Berryessa roofs on the north valley floor

Why does the flat valley floor change the drainage?

On flat ground a downspout that discharges at the wall has nowhere to take the water but into the soil beside the foundation. The outlet is therefore extended to a splash block or a short pipe that carries the flow clear of the building.

A gutter that is slightly out of fall holds a small pool at its low point, and the pool overflows in the first heavy rain. The technician tests each run with water and re-pitches it where the pool forms.

What do creek-side storms show on a roof?

A long storm that fills the creek also saturates the ground around the house, so the water from the roof has less room to soak away. The outlets and the splash blocks carry more of the weight of the storm, and their condition is checked after each big rain.

The wet season also brings the valley's soaking rain, which tests the valleys and the vent flashings. A leak that appears during a long storm is traced from the attic, as it would be anywhere in the valley.

A repaired gutter is also tested with the storm in mind. A short run of water shows the flow, but a heavy storm delivers far more, so the outlet is checked for capacity as well as for direction. Where the outlet is undersized for the roof area it drains, a second outlet is added and the reason is recorded on the scope.

How are the valley's roofs read for age?

Berryessa carries a mix of older and newer roofs, and the first visit counts the layers and reads the deck before choosing a repair or a re-roof. A second layer over a soft deck is the most common reason a repair is changed to a strip.

The ventilation is checked on each roof, since the valley's summer heat can warm an attic that has little intake, and the covering is then cooked from below.

How do the newer roofs in the neighborhood compare?

Some houses in Berryessa are newer than the older core of the city, and their coverings are often in better condition. A newer roof can still fail at its flashing, its vents or its gutters, and the same checks are made.

The technician reads the attic of a newer house for the balance of intake and exhaust, since builders of different decades used different practice. The scope names the vents that were added or paired, so the next check knows the design.