Is it Time For a New Roof?

Most roofs have a life time warranty of twenty to thirty years for workmanship and materials. Once a roof has made it that long however it can slowly begin to show signs of wear and erosion that will need to be addressed.

If you suspect your roof is at the end of its lifetime you have a few options available to you. You can either go for a whole new roof, which admittedly is the most expensive option or you can try to repair and maintain your current roof for a while longer.

If you live in a climate that is prone to harsh or severe weather conditions, your ability to get by with a repair job may be more limited than they would be in a milder climate.Your first step is to get a roof assessment from a residential roofer who can inspect your roof and tell you exactly what shape and condition it is in. You may be surprised by the assessment, sometimes a roof can appear in better or worse shape than it really is from the ground level.

If your residential roofer doesn’t think your roof is worth repairing because the damage is too extensive to warranty, it may be time to cut your losses and take the roof off. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of trying to save money by doing a hit and miss roofing repair job that should be a roof replacement job. You won’t save in money in the long run if you have to rip out your repairs along with the rest of the roof in a few months’ time and re do everything correctly.

Once you make the decision to re-roof or repair the existing roof, get a written bid from a licensed residential roofer that includes exactly what work is being done, what the cost for the job will be and an expected time frame to complete the job. Before any work begins make sure you also have in writing how much money the residential roofer wants up front and when the balance of payments are due if this wasn’t included in the bid contract.

The rule of thumb with any contract is if it isn’t in the contract you can’t prove it happened in court if there is a problem down the road. So with this in mind, get receipts for payments, and make payments in the form of a check or money order but never cash. Cash payments may be easier for you and the residential roofer but they are almost impossible to prove they have been made.

Finally, unless you plan on a metal replacement roof, the entire old roof needs to be torn off and removed. Don’t try to salvage and cherry pick what parts of the roof are salvageable and not salvageable. Any old roof residue left on your roof, can void your warranty and you want your thirty year warranty so you don’t have to go through this again.