- Totally agree on the leftover nails—
I ended up picking a bunch out of my grass for weeks.“it’s wild how many still turn up even after the crew ‘cleans up.’”
- I’ve got a ridge vent and honestly, it’s done more for my attic temps than the solar fan ever did at my last place.
- Anyone here actually get Empire to do a magnet sweep after? Wondering if they’re any better about cleanup than the usual.
“it’s wild how many still turn up even after the crew ‘cleans up.’”
Nails in the grass are basically a rite of passage at this point. I’ve had three different companies do work on my house (not just roofing), and not once did the “cleanup” mean I wasn’t out there with a magnet myself for weeks. The dog even brought one inside once, which was... not great.
I actually did use Empire for a roof job last year (asphalt shingles, nothing fancy), and I’ll say this: their crew did run a magnet sweep, but it was pretty quick. Maybe they were in a hurry or just figured they’d done enough, but I still found a handful of nails later on. Way fewer than the last company I used, but still. If you really care about the cleanup, you’re probably going to want to double-check their work, no matter who you hire. I don’t think any of these companies are perfect—at the end of the day, it’s a bunch of guys trying to get home after a long shift.
On the venting thing, 100% agree about ridge vents. Had a solar fan at my old place too, and honestly, it was mostly for show. The ridge vent made way more of a difference in keeping the attic bearable in the summer. Florida heat is no joke.
As for Empire’s overall quality, they were middle of the pack price-wise and didn’t try to upsell me on a bunch of extras, which I appreciated. The job took a day longer than promised, but the roof itself looks good and hasn’t leaked through two big storms so far. Warranty paperwork took some chasing, but that seems par for the course around here.
If you’re on a tight budget like me, I’d say Empire is decent, just don’t expect miracles on the cleanup. Buy yourself a $15 magnet roller and plan on a couple walks around the yard after they leave. That’s just real life with roofers, I think.
Yeah, the magnet roller is basically part of my toolkit now. I’ve had Empire and another local crew do roofs for me—neither left the yard spotless, but Empire did a bit better. Still, I found a couple nails in the flower beds weeks later. Ridge vents were a game changer for my attic too... solar fan didn’t do much except make noise. Warranty paperwork was a hassle, but I guess that’s just standard around here.
I hear you on the magnet roller—after my first roof job, I thought I’d picked up every stray nail, but then my landscaper found a couple more weeks later. Empire did my duplex last year and honestly, they were a notch above the last crew, but yeah, still not perfect. The ridge vents made a noticeable difference in the upstairs units, though. I tried a solar fan on another property and it just rattled around... ended up disconnecting it. Paperwork is always a pain, but I’ve started scanning everything right away just in case.
I get the ridge vent thing, but honestly, I’ve had mixed results.
Maybe it’s just my attic layout, but I barely noticed a temp drop after mine went in. Ended up adding more soffit vents and that helped more. As for the solar fan, same here—mine sounded like a washing machine on spin cycle. If I do another roof, I might skip the gadgets and stick with the basics.The ridge vents made a noticeable difference in the upstairs units, though.
