Projects & Case Studies

As requested, Bello Casa performed an inspection of the roofs at Island Crest Homeowners Association, while cleaning the gutters. The roof of each individual home was physically walked and visually inspected. The results of the visual inspection are as follows: 

1 through 9 Ocean Breeze: This building has numerous exposed nails in the roof shingles, which were previously sealed by another vendor. However, the sealant is now beginning to fail, due to the age of the sealant material. The ridge cap shingles have various face nails installed, which were also previously sealed and said sealant is beginning to fail.

2 through 10 Ocean Breeze: The ridge cap shingles have various face nails installed, which were previously sealed and sealant is beginning to fail.

15 through 27 Ocean Breeze:  Exposed nails in roof shingles were not sealed and need to be sealed. Face nails in ridge cap shingles were sealed and sealant is beginning to fail.

31 through 45 Ocean Breeze: The ridge cap shingles have various face nails installed, which were not sealed and therefore need to be sealed. 

49 through 59 Ocean Breeze: Exposed nails in roof shingles and face nails in ridge cap shingles were not sealed and therefore need to be sealed. 

52 through 60 Ocean Breeze: The ridge cap shingles have various face nails installed, which were not sealed and therefore need to be sealed.

Summary: 

• Overall, the roofs within the Association are in good condition. No gross deficiencies were noted during the inspection. The primary items found were exposed nails, which is not uncommon. While some nails had been sealed with a roofing cement, that sealant has begun to fail, exposing the nail heads and allowing for possible future water infiltration to occur. Some exposed nail heads were found to have no sealant on them at all. 
• It is not uncommon to see exposed nails (aka face nails) on the first and last installed ridge cap shingles
• If installed properly, exposed nails should not be seen on the asphalt shingles which are installed throughout the field of the roof. Manufacturer guidelines indicate that nails should be installed along the top course of each shingle and properly overlapped by the next shingle, so that the nail heads are not exposed. 
• Dimensional asphalt shingles are installed throughout the community. It appears that the shingles have approximately 5-10 years remaining in their average life expectancy. 

Bello Casa was retained to convert a clubhouse space with offices into two gym spaces. Bello Casa’s team was instructed to install a drop ceiling to cover the existing popcorn ceilings and leave the randomly textured side walls alone. However, as part of the value engineering process, the team identified that a drop ceiling would make the ceilings too low and the side walls would look more uniform if they were all uniformly smooth. 

The team proposed installing a layer of drywall over the popcorn ceiling, which would resolve the head space issues while eliminating the labor required to manually scrape and repair the popcorn ceilings and spackle. There was blown-in insulation in the attic, so if the ceilings were to be replaced, the insulation would have fallen out and the entire attic would have to be re-insulated. This saved the client time and money by having the team come up with an efficient alternative. 

The side walls were a combination of standard drywall and textured drywall, so the client was provided an alternative to install new drywall over the textured side walls, making all the walls uniformly smooth. 

The result of this project has converted underutilized space into something residents can enjoy. Residents now have a nearby place to work out, which increases the value of their community 

 What started out as a simple roof repair became an emergency replacement project of nearly 50% of the roof on this home. Upon removing several shingles that needed to be replaced at the rear of the roof, extensive water damage was discovered. The Water-Resistant Barrier (WRB) under the shingles and top portions of the plywood were water-logged but not showing through in the attic. The culprit was improper installation; nails improperly placed in the shingles, shingle seams being located on top of each other, improperly flashed hip wall and skylight. The team immediately notified management and put together an emergency proposal with photo documentation for Board approval, while continuing to work. The goal was to demolish, properly waterproof and prepare the roof for new shingles by end of day.

Due to COVID-19, several material distributors were unable to provide the specific shingles needed and/or the amount of material needed for this roof. However, the team utilized their buying power to quote & obtain the exact shingles for immediate delivery. A less than 1 bundle shingle repair became a 30 + bundle and accessories, removal, and replacement of half of the roof. 

Bello Casa’s team was able to uncover and resolve this issue on the spot, provide a comprehensive estimate for emergency approval and saved the client money by identifying and addressing this issue before further damage spread to the exterior and interior.