A roofer who knows the lake corridor
Buchanan Dam grew up around the dam itself, the largest of the Highland Lakes, and the community spreads out along SH-29 west of Burnet where Llano County meets Burnet County. It is a lake town through and through. You have waterfront places right down on Lake Buchanan, hill homes set back on the rises with a view of the water, and a lot of weekend and retirement houses that sit empty for stretches at a time. The roofs out here answer to a different set of conditions than a roof in town does, and a roofer who only works the suburbs tends to learn that the hard way.
We work out of Leander, and the run up SH-29 puts Buchanan Dam and the rest of the lake corridor inside our normal territory. We wanted to do it the right way instead of trying to make a quick nickel off of homeowners, we wanted to build lasting relationships. That shows up in how we do a lake roof: torn down to the deck, decking checked and any soft wood replaced, then the new roof built back as one weather-tight system. Every one carries a lifetime workmanship warranty and six years of weatherproofing that we come back and do ourselves. We are OSHA certified, and our crews work clean on properties that are often somebody’s getaway, not their everyday house.
If your roof above the lake is worn, leaking, or got chewed up in the last round of Hill Country hail, we will drive out and get on it at no charge, then hand you a free roof quote with the scope written in plain English before you sign a thing.
Finished roof, Buchanan Dam area
What we install on lake-country roofs
Full replacement is the bulk of our lake work, but a roof is a whole system and we handle all of it. Here is what we put on Buchanan Dam homes, cabins and lakeside buildings, residential and commercial alike.
Metal Roofing
Standing-seam metal is the popular call on lake homes for good reason. It shrugs off the open wind and reflected sun off Lake Buchanan and outlasts two rounds of shingles. We install it clean and lock-tight.Shingle Roof Repair
Lifted tabs, cracked shingles and small leaks on a lake house caught early, before a slow drip turns into rotted decking on a roof nobody was up there to notice.Storm Damage Roof Repair
After a Hill Country hailstorm rolls through the lakes we get on the roof, photograph every hail and wind hit, and make the case to your carrier.Gutter Replacement
Continuous gutters sized for the flash rain that fills the Colorado River basin fast, so the water moves off the roof and away from a foundation instead of into it.Roof Ventilation
Lomanco-certified attic ventilation so a new roof does not cook itself early under the strong open sun out here, and a closed-up vacation house does not turn its attic into an oven.Commercial Roofing
Flat and low-slope roofs for the marinas, lakeside shops and small offices along SH-29, scheduled around your season so you are not closed during the busy months.Our reach around Lake Buchanan
From the waterfront lots right at the edge of the lake to the hill homes set back along SH-29 and the smaller roads that branch off it, Buchanan Dam is a regular stop on our route up from Leander. The community sits where Llano County and Burnet County meet, and we cover both sides of that line along with the rest of the Highland Lakes. When a big cell tears through Central TX, our crews are out across the region for storm work.
Buchanan Dam falls under Burnet County, where we also roof the nearby lake and Hill Country towns.
The weather that wears these roofs down
Spring hail is the first thing a lake roof has to survive. Hill Country storm cells build fast over the Highland Lakes and drop hail with wind right behind it, and that hail is the single most common reason a Buchanan Dam roof gives out before its shingles otherwise would. The trouble is you usually cannot tell from the ground. A storm that reads mild on radar can still bruise the granule mat, knock the protective coating loose, and set off a slow failure that plays out over the next year or two while sun and rain finish what the hail started. On a vacation house that sits closed up for weeks, that quiet failure can run a long way before anybody is around to spot the stain on the ceiling. So we get up there and check it properly. A storm damage inspection costs nothing, and a real answer beats a guess.
Then there is the sun. Out over open water there is nothing to shade a roof, and the glare bouncing off Lake Buchanan on a clear day adds to the load. Attics under these roofs can run far hotter than the outside air when the ventilation is wrong, and that heat ages shingles from the underside while it drives up the cooling bill. We set the attic ventilation on every roof we build to a Lomanco-certified design and treat it as part of the roof, not a box to check later. The third force is the wind. It comes across the lake with little to slow it, working at the flashing around chimneys, skylights and valleys and lifting any shingle edge the sun has already turned brittle. Flash flooding is its own concern down here too. When the Colorado River basin fills and the lake rises, you want every bit of water shedding cleanly off the roof and out through the gutters, not pooling at a tired valley. We build with all of it in mind.
On a roof this exposed, ventilation is part of the build, not an extra.
Plenox Solutions, Buchanan Dam roofingQuestions from around the lake
Plain answers for Buchanan Dam owners on cost, timing, lake exposure and storm damage. If yours is not here, call (432) 288-5562 or visit our contact page.
Is Buchanan Dam too far out for you to roof?
Not at all. Buchanan Dam sits about an hour northwest of our Leander shop, straight up SH-29, and the Highland Lakes are a standing part of our route. We handle residential and commercial roofs all through the lake corridor on both the Llano and Burnet County sides, and that distance does not change the price on standard work out here.
Does living on the lake shorten how long a roof lasts?
It can, yes. Open waterfront lots get more direct sun, the glare off Lake Buchanan adds heat, and wind crosses the water with nothing to break it, so shingles and flashing take a harder beating than they would in a shaded subdivision. That is a big reason standing-seam metal is so common on lake homes, and it is why we make sure the attic ventilation is set right so a roof reaches the life it is rated for. We will give you an honest read on what your current roof has left.
How can I tell if Hill Country hail hurt my roof?
You often cannot from the driveway. Hail shows up as dark bruised spots where the granules have been knocked off the mat, and it can set off a failure with no hole you would ever notice from below. We climb up, photograph every hit, and give you a clear picture of the condition before we recommend anything. Our storm damage page walks through how we handle the insurance side.
What backs a roof you replace out here?
Every full replacement carries our lifetime workmanship warranty, which covers the quality of the install for as long as you own the place. On top of that we include six years of weatherproofing done once a year, where we come back, check the seams, penetrations and flashing, and reseal anything that has moved before the next storm season finds it.
Can you roof an older lake cabin or a vacation house?
Yes, and a lot of what we do up here is exactly that. Older cabins and second homes often have odd pitches, aged decking and small problems that built up while nobody was around to catch them. We tear down to the deck on every full replacement, swap out any soft wood, and build the roof back as a proper system. We quote the work the structure actually needs, not the priciest option we could pitch, and it all carries the same warranty.
Can I get a roof handled while I am not at the lake house?
We do it often. Plenty of Buchanan Dam owners are only out on weekends or in season, so we are used to coordinating access, sending photos as the work goes, and leaving the site clean for when you next drive up. We are OSHA certified and our crews treat a getaway property with the same care they would the owner’s main house.
Get your lake roof looked at
Tell us what the roof is doing and we will drive up SH-29, get on it, and put a clear number on paper. Your free roof quote costs nothing and there is no obligation. See finished roofs in our project gallery or reach us through our contact page.