When Should I Repair vs Change My Roof?

One of the most common questions we get asked as a roofing company is “Can I repair it, or does it need to be replaced?”. Honestly, this is not an easy question to answer. There are many different factors that go into doing a proper inspection on a roof. A lot of roofing companies will lean on the fact that the homeowner may not know a lot about roofing and try to push the homeowner into a replacement when they very well could have multiple years of life left in their roof. The other side of that coin is the roofing contractor that wants the job and knows the full roof is expensive, so they try to bid an inadequate repair and the leak persists. As a homeowner you want a roofing contractor that will give you honest advice, whether that means telling you, you should have some life left or it needs to be replaced. In this blog we’ll talk about some basic things you can look at to see if a roofing contractor is being fair with their evaluation of your roof.

The absolute most important rule is to never get on your roof if you are not very comfortable doing so and have all the safety measures in place. Roofing is a very dangerous job and can lead to serious accidents if one is not trained.

The first thing every homeowner should know about their roof is its age. An asphalt shingle roofing system will typically last 25-30 years in the Asheville area. If your roof is around this age, it would be a good idea to start looking at the costs of replacement. Typically, at this age you will start to see a lot of granule loss, the little pebbles that are on the tops of your shingles. Another common thing you will see on an aged roof is a shininess when the sunlight hits the shingles. This shininess is caused by granule loss and what you are seeing is the fiberglass matt that the shingle is made with. If your roof is much younger than this and was installed properly, chances are you have life left in the system.

If you have a metal roofing system, it is important to find out what type of metal system you have. If you can visibly see screws that are holding the panels down it will most likely be a Tuff Rib system. These types of metal roofing systems will typically last around 40-45 years if installed properly. The main thing that people don’t realize when installing a screw down panel roofing system is that the most likely failure point are the screws themselves. Ridge Roofing recommends having the roofing contractor that installed your roof come out and check the screws every 5 years to ensure you have none that are backing out or have any seals that are broken. The screws will typically last around 15 years without issue, but you will need to do a screw change about every 15 years. If your panels are looking faded and old that does not necessarily mean they need to be changed. Metal panels can be cleaned and painted to rejuvenate your roof and give it a new look.

The last type of roofing system we’ll talk about is a standing seam metal system. Standing seam roofing systems are the Cadillac of all residential roofs. To a non-roofer it may look like a screw down panel, but the main difference is there are no visible screws. This is a big benefit because the screws are no longer a leak point. These roofing systems will last anywhere from 60-70 years if installed properly. If you are having a leak on a standing seam system, it is almost guaranteed to be an installation error. The roofs are designed so well that the chances of it failing because of old age are very low.

Ridge Roofing always takes pride in being honest during our inspection and treating every home like it was our own family’s. If you have questions or concerns about the age and life expectancy of your roof, give us a call for a free estimate and honest assessment.