Q. I am looking for a roofer who has specific extensive experience with flat roofs that you can recommend from personal experience.

A. It would help to know where you are located. You can call the local BBB for references for roofers. You can find smaller companies on the builder bulletin boards at places like Lowes or Home Depot. A roofing supplier will have one of these boards too. Most will not recommend any one company, hence the use of the board for their business cards. Make sure and check references of other customers they've done work for. Flat roofs can be tricky and will tend to leak if not done correctly. Good luck.

Q. Since the roofing business deals with allot of insurance companies and my customers wont have to pay nothing for their new roofs i was thinking about "Free For All Roofing". or maybe something catchy that's rhymes like "Weather Proof Roofs". what do y'all think about my selection and do you have a name that's better then mine?

A. Safe and Sound Roofs Long Life Roofs Just In Time Roofs

Q. My girlfriends building a small greenhouse for our apartment balcony, and we were thinking it would be easier to build a greenhouse with a flat roof instead of a triangle roof, just like some commercial building have flat roofs. Is there a reason why every greenhouse I've ever seen has a triangle roof?

A. Well it would depend on the kind of material you are using. If it is a soft vinyl/plastic, then it could get ruined by rain. An angled roof lets the water run down the sides easier, while a flat roof can sometimes collect water, making the roof sag down or even burst if it builds up enough.

Q. Since the roofing business deals with allot of insurance companies and my customers wont have to pay nothing for their new roofs i was thinking about "Free For All Roofing". or maybe something catchy that's rhymes like "Weather Proof Roofs". what do y'all think about my selection and do you have a name that's better then mine?

A. D*ck sucking loving roofs

Q. I plan to use semi gloss on the shutters and a flat exterior on the house itself. Thanks.

A. I wouldn't use flat paint especially outside ,you need gloss because when it rains the water will just slide off the trailer. If you use flat it will absorb the water.

Q. I'm looking to buy a metal warehouse building. The walls and roof are dirty and need cleaning. While the structure is plenty sound, I'm wondering how safe it is to walk on the roof. I was wondering if all metal roofs are built strong enough to support a person walking on it. For other types of roofs in colder climates, building codes specify a load capacity to hold up under snow. Here in Houston, such support does not apply. As the roof itself is very light, it doesn't need to be very strong to shed off rain.

A. I've done a lot of work on metal roofs, and i have only came across 1 that was too thin to walk on. it wasn't that it wouldn't support me either, (230lbs) it just bent, and dented when i walked on it. this just simply made it look ugly... feel a corner or edge if you can find one. if you can bend it easily with your fingers, it's too thin, but if it's quite rigid, and you can't bend it without plyers, it should hold up to your boots! not sure where you are, but where i am, we are starting to get frost. take EXTRA care on those metal roofs during this coming winter season!

Q. I am thinking of starting my own roofing business, but I would like to know what I should be expecting to pay in insurance before I start doing my budget. I have little experience in finance and would like to carefully scrutinize the numbers before getting too invested. Before contacting agencies, I would like to have some idea of what they charge. Thanks!

A. General liability for a one man shop, is probably going to run you around $1500 a year, if you do NO flat roofs or hot tar. Workers comp for roofers, runs 25% of payroll, or $2500, whichever is HIGHER. Both of those are AUDITABLE, so be sure to compare both the premium, AND the actual rate they are charging you.

Q. I know this question is usually based on location, but... I have a flat roof house in the country. Flat roofs are awful. It always leaks. A neighbor suggested that we hire some of the local Amish to build a pitched roof, but had no idea how much they generally charge to do it.

A. I've found the Amish to be considerably cheaper, they use better supplies and their workmanship is much better. I got 5 estimates for replacing our roof on this 100+ year old home. Yeah, it's steep but not one of those with all the valleys and stuff. I threw the high and the low out immediately. Threw another one out because he was taking short cuts and when asked about it gave me a smart answer. The difference between the remaining two was about $500. The Amish quote was using 40 years guaranteed metal roofing, stainless steel screws, 2 x 4 lumber to screw the metal roof to and stainless steel snow breaks along with all the flashing and trim pieces were factory painted to match the roof and the insulation "bubble" wrap. The non-Amish quote remaining was still higher; no insulation, plastic snow breaks, plain old aluminum flashing and trim and 1 x 2 lumber. We went with the Amish quote and are extremely happy with the results! They really took their time and made each piece of trim fit properly even though this old house is anything but straight! They cleaned up all the debris and hauled it away also. And they were very nice to have around, very polite and pleasant. And they discovered our one gutter was plugged up and they cleaned it out for us while they were right there! The transformation was far better than we had expected. Not often (now days) does something exceed your expectations. The total was about $6,500 and that included 2 porch roofs and a patio roof with clean acrylic panels. We noticed that there was a good 10 degree difference in the upstairs during hot weather right away. And it does seem to be warmer but we really haven't had much cold weather yet but I'm sure we will be saving on the heat this year also!