Multiple repair projects that each seem urgent can be overwhelming for the homeowner. You find yourself facing coinciding financial demands and have to choose which one takes top priority. Where do you begin? If you missed the recent MONEY Magazine article about it, Beth Braverman basically did the work for you. She makes a great point about first taking care of the work that would cause the most damage and create the most expense if left undone.

The first two in her list include electrical work and basement/foundation issues. A knowledgeable electrician can help spare you from the risk of fires and electrocution, and foundation work can help you avoid major structural issues. But what caught our attention was the next two home repair projects on her list: roofs and gutters. She says she lists gutters below roofs because replacing gutters should follow roof replacement, if both are in need of replacement.

As an experienced roofer in Texas, we’ve seen the damage created by failing roofs not tended to by homeowners. The threats are numerous: leaks, damaged walls, damaged appliances, impact on electrical systems, etc. In some cases, the homeowner avoided hiring a contractor due to the perceived expense of a repair job only to see his or her home sustain additional damage in the following weeks and months.

As an advocate of maintaining gutter systems, we consistently encourage homeowners to pay attention to the efficiency of their gutters, especially during periods of heavy rainfall like the ones we’ve experienced this winter. It’s easy to tell how well they’re working. Also, it’s easy to find evidence when they’re not working as they should: you may notice leaks in your walls or damage to walkways or landscaping.

Poorly functioning roofs and gutters can affect the rest of your beloved Texas home in short amount of time. So when you’re trying to decide which home improvement projects to get done first, choose your priorities carefully and choose your contractors more carefully. With Crosby Roofing, you’ll get a MasterElite Contractor with more than 25 years of exceptional service to your friends and neighbors in Texas. Learn more about us at www.crosbyroofingusa.com and call 866-244-6181 today for an appointment.

It’s called Roofs For Troops, and it’s putting money back in the pockets of men and women who bravely serve our country. After installation of a Lifetime Roofing System by a GAF Factory-Certified Contractor, qualifying homeowners will receive a $300 rebate after submitting the necessary paperwork, including the rebate form, Contractor’s invoice and UPCs from the products used. Installation must be finished by December 31, 2012, but you have until the end of January 2013 to get all the paperwork mailed to the GAF offices in Wayne, New Jersey.

As a GAF Master-Elite Roofing Contractor, Crosby Roofing can handle the installation for roofing customers in our service areas in Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Austin. Just give us a call at (866) 244-6181 to schedule a free roofing inspection. You can also visit the GAF website to learn more about the Lifetime Roofing System and its warranty on shingles and qualifying GAF accessories before our appointment day arrives.

Crosby Roofing appreciates the first-time and continued business our active military, veterans and retirees living in Texas. If you know someone living outside of our service areas who qualifies for the Roofs For Troops rebate, let him or her know that a GAF Master-Elite Roofing Contractor can be found on the GAF website. The site is packed with a lot of other helpful information as well, including a Roof Wizard and Shingle Style Guide.

This won’t take long, we promise. There’s really only three areas to consider right now: your past, your present and your future. Let’s create a list in that order.

5. Pay debt. This could be anything from paying down credit card debt to taking care of old school loans. You may even owe a few hundred bucks to a friend or family member. Now is a terrific time to pay that debt and salvage that relationship.

4. Pay current bills. If you’re an energy-conscious home owner, you’ve managed to trim your monthly expenses but perhaps the cell phone bill grew a bit with a new line for your daughter or your insurance rate climbed due to an accident. Take care of those bills before you get socked with late fees.

3. Replace worn, failing or broken items. The old record player won’t need a replacement but a purchasing a new printer is sensible.

2. Buy gifts. Something you’ve had your eye on for awhile makes a nice purchase with this “extra” money. Then again, a surprise for a spouse or the kids will earn you praise for days.

1. Invest in your home. You plan to stay in your beloved Texas home a long time? Enhancing it now and again will keep it safe and comfortable. Selling it soon? Making upgrades inside and out can increase curb appeal and value. Vinyl siding is especially helpful as an upgrade item, providing a low-maintenance feature at an affordable price.

Crosby Roofing can help you assess how best to improve your Texas home. From roof repair and replacement to replacement siding, the services we provide come backed by a team of professionals with a proven track record in the state and status as a GAF MasterElite Roofing Contractor. Schedule an appointment today by calling 866-244-6181, and hold onto the record player. Vinyl still rules!

