When You Need a New Roof

Missing shingles or roofing nails, or even loose shingles or nails that are pulled up can all let the elements into your home and over time those elements can do some pretty extensive damage that you may not even be aware of until the damage hits the surface. By the time you see water damage on your floor or in your walls it has already seeped into the structure of your home including insulation and siding and you can be looking at a whole lot of money for repairs.

You can do your own quick assessment of your roof from the ground using a good pair of binoculars and scan for obvious damage. Beware though that this is really just a superficial verification that some obvious damage exists and it shouldn’t replace having a qualified roofer do an inspection.
If you get verification that you have damage you should be prepared to have at least three roofing contractors give you written estimates on what a new or repaired roof will cost. Make sure you only deal with roofing contractors who are licensed and bonded and be sure to check with the states contractor board to verify everything and to look for any complaints against them.

Be prepared for the fact that not all roofing bids are equal. Before you compare bids you need to compare why the bids are going to come in all over the place. If a contractor is using higher end materials that will last longer their bid will likely be higher than the roofing contractor who is getting by on the cheap. Other things that will factor into the bid is disposal. If your roofer doesn’t have the cost to dispose of the old roof in the bid you need to question why not. Replacing a new roof on top of an old roof is not generally recommended unless your new roofing material is a metal roof. A metal roof can go over anything and you can save a tremendous amount on disposal in this instance.

Make sure you do your own research on roofing materials. There are some very high quality green products on the market that weren’t available a few years ago that can help make your home more energy efficient. If you have to replace your roof you might as well do it right and save money in the long run.