiring and elevate the risk of fire, and create the perfect environment for mold, mildew, and even pests.
Over time, small debris and airborne dirt will accumulate in gutters, causing constriction or obstruction. Then, when the first heavy rain of the season moves in, there’s nowhere for all that water sluicing off the roof to go. While gutters are relatively lightweight when dry and empty, a gutter full of mud and rain is substantial enough to tear free from the roof, causing significant damage.Luckily, it’s also something that can be prevented with a seasonal cleaning of your home’s gutters. This should be a part of regular home maintenance during both the spring and the autumn, to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises. If the worst should occur, homeowners can take comfort that Utah roofers like those at First Call Construction have plenty of experience quickly and efficiently repairing the damage it can cause to the roofing structure.The experts at First Call Construction recommend multiple annual inspections in attic spaces and up on the roof’s surface. Our experts can assess existing or potential trouble spots and offer advice on the most cost-effective solutions. We believe that a sound roof makes for a safe home. If you’re ready to check off this box on your spring cleaning list, call us at 
First Call Construction can help. In addition to ensuring your roof is in great shape, our roofing contractors also know how to spruce up interiors and render unfinished basements into the living spaces they ought to be. While you can still maintain a storage area, why not set up an in-home office or playroom?During summer months, it will be the coolest and most serene space in your home—because even semi-subterranean levels are cocooned from the noise and heat of the outside world by the earth itself. Our teams will ensure that your new spaces are fully insulated and safely wired, so when winter returns, you can efficiently heat your new den or work-space.
When the snows begin to melt, individuals with basement levels in their homes should be vigilant for damp seeping into the fabric of their homes. While the cause can sometimes be extreme, such as stress cracks in the foundation, more often than not, it’s merely a case of creeping moisture as meltwater moves down into the water table.While this is a routine maintenance task, allowing damp to settle into your walls and insulation can cause two major or long-term issues. The first problem is mold. Even though we are lucky in our regional climate and seldom have to cope with mold spores in our homes, when water settles into insulation or drywall, it can go unnoticed and undisturbed. This infiltration sets up a perfect environment for molds to prosper and spread throughout your home, using the walls as their highways.
The second issue is that water expands when it freezes. If you invite damp into the fabric of your basement walls—finished or unfinished—it can often become a permanent situation. When winter comes around again, that water will expand. This essentially sets up a freeze-thaw cycle that can cause damage to your foundation or exterior walls, to say nothing of internal wiring, piping, insulation, and other materials.Luckily for homeowners, spotting damp is relatively easy and it’s also an easy fix in most cases. So, while we’re inspecting your roof and attic spaces for winter damage, we are happy to investigate your basement for any issues. It’s the best time of year to catch water in action, whether under the eaves or below stairs. For a free consultation, just call us at 
Even organisms that live in extreme environments, in which water is almost entirely absent, need it to survive. That goes for the flora and fauna that make your basement smell musty, too. Whether you've designed a comfortable retreat or are content to leave the basement level unfinished, any incursion of water invites mold, mildew, and dust mites into your home.Incidental leaks or slowly developing flows also damage the fabric of your foundation and your home. Because it's the universal solvent, water can break down drywall and widen cracks almost as effortlessly as it can carry salts and other minerals into the walls of your basement. This leads to ugly, stained drywall or salt efflorescence on your concrete. Just as paint will chip if wetted repeatedly, concrete erodes under the influence of salts, powdering and fragmenting. Small cracks in any surface will widen over time unless they are adequately sealed.Whether you have a finished or unfinished basement level, First Call Construction wants it to be safe, dry, and stable. If you think you may have a leak or have located the source of the problem and require expert repairs, we are pleased to be of service. Just contact us at 
Utah roofers know that, as a part of your home’s insulation, the roofing structure is critical. It must play to the delicate balance of heat retention and moisture dispersal. Especially in the winter months, ensuring that your roof has adequate ventilation while also helping to keep you and your family snug and dry is an important consideration. In today’s article, we’d like to address some of the potential issues that result from inadequate ventilation and how we at First Call Construction can help mitigate them.
While water trapped in insulation also becomes water vapor when exposed to heat in your attic space, there are other sources of humidity. Merely occupying a home can create an issue if the problem is with ventilation. Hot showers, running the dishwasher and breathing or sweating release moisture into your home atmosphere, which rises with heat. It then becomes trapped in your inadequately ventilated attic, surrounded by insulation, which partially absorbs it.But water expands in two ways. With the introduction of heat, either in the summer or during winter when central heating is employed, it expands and places pressure on your roofing structure. If there is no escape provided for this vapor, it can create breeches, which will allow water into your home at a later point. It can also condense again as the air around it cools.This brings us to another means of expansion. As the water cools and freezes, it also expands. When you have excess, trapped moisture in your attic, it responds to the cooling temperatures of winter nights, by freezing. Ice is accretive, which means it builds upon itself, becoming more difficult to melt as it grows. Ice dams develop over time and can create disastrous pressures on roof structures. When things warm up again, they also create internal leaks that can damage your home.If you are in need of roofing repairs, or just want to ensure the integrity of your roof this winter, First Call Construction is at your service. Contact us at