Archives for Residential

Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding has come a very long way in the last 10 to 15 years. Today’s vinyl siding comes in hundreds of colors, textures, and profiles to give you many choices while designing the exterior of your dream home. You can find vinyl siding in both horizontal and vertical applications for any home profile. It is made to withstand the elements like heavy wind and hail impact while being very low maintenance. It resists pests such as termites, blights such as rot and excessive moisture, meaning it won’t corrode over time. It will keep its original qualities for many years, giving you your money’s worth.
Insulation can be added for more durability as well as preventing heat loss from the wall studs in the exterior walls. While most homes are insulated between the wall studs, the studs themselves bleed heat where they meet the siding. Insulated vinyl siding will keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter because of the blanket of protection that is over the studs.

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LP SmartSide

The LP SmartSide plant is in Two Harbors Minnesota and is a 100% renewable resource. For every tree they cut down, one is planted in its place and ready to harvest in 20 years. This product is made in this climate for this climate. All LP SmartSide Siding products feature their innovative, four component SmartGuard manufacturing process for strength and durability. This is a zinc borate-based process. It can withstand 200 mile per hour wind gusts and has the highest impact resistance rating. With the visual comparison to natural wood, you can rest assured that this innovative product will resist fungal decay and termites. It doesn’t retain any moisture if installed properly. LP SmartSide Siding will never fade in color, even after years of being in the sunshine because the diamond kote primed finish is baked on to the siding panel. This ensures a long lasting and durable product that is warrantied for up to 30 years. NexGen uses PSPI and Cedar Siding pre-finishers. LP is a complete line of high-performance trim and siding products that complement almost any building style. It is an easy and 100% environmentally friendly install. No masks are needed to protect from cancers.

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Expanding and Contracting Siding

A typical 12 foot piece of vinyl siding will expand over 5/8″ from winter to summer and will contract when winter rolls around again. While siding can be installed at any time of the year, the ideal temperature to install is 50 degrees F. Installing at other temperatures is simply cutting the siding a bit longer or shorter depending on the weather being colder or warmer than 50 degrees F.

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Ice Dam

Ice Dams

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow, also know as water, from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas. This is common in the spring.

Ice Damn GraphicWhat damage does it cause?

When an ice dam gets big enough, melted water backs up behind it and seeps underneath the shingles. Eventually, it will drip into the insulation and down into the ceilings and exterior walls beneath the eave, ruining sheetrock and paint. If the ice dam breaks free, it can pull shingles and gutters off with it, and it will damage anything it falls on: shrubs, windowsills, cars, pets, and people. If the roof sheathing stays wet, it can form mildew and start to rot.

Prevention

You can scrape snow from the roof whenever it falls, using a snow rake from below or a broom or plastic shovel from above. BE CAREFUL: The first method can bury you in snow, while the second can send you slipping off the roof. Hire someone who knows how to use a safety line.

You can replace your shingle roof with standing seam or other metal roof. Or you can replace the bottom three feet or so of your shingle roof with a wide metal drip edge. Whatever you do, install a water-repellant membrane under any new roofing.

NOTE: If your roof is not very steep, an ice dam can still form on metal roofing and drip edges.

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Home Insurance Claim Form

Insurance Claims & Timelines

When one’s home is damaged in a storm they are eligible to make an insurance claim. It is highly suggested to have a contractor assess the damage before the home owner calls their insurance for an inspection. This way the home owner has someone to represent them and to make sure that all of the damage is seen by the insurance agent.

Every insurance has a time line for the work to be completed. Each insurance and policy is different. This time line starts at different times for every insurance. Some timelines start at the date of loss, other’s are when the first check is issued. The expiration date could be up to two years from the date of loss or as short as six months from the last issued check. It is important for all home owner’s to know their policy time line.

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Storm Damage to Home

Storm Damage

NexGen has worked with insurance companies to repair thousands of homes and buildings after damaging storms that include hail, wind, and other damage. Whether you own a single-family or multifamily home, or commercial or industrial building, our focus is to make the insurance and restoration process straightforward and stress-free for you.

Wind

Can cause the shingle to flip up and crease resulting in a broken seal.

Shingle Damage

Hail

Causes bruising to shingles, dents, cracking and holes to siding, chips in decks and broken windows.

Hail Damage

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