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‘Roof Restoration’ Category Archive


How To Identify Good Cedar Roofing

Friday, October 13th, 2017

Tips on grading the cedar roofing material that shows up at your home for your roofing job. Introduction, by Steve Kuhl There are many variables that factor into the quality and character of cedar shake and shingle roofing including the age of the tree when logged, the region the tree came from, the thickness of […]


Minneapolis Cedar Roof Comparisons

Friday, September 8th, 2017

Here is a basic description of the most common cedar roofs installed in Minnesota. We offer much deeper info on each in other Kuhl Case Studies. Four Most Common Cedar Roofs Installed in Minneapolis. Cedar shingles are used for both roof and side wall applications and offer a lighter, more refined appearance than hand-split shakes. […]


What Really Kills Most Cedar Shake Roofs

Friday, August 18th, 2017

Forget hail damage, animals, moss, rot, ice and wind. The sun is your roof’s main enemy. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, the purpose of all of the wood on your roof IS NOT to keep water out of your home. Its’ purpose is to protect the tar paper below, […]


Lifespans of Cedar Roofs

Friday, August 4th, 2017

How long should cedar roofs last?  


Pressure Washing Damage on Cedar Roof

Friday, July 7th, 2017

Thoughts from an Honest Roofer on Washing Cedar Shake Roofs, Part One. Why Equipment Matters: If your roof is in good enough condition to wash, congratulations. You have the opportunity to add years to its remaining life through occasional maintenance. But it is important to understand that a cedar roof should only be washed using […]


Low Bidding Minneapolis Contractor Wins Again

Friday, June 30th, 2017

Kuhl’s Contracting Six Examples of How the Cheapest Company Costs the Most After being in business this long we have countless examples of crappy work done by other contractors here in the Twin Cities. Sometimes it’s a matter of inexperience while others it is a question of ethics. Either way, it’s a giant buzz kill […]


Permanent Squirrel Damage Solution

Friday, June 16th, 2017

How to replace a tasty lead cap with galvanized steel The Problem: What is it with squirrels and roofs? They can’t seem to keep their teeth off them. We inspect hundreds of cedar roofs in the Twin Cities area each year. Time after time we find the same types of damage. Lead cap plumbing vent […]


Minneapolis Roof Leaks Part One

Friday, May 19th, 2017

Expert Advice on Common Roof Leaks in Minnesota Often times the most difficult thing in resolving a roof leak is to find it in the first place. Roof leaks in Minneapolis present some extra challenges because of the added influence that snow and ice buildup can play. This case study will examine the most common causes […]


Kickout Flashing Installation in Minneapolis

Friday, April 28th, 2017

What is a Kickout Flashing and Why Do I Need One? The Problem: For example you have just had your home inspected and someone says you need kickout flashings. With this in mind what exactly is a kickout flashing and what does it do? Kickout flashings: Required by Minnesota Building Code, the purpose of a kickout […]


Minneapolis Gutter and Roof Cleaning

Monday, February 27th, 2017

No matter how long winter is, spring is sure to come. And if you’ve been around the Twin Cities last week, it feels like it’s already here. It’s hard to imagine it’s still February, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your home maintenance needs. If you live in Minneapolis, we want to […]


Solve the Mystery Leak

Friday, February 10th, 2017

A Leaking Home Gets Fixed for Good The Backstory: Our clients, homeowners in Eden Prairie, had a mysterious water spot on the ceiling of their dining room. It clearly was related to rain because there was no plumbing in the vicinity and the damage appeared after one of those long, soaking storms. Their original builder […]


But I just need my roof washed…

Friday, January 27th, 2017

Cedar Roof Cleaning Expert Rescues Excelsior Homeowner from Other ‘Expert’ The Backstory: Upon the advice of her realtor, our client hired a roof washing franchise to wash her cedar shake roof. She was about to put her house on the market and a moss-free roof would be a nice touch. The company she hired specialized […]


Classic Flashing Failure

Friday, January 20th, 2017

A Leaking Home Gets Fixed for Good The Problem: We’ve seen this over and over on Twin Cities’ homes, in particular homes built in the last 30 years in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Plymouth, Wayzata, and Bloomington. A bottleneck created by the intersection of the garage roof and the wall of the home. The result […]


Creativity Matters

Friday, December 9th, 2016

Remodeling a Bumpout Window With a Bad Leak in Minnetonka The Problem: Imagine you have a window bumpout like the one here (below). The builder was running a little thin on his margin so he skimped on a few details. Now 13 years later, you have rotten siding, soggy millwork, and a roof that leaks. […]


Roofing + Design + Carpentry = Happy Client

Friday, October 28th, 2016

Roofing Contractor Uses Designers and Carpenters to Help Wayzata Commercial Roofing Client The Problem: We had worked on Craig’s residence a few times over the past fifteen years. He invited us to give him a bid on one of his commercial properties. It had a tired cedar shingle roof with dated treatments around each window. […]


