Patio Cover in Plano

One project always seems to add to another, and this one is no different. After we installed a new patio slab, our customers needed a patio cover to enjoy their backyard. Here are some of the pictures of that project. 
This process involved cutting into the roof to connect our new rafters to the existing rafters, installing a temporary post and connecting our new beam to the existing beam. Once those things were in place we installed our new rafters, decking, felt, and roll roofing. We made sure to create a good connection to avoid roof leaks. After that we installed the fascia, patio ceiling, gutters, and brick around the wood post. Finally, we painted the entire structure to match the home. The finished project looks great! If you or someone you know needs a patio structure, please call Rainy Day Services at (972) 747-7734.

Want to add more light, without electricity??

Do you have an interior room that needs more light, but you do not want to use electricity to get that light? No where or way to add windows?

There are 2 alternatives open to you:
Sky light
or
Solar tube
Both are simply a special window on the roof that lets in light.

The Sky Light is a great addition to a large interior room but is needs an attic or vaulted ceiling, with the roof above to work. Sky lights are great for single story buildings or for adding light to a room upstairs. They can be a messy addition, and not always energy friendly. You may need to get a structural engineer involved to add a large sky light and or move the HVAC system in your attic to make room for it. Sky lights can be the standard bubble type or the flat type, they can open for fresh air or even have shades to block light as needed.

The Solar Tube is a great addition to a large interior room, however it does not need much attic space and can be run through a second story closet to light up a first floor room. The solar tube is a shiny metal tube (middle) with a small glass dome at the top and a diffuser (lens) a the bottom. The sun light enters through the dome, reflects on the shiny metal tube, and exits through the diffuser to add the warn glow of natural light to your room. There are add-on kits that can damper the light as needed, allow the venting of fresh air or even have a bulb to allow for light at night. They come in various sizes and depending on the area to be lighted you can have several without much mess. In fact they often only take a few hours to install and the dust and mess are a bare minimum.

Solar tube facts:

• It provides exceptional lighting. The light output is incredible, providing as much light as you would expect from a skylight many times its size.
  It is cost-effective. Tubular Daylighting Devices (AKA TDD) cost considerably less than other daylighting options, such as windows and skylights, including both product and installation costs.
• Installing it is fast, clean and easy. They require no structural reframing, tunneling, drywalling or painting. A professional can install the product in less than two hours.
• It can go almost anywhere. The compact and flexible design of TDDs allow them to be installed in just about any room, including rooms without direct roof access and smaller spaces where daylighting would usually not be an option.
• It is “Green.” TDDs allow you to switch off electric lights during the day, which provides savings on energy bills and also reduces environmental pollution.
• It is actually good for you. It has been shown in several prominent studies that increasing daily exposure to natural light can enhance mental and physical well-being, boost concentration and energy levels and a variety of other unexpected perks.

The best option is which ever one fits your needs and home the best. I have a sky light in the master bath and want to add the tube light in the living room. You may need one or the other, or as in my case both.

Some companies make both sky lights and solar tubes, we install both and have qualified installers for all major brands. We can replace your broken or cracked bubble sky light, or can change it to flat sky light. We can install the solar tube even if there is a 90 degree turn, and still get you that true natural light you need. We are a complete roofing and remodeling company.

Call today for your free estimate and start enjoying natural sun light in your home, like you never thought possible. Rainy Day Construction Services866-596-2030

Want to save money on electricity costs?

The are several ways if you click on the link in the title of this article you will get a to the point PDF of ways to save on electric use.

The main way to save is to use less, this is true of anything. Well compact flourescent light bulbs are getting cheaper and there are tons of CFL calculators out there on the web that can show you the ROI (Return on Investment) of purchasing and using CFL's. Lowe's sells a 7 pack that with tax is less than $10. In less than 1 year these bulbs will pay for themselves in electricity saving and after that is just savings. Pure saving is what going green is all about, we are saving money, saving the environment and most of all saving the future for our children.

There is another article on the blog about fire safety, it is worth a read an may save you more than money, it may well save your families life.

Try these educational/informational items about attics & insulation, windows, gutters and roofs.
If you find these items helpfull please post your comments and if you have additional ideas I would love to hear them.

My direct email is James@rainydayservices.com.

Coppell Church Roof and Gutter Repair

This is a very nice facility in Coppell, TX. Unfortunately, they have been dealing with roof and gutter issues since construction.

The last "roofing" contractor they had came out and installed roof tape along this 40' long wall. It didn't fix the problem, though. We ended up having to remove the tape and shingles all along this wall (and 3 other walls) and repair the flashing underneath. Then we installed new shingles.


In this photo you can see that the gutters are full of water. Normally, commercial gutters are installed in sections and sealant is applied where the sections meet. The builder didn't do that here, though. Instead, the builder installed 3-4 layers of flashing tape inside the gutters. The problem with this was that as the tape aged, it became unsticky. Water then found its way underneath the tape and became trapped between the tape and the gutter. Because the water was trapped it wouldn't drain. Instead, it just leaked into the church. We spent 2 days removing tape from the gutters and then sealed the inside of the gutters with professional gutter sealant.


This flat roof was also leaking when we started. We installed roof patches (using hot asphalt) and solved the problem.

It would be easy for us to always recommend the absolute cheapest fix to a problem, but because we stand behind our work, we want to make sure the solutions we offer will actually solve the problem. Two days after we repaired the roof and gutters the Dallas area had a 4" rain. The church had only 1 leak. We returned to check it out and discovered that we had missed sealing one joint in one of the gutters. We took care of the issue, it's rained since then, and no other issues have been reported.

If you are having issues with your commercial building and need someone to give you actual solutions, call Rainy Day Services at (866) 596-2030.

Chimney Rebuild Project

Remember the severe wind storms we had this spring? Our client's chimney fell over because it was improperly braced. As you can see, the siding seems to be intact. Unfortunately the original builder didn't brace it correctly in the attic.
We framed a new chimney (adding the approporiate bracing in the attic), reinstalled the flue and cap, installed new Hardiboard siding, painted, and flashed the chimney.


This chimney isn't going anywhere for a long time! If you or someone you know needs chimney or siding work, please call Rainy Day Services at (972) 747-7734 for a free estimate.