Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

In this episode we tell you when it’s time for a new roof, where to start and even walk you through the roofing process. Just as you might head to a showroom to get ideas for your kitchen or bathroom remodel these homeowners headed to a roofing design center to find out what was available in the world of roofing and to purchase their new roof.

The short, dreary days of winter are a good time to think about adding skylights to brighten up dark rooms. Even small units make a big difference in the way rooms look and feel.

My firm gets more calls about leaks around chimneys than about any other problem. And more often than not, the culprit is the flashing — the sheet metal that keeps the intersection between the chimney and roof watertight. When water gets behind faulty flashing, it can do a lot of damage to the roof sheathing and framing and to the ceiling below, so you need to deal with this problem immediately.

Whether you’re considering slate with copper flashing or something a little more modest, a new roof is a major investment that typically runs into the thousands, even for the ordinary three-tab asphalt shingles that cover most houses. The materials themselves represent a relatively small portion of the bill. The bulk of what you’ll spend goes for the skilled labor involved. And that makes choosing an experienced pro the best way to protect your investment and ensure a leakproof job. Simple, right? Unfortunately, roofing is an easy-entry business that requires little more than a pickup, a ladder and some basic tools to get started.

If you’ve ever painted dormers or half gables on the outside of a house you know that resting a paint can while working on a rooftop can really be tricky. Our solution: create a triangular platform with an angle opposite the roof (a bevel gauge and level will show you what the level needs to be).