For die-hard Van Halen fans, the band has always been around, recording and performing. For those of you who stopped following the band when long-haired hard rock fell out of fashion, Van Halen will always remind of the 1980s. You may still have your vinyl version of “1984″.

Now almost 30 years later, the new tour will bring back all those old memories. But the passage of time for one hard rock band can also stir up some other thoughts. They may be about how the band has survived for decades because of, or in spite of, changes. On a more personal level, you may be thinking about what changes you’ve experienced over the last 30 years. If you’ve been living in the same house that entire time, you may reflect on the changes made there since the early 1980s.

One of the beauties about looking back is the opportunity to see how far we’ve come. But there’s another advantage to consider, one that Texas property owners should give some real thought to. It’s about what the future holds for the home you’re in now. That’s when you can really feel the importance of present-day home improvement and maintenance decisions. It also makes the idea of warranties more compelling. If you envision your children’s children benefiting from the decisions you’re making today, it makes being informed about those decisions even more relevant.

If you held onto that old Van Halen t-shirt from high school, put it on this weekend. Then take a look at what areas of your home might not last another 30 years without some immediate professional attention. If it’s roofing and siding work you need, give Crosby Roofing a call at 866-244-6181. Just don’t expect us to bring any Van Halen cassettes with us.

After a disappointing 8-8 season and a 3rd place finish in the NFC East, you can bet it’s going to be a year of rebuilding for the Cowboys. It’s not the kind of change that can come from a few tweaks here and there. It may require something more significant, an overhaul. In some instances, that could mean anything from a change in the front office to a change on the field. Ultimately, the Cowboys will have some critical decisions to make in the offseason, and fans will be eager to find out what changes, if any, are being made.

Many of our customers understand the analogy of rebuilding a sports club. It’s a reference they can apply to their own lives, their own homes. A quick fix is not what they have in mind. They prefer solutions that will last, especially since their homes are their most important investment.

If you find yourself in a year of “rebuilding” and you’re looking for solutions to enhance your Texas home and property, Crosby Roofing can help. Whether it’s time for roof replacement or you’re considering the benefits of switching to vinyl siding, rely on the pros at Crosby Roofing to make the process smooth and hassle-free. This team of experienced, licensed and insured home improvement experts is available to non-Cowboys fans too. Just call 866-244-6181.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 20 percent more Texans in 2010 than ten years prior. It’s not due to a sharp rise in the birth rate; it’s caused by an influx of transplants who decided to make a home here. Lyle Lovett said it best and apparently millions heard the message loud and clear.

“That’s right, you’re not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway.”

As these new arrivals settle in, they begin to make themselves at home and get acquainted with the area, its offerings and its resources. One resource of interest for property owners is the home improvement industry. But in a metropolitan area like DFW, finding a reliable contractor can feel like a time-consuming process. Maybe it’s because relying on a search engine, such as Google, leads to an explosion of information. For example, conduct a search “Fort Worth Roofers” and you’’ll likely get more than 200,000 results. That may be one result for every roofing nail that is used in Fort Worth in an average month.

Instead of relying on search engines, start by searching your neighborhood for great examples of the kind of quality products you want for your home. Perhaps you noticed some terrific vinyl siding on a home a few blocks away or a set of impressive windows across the street. An old-fashioned approach is simply asking where the product came from or who handled the installation. In most cases, a friendly Texan will happily provide you with the answer you’re looking for.

When you start to ask around, you’ll discover that many Texans have turned to Crosby Roofing over the last 25 years for expert installation and quality materials for roofing and siding. Ask them about why they chose us. Then give us a call when you’re ready to make some repairs, changes or upgrades to your home, whether it’s in Arlington, Plano, Southlake and beyond. Reach us at 866-244-6181 and visit us anytime at www.crosbyroofingusa.com.

Maybe you have not yet experienced a phishing scam, a lottery scam or an online dating scam. Consider yourself lucky. But that doesn’t mean you won’t fall prey to some type of scam in 2012, unless you’re vigilant online, on the phone and in person. Especially in person. In fact, one of the top scams of 2011 mentioned by the BBB involves a kind of scam that can begin right outside your front door.

The BBB routinely gets more complaints about home improvement contractors than any other industry, so naturally home improvement scams make the list of top threats of 2011. You can bet it will return as an ongoing problem here in 2012, especially following a natural disaster. Consider for a moment, would you be more or less vigilant than normal if an apparent home improvement contractor knocked on your door to offer to repair roof damage after a severe storm?

