Split-level roofs meet walls, and that junction is where the trouble starts. Kickout flashing, lower roofs and split attics. Guardian Roofing Systems, 312-590-4853.

Roofs almost never fail in the open field. Chimneys, skylights, vents and valleys are where the water gets in. Guardian Roofing Systems, Arlington Heights, 312-590-4853.

March water stains that look exactly like a roof leak and are not. What causes attic condensation and what actually fixes it. Guardian Roofing Systems, 312-590-4853.

Adding roof vents without opening the soffit intake makes an attic worse, not better. How to tell whether yours is balanced. Guardian Roofing Systems, 312-590-4853.

Why postwar ranch roofs in Arlington Heights come due together: shallow pitch, long eave runs and original plank decking. Guardian Roofing Systems, 312-590-4853.

Almost nobody calls a roofer about gutter sizing. They call about a wet basement, or about water sheeting over the front edge of the gutter every time it rains hard, or about a gutter that… 

Every January the phone rings with some version of the same question. It is 19 degrees, there is a stain spreading across a bedroom ceiling, and the homeowner wants to know whether anybody can do… 

A coating salesman and I want the same thing to be true. We both want your flat roof to be fixable with a few pails of liquid and two days of labor instead of a… 

Most homeowners collect three roofing quotes, lay them side by side, look at the number at the bottom of each one, and pick. I understand why. The rest of the paper looks like the same… 

The wrapper says 30 years. The salesman said 30 years. You did the math in your head and figured you would be handing this problem to whoever buys the house in 2048. In Chicagoland that…