Ice and water shield needs to be installed in several places on a roof – the eaves, in the valleys, around roof penetrations and at pitch transitions – and, it is often required to meet the code requirements in your market.
Like so many of the other things on our roofing supplement list, if you want to get ice and water shield included on an insurance estimate, you need to prove that it existed before (or is in fact, code if it didn’t) and that you installed it, including how much of it you used.
HOW TO DOCUMENT:
During your roof inspection, take photos of areas where ice and water shield might be needed. If during tear off, you find that an area has ice and water shield, take a picture. Remember, the carrier will pay to replace existing items. If it doesn’t exist but is a code item, include the code document with the supplement package you send to the carrier.
WANT AN EXTRA TIP?
One important photo (that most contractors forget to take) is the soffit depth photo.
Why does this photo matter? In areas where ice and water shield is code on the eaves, it will need to be installed 24 inches past the interior wall. If the house has an overhang that is more than 12 inches, the crew will need to install an additional row to meet that requirement.
So, the photo proves to the carrier that you needed to install an additional row to meet the requirement.
LET’S LOOK AT A REAL EXAMPLE
A client took these photos of the overhang during the inspection and the two rows installed during production:
Photos like these can help the insurance company assess the claim.
DOCUMENTING ICE & WATER SHIELD DURING PRODUCTION
If you’re a good contractor, you or someone on your team is already visiting the site during production to make sure everything runs smoothly. Thorough documentation can be very helpful in getting the depreciation check released and the job closed out faster. This is especially important on jobs where the adjuster designates Ice & Water Shield as a “Paid When Incurred” (PWI) or “Paid When Actually Repaired or Replaced” (PWARR) line item on the Xactimate estimate.