As someone who owns a home, keeping up with your home and ensuring it remains up to code at all times is one of your more important responsibilities. Like most investments in life, homes require upkeep as years go on to ensure maximum comfort and safety. The longer you have lived in your home, the more likely you have considered investing in a roof replacement. Before moving forward with the decision to install a new roof, there are a few obvious signs to watch for to determine whether or not the time is proper for you and your property. Here, you can find the details about Don’t Assume You Need A New Roof.
If you’ve done just a little investigation into this question, you’ve probably come across the “25-30 year rule” for a roof’s lifespan. That figure is utilized as a benchmark. A great many residential roofs need replacing during that timeframe. However, there are many factors at play, and not any roof is the same.
All roofs take a substantial amount of external wear and tear with every year that goes by. Sunlight, powerful winds, flying trees, vermin, tropical storms, rain, or dangerous weather conditions – all of these have an impact on a roof’s lifetime. How often your roof needs to be replaced depends on several things:
Local weather.
Timely maintenance and care.
Age of the materials.
How good the materials used are.
Building and design.
Upkeep with minor repairs.
Keeping pests and rodents away.
External debris accumulation.
Contents
Your Roof Is Over 20 Years Old
Normally an asphalt shingle roof lasts about 12 to 15 years, with metal and tile roofs tending to have a much longer lifespan. If your roof is nearing its typical replacement age, you should really start thinking about a roof replacement. If other roof repairs were installed over the top of your existing roof – a practice called overlaying – you should definitely think about getting a new roof. Overlaying is a patch job that can hide bigger roofing issues underneath the shingle surface.
Perform An Interior Roof Check
Before jumping to conclusions about getting a roof replacement, start by conducting your own research at home by inspecting your roof’s condition from the inside out. Take a flashlight with you to your attic or to the area in your home where the interior of your roof is clearly visible and look for the following indicators of a more serious issue:
Rays of Light: Light beams are common in roofs that need replacements or repairs. To really scope out the situation, check your roof’s interior during the day to find and identify any light beams.
Leaks: Examine the attic for drips and potential water damage. If your roof is beginning to leak, other areas of your property and its foundation are at elevated risk, particularly if you decide not to address the roofing problem as fast as possible. Water dampness can lead to additional decay and mold growth that can contribute to breathing and other health ailments.
Streakin & Staining: Thoroughly look over all of the interiors of your roof and try to locate potential spots, stains, and streaking. Inspect any oddly colored area of your roof for further information on its cause and potential leak culprit. Stains and streaks within the interior walls of your roof are red flags to a deeper and more severe problem involving your roof’s remaining lifespan.
Curling Or Missing Shingles Are Visible
Checking out the shingles on your roof is another way to iron out whether or not your roof requires additional attention or a replacement entirely. While checking out the outdoor shingles on your home’s roof, be wary of any cracks, misshapen shingles, or shingles that have curled or bent upwards.
Asphalt that is curled, cracked, or misshapen may require a further inspection to identify whether or not they must be replaced one by one or if the wiser choice is investing in an entirely new roof.
Finding shingle granules on your roof or piling up in your gutter can also signify that the time has come for a total and thorough roof replacement. Excessive asphalt granule loss is a big sign that the roof’s condition is not where it needs to provide maximum protection and insulation for your home.
Excessive Growths On Your Roof
Dark spots (or generally grimy-looking shingles) are caused by fungus and algae growth. These may not be directly tied to when you need to replace your roof (or get it repaired), but such growth can spread and begin damaging other parts of the roof.
Have you recently noticed moss or other types of natural growth on top or out of your roof? If so, don’t worry. Our natural environment has a tendency to grow over any structure in its path if it is not adequately tended to and maintained.
When looking over your roof and the fungus you have noticed, be sure to do so by inspecting both the inside and outside of your roof. While most algae growths are likely to be visible from the outside of your roof, if there is a more serious issue on-deck, nature may also be growing on its own inside the house without your knowledge.
In many situations, treating the algae from a roof is a way to quickly remedy the issue without needing to do any meaningful roof repairs. However, if you notice substantial growths around your roof or even inside your home, it is highly advisable to locate a roofer to determine the root cause and reason for the growths.
In the event the roof is just completely overgrown, then the sensible plan would be to get a new roof; this mostly happens to roofs that are unattended for long periods of time.
The silver lining here is that natural growth and buildup are not usually signed that you need to repair or replace your roof. Rather, moss is moreso an eyesore to your roof and one that is extremely common in humid areas like Florida.
If the situation calls for a new roof installation, there then becomes a number of decisions in the near future. Beginning with the roofing material to use, will you stick with asphalt or consider metal? Which roofing company will you hire? If by chance there’s a valid insurance claim. For many homeowners having liquid cash to get a new roof may not be possible. There is financing available for qualified homeowners offered by certain roofing companies like the Boynton Beach Roofing Experts. Ensure to do proper research before making your choice of contractor.
