Living in a house has plenty of advantages (space, intimacy, garden) but there are also some drawbacks resulted from the constant maintenance required. From minor repairs to partial/total rehabilitations or replacements, there are things to be done as an involved and responsible homeowner.
Roofing will probably be one of the last to do things on your list (unless there’s an obvious and disturbing problem with it). But it’s not really recommended to wait until a leak ruins one interior wall in order to take care of the roof. It’s best to get ahead of things and prevent the unpleasant consequences of a disregarded roof.
In order to do so, there are some basic things you should know about roofing.
1. How To Know When Your Roof Needs to Be Repaired or Replaced
Even if leaks aren’t in plain view, it doesn’t mean that the roof is not damaged. So the first thing you should do is a rigorous roof inspection. Do this in the spring or summer, when the roof is leaves and snow-free. There are some visible signs of a damaged roof that needs urgent repairs:
- cracked, curled, wet or missing shingles;
- shingles granules in gutters;
- tears around roof openings;
- sagging roof deck.
If you spot even one of these signs, consider taking care of the problem before it gets worse. Any small repair or even a partial replacement is better than having to install a new one. It’s less expensive and saves you precious time.
2. What to Do When Your Roof Needs Repairs or Replacement
Either you are looking at some repairs or a total roof replacement, the first thing you should do is hire a roofing contractor in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
You can get a free estimate and a complete diagnosis of what needs to be done.
You should then decide if you want them to use the same roofing material or it’s best to go for something different, but more efficient.
Roofing Options
Check out these popular roofing options, consult with your contractor and choose what’s best for you:
- Asphalt composition shingles – affordable but come in quite a poor range of colors and models;
- Slate roofing – extremely durable but hard to fix;
- Wood shakes/shingles – good looking option but not so fire-resistant;
- Metal roofing – durable and great insulation factor but quite expensive;
- Clay or ceramic tile – fire-resistant but extremely heavy so you may consider changing the old shingles also.
3. How Much Will It Cost?
After the diagnosis is complete and you have settled for one type of material, you can now put on paper the overall cost of the repairs/replacement. Think of:
- the cost of the material you choose (accurate measurements of the surface that needs to be replaced);
- part of the roof that needs to be replaced (the underlayment, the shingles, both of them);
- contractor’s prices.
4. When To Do It?
If the roof is still safe and not risky (if that’s the case you should consider changing it immediately), you should know that the roofing season goes from the beginning of the summer until the middle of the fall (depending on your area’s particular weather conditions also). But there’s a tricky part here as the peak seasons also mean higher prices. So our piece of advice is to wait until offseason, if possible, in order to get a lower price.
Another thing you may consider is that roofing is loud. Inform your neighbors about the upcoming noisy days and consider staying out of the house during working hours.
5. Pay Attention at the Quality/Price Ratio
This is a must when hiring a roofing contractor and when you choose the materials. The roof is one of these things where quality is crucial. After all, we are talking about some important and difficult men work that goes hand in hand with the quality of the materials.
Thinking in perspective is what you need to do: if you invest now in hiring a serious roofing company that will work with professional materials, chances are that that’s the last roofing work your house is gonna need for a long, long time.