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Before you chose a roofing crew to re-roof your house, it’s important to know a bit about the roofing industry so you can talk with your roofers. Austin, TX, professionals will tell you that a bit of knowledge will go a long way toward ensuring you get the right roof to meet your needs. Here are a few terms that may help.

Barge Board – While it may be just a finishing touch, barge board is just as important as any other part of your roof. It’s a great way to cover the ends of roof timbers, as well as complete the overall job. This is one of the last things your roofers will do.

Beam – This one may make sense to many. It’s the structural component your Cedar Park, TX, roofing crew will place on your roof if you don’t already have them. Pitched roofs most often require these longer pieces of wood for a little bit of extra support during the roofing process, but other roofs may require them as well.

Cornice – This term sounds fairly decorative, and it is. It’s the overhang of the roof. You can see the roof’s cornice when you glance at a home, and many roofing crews will help to emphasize this pretty part of the roof with some decorative trim.

Eave – If the water doesn’t drip from the edge of your roof, it could seep beneath the shingles, and that could cause major water damage and call for additional roofing repairs. The eaves essentially function as a drip edge on a roof, and your roofing crew will take special care with this area.

Fascia – This one is just a fancy name for a very flat board. It offers a clean edge to the cornice of your home. Any roof would certainly look a bit more bare without this addition, and it could also create the potential for water damage if your Bee Cave roofers left it off.
Flashing – This is a metal material, and many roofing companies add it to some areas of the roof before they actually add the shingles. The metal strips help to make a water tight barrier in the event of leakage.

Rafter – These run perpendicular to the aforementioned beams. They make up the main structure on which your roofers will begin the foundation for your new roof. In most cases, the beams will already be part of your home. The roofers won’t actually be installing them.

Soffit – This is the underside of your eaves. There are typically vents under here to allow a bit of extra ventilation into the house so the attic area doesn’t get quite as hot as it otherwise might.

Truss – Beams and rafters make up the main support system for your roof, and the truss is part of that support network. These are large triangles that help hold the beams and rafters up, and as with the other pieces, your roofers probably won’t be actually laying these in place when they work on your roof.

Learning more about the terminology your roofers use may help you have a better understanding of the job at hand.