Of course, home improvement scams are not restricted to roofers. They could involve the promise of repairs to other parts of your home or property, such as the driveway. Impulsive homeowners looking to quickly address repair needs can become vulnerable to these types of scams very easily. They’re focusing on the fix more than the fixer, and that’s problematic in many ways. It’s always best to know who you’re doing business with, anytime and every time you hire a home improvement contractor.

Crosby Roofing is a BBB Accredited Business that also has earned the designation of GAF MasterElite Roofing Contractor. For information about roof repair and roof replacement in Texas, whether you’re in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington or Austin, visit www.crosbyroofingusa.com. Then call Crosby Roofing at 866-244-6181 to schedule a free inspection and estimate.

BBB Top Ten Scams of 2011

Before we say adios to 2011, Crosby Roofing wants to hear from you. If you were one of the property owners in Texas who turned to Crosby Roofing for residential or commercial services in the last 12 months, we want to hear from you. Last time, you likely called our toll-free number, 866-244-6181, to contact us. But this time, we invite you to share with us in writing how our team made a difference in your life in the past year. Whether it was a big project or a little one, we welcome any stories or comments about the ways we enhanced your home.

Testimonials, like the one you can provide, allow potential customers to make more informed decisions and discover the benefits of turning to a GAF MasterElite Roofing Contractor. So think about your own experience. Was it your first time using Crosby Roofing? What impressed you most? What pleasantly surprised you during the process? Perhaps you figured you needed roof replacement but our inspection determined only repairs were necessary.

We encourage you to share your comments or stories below this blog. You can make it short and sweet or share a story. It can be about our customer service, materials, workmanship or any part of the process. Whatever suits you best is perfectly fine with us.

Thank you for considering Crosby Roofing again for your residential or commercial roofing needs in 2012. Your continued patronage is always appreciated. May your New Year be a happy and prosperous one.

But we do have a Twitter page. If you’re not driving or involved in something that demands an equal amount of attention, feel free to follow us. We’re easy to find: it’s @Crosby_Roofing.

So what does a roofing contractor tweet about? You won’t see Twitpics of our current projects. Nor will we comment on our favorite movies/music/TV shows. But we will provide useful information to help you make better decisions about home improvement projects from roofing to siding.

Property owners have a lot to consider when planning for roof or siding replacement. The pros and cons of different materials should be considered. The geography and climate here in Texas is another factor. Perhaps first and foremost is the process of finding the right contractor, one with a proven track record who is fully licensed and adequately insured. For us, Twitter becomes one more delivery system to share our insight with our fellow Texans and help make the entire process easier for both new and returning customers.

When you’re in the market for roof repairs, roof replacement or replacement siding in Texas, put yourself in a position of power by learning as much as you can about the project you want done. Then find a reputable contractor who specializes in that type of project. If it’s roofing or siding in Austin, or Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond, look no further. With 25 years of experience and counting, Crosby Roofing is ready to enhance and improve your home. Visit www.crosbyroofingusa.com and call 866-244-6181 for a free inspection and estimate.

While creating a household budget is essential, many homeowners overlook the need to prepare for home improvement and repair needs, whether the projects are unplanned or the result of unexpected damage. As 2011 draws to a close, taking a little time to assess potential needs and expenses can allow you to begin establishing a realistic figure for a 2012 improvement and repair budget.

There are some simple ways to determine a total improvement and repair budget. Many online sources use percentages that vary, starting as low as 1-2% and rising up to 3-4% of your home’s original purchase price. If you’re wondering how to select a percentage without doing a lot of heavy-duty research, consider the age of your home. An older home will typically require more money to maintain and repair. Some sources recommend 4.5% of the original purchase price for that older home for annual maintenance and repair projects.

As part of your overall assessment, one key area to consider is your roof. The longevity of your roofing materials, less for asphalt shingles than metal roofing for example, is one factor. The climate and weather conditions are other variables to recognize. In Texas, damaging winds are possible even without tropical weather systems or tornadoes.

Homeowners in Texas can get exceptional roofing and siding help from Crosby Roofing. From Austin to Arlington, Dallas to Fort Worth, and Plano to Southlake, Crosby Roofing provides more than 25 years of expertise as one of the region’s premier home improvement contractors. A free, in-home consultation and estimate is available by calling 866-244-6181. More information is available online at www.crosbyroofingusa.com.