Slouching tree, Hidden Challenge

Wednesday, September 7th, 2016

Creative Remodeling Contractor Finds Solution to Odd Problem The Problem: A cedar roof restoration client of ours had an old oak tree that added tremendous character to her property. The problem was that over years the heavy limb (right) sank lower and lower and our client kept buying higher and higher vehicles. She couldn’t stand the […]


Keeping Squirrels Out of Your Roof

Friday, September 2nd, 2016

Animal Damage to Roofs in the Minneapolis Area The Problem: Red Squirrel Scientific Name – Sciurus Vulgaris Unscientific Name – Bastardus Rodentae Size – Body length of about 4 inchs (not including tail) Diet – Nuts, acorns, seeds, and your cedar roof Preferred habitat – Mainly a tree dweller, occasionally a roof dweller This guy […]


Hear. See. Speak. We’ll Tell You What We Find.

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016

Minnetonka Homeowner Hears the Truth from Roof Cleaning Contractor with Integrity The Backstory: It’s not considered bad-mouthing your competition when you don’t name names, right? We were the third company to review this 13 year old cedar shingle roof and provide a cedar cleaning and sealing estimate. By the time I arrived, the client was […]


Animals in Minneapolis Roof Vents, Part One

Friday, July 29th, 2016

How to Keep Birds, Bats, Mice and Squirrels Out of Your Home The Problem: If you have lousy roof vents, don’t feed bad. About 60% of the roofs in Minneapolis that we inspect do. There are three common types of crappy roof vents in Minnesota: Plastic turtle-style (A) Plastic louvered (B) Non-louvered metal vents (C) […]


Blending New Cedar Shakes With Old

Friday, June 24th, 2016

Minneapolis Cedar Roof Expert Gives Examples of Cedar Roof Repairs We are often asked about how cedar shake repairs will look compared to the surrounding roof. Here are a bunch of examples of projects where we repaired cedar shake roofs and the differing degrees color variation between new and old cedar materials. If a near […]


Minneapolis Ice Dam Prevention

Friday, May 27th, 2016

Using Insulation and Roofing to Address Chronic Ice Dam Issues in Minnesota How to Prevent Ice Dams In Minnesota Ice dam prevention in Minnesota is a tricky business. So much so that we hesitate to say any home is truly ice dam proof. It’s true that homes built after roof trusses became popular are far […]


Who to Call With a Roof in Limbo?

Wednesday, May 18th, 2016

Repair or Replace Your Roof…Start First with an Honest Roofing Contractor The Problem: At some point in the life of your roof, regardless what type it is, there will be a time when fixing a few problematic spots will stretch out its remaining life by a few years. You can call a standard roofer, but […]


Why Orange You Going to Stain Your Roof?

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

Staining Your Cedar Shake Roof is Not a Great Idea…Here is Why The Problem: Your neighbor just had some stuff sprayed on his roof and it looks pretty spiffy. It looks almost like a new roof! But here is the problem with pigmented products when applied to cedar shakes: they fade in irregular patterns after […]


How to fight your insurance company: Part One

Sunday, August 25th, 2013

The recent storms that passed through the southwest communities of Minneapolis left a trail of damage and confusion (as well as an incredible bloom of storm chasers). Not surprisingly, the aftermath of that storm has been interesting for a veteran of the industry to observe. From the almost comical circus of door-knocking contractors to the […]


Versatility of Thermal Imaging: Finding Cat Pee

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

Yesterday I was in a client’s home doing a routine thermal inspection when I started to notice wet spots all over the basement floor. I immediately thought they were leaks coming from plumbing in the ceiling. A quick thermal image of the ceiling ruled that out. After scratching my head for a bit I walked […]


Insurance company tries to screw Minneapolis homeowner

Sunday, September 16th, 2012

News flash. Your insurance company is not always looking out for your better interest. In fact, in the past 30 years they have developed sophisticated internal systems for limiting, delaying or denying claims altogether. Here is one such story. I just inspected a cedar roof on Prairie Lakes Drive in Eden Prairie and was shocked […]


Blending Old Cedar with New Cedar

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Minneapolis Wood Roof Owners FAQ’s 1. If our wood roof is washed, how well with the new shake repairs blend in? 2. If we choose not to clean our cedar roof, how long with the new cedar shake repairs be obvious? 3. What can we do to get the new cedar roof repairs to match […]


Should wood roofs be pressure washed?

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

Having washed somewhere north of 2000 cedar shake and shingle roofs since the inception of our company in 1988, we have developed some strong opinions on the topic of whether or not it’s a good idea. Here is the definitive answer…


Birds Cause Ice Dams in Minneapolis

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Birds and Ice Dams Birds might be the last thing you think about when you see ice dams forming on the edge of your roof this January. Yet birds can play a role in how they affect the ventilation of your roof. And as we all know, ventilation and insulation are two of the three […]


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