One of the rare drawbacks of being a house owner is that it seems like there’s always some work to be done. One day you’re painting the shed door, the other one you’re removing stains from the driveway and the day after you’re finding shingles on the ground, wondering what the next thing you’ll have to fix is. All jokes aside, maintaining your home in good condition is not an easy task and as time progresses and the house gets older – the job gets harder.
Now, if you have actually noticed shingles on the ground, it may be time to start thinking about roof repairs or replacement. It’s always better to act right away and fix the problem as soon as possible because if you ignore roof damage, you’ll end up with bigger issues sooner rather than later.
One of the things that are always up for a debate is whether you should entirely replace your roof or just go for a quick repair? Well, the answer is not that simple. Sometimes all you need is just a quick little fix-up, while in other cases, you need a whole new roof altogether.
Today, we’re going to talk about the scenarios in which you’re better off completely repairing the roof, instead of just fixing it. If you’re interested in learning more about it, stick around for a few more moments and find out.
Source: Pxfuel
Contents
1. Your Roof Is Old
In most cases, the number one reason why you need any work done on your roof is because of the damages endured over time and simply old age. As you know, nothing lasts forever and the same thing applies here. Unlike the tiles of old, those made out of clay or metal, which last for hundreds of years, modern roofing solutions tend to expire in about 10 to 30 years, depending on the quality.
So, how do you know yours is past its expiration date? Well, since there’s no actual expiration day and you shouldn’t just replace the whole thing once it turns 15 – you have to look for signs of deterioration and damage. Climb up the ladder and to a visual inspection. If you notice shingles curling, going bald, buckling or even missing – it might be the time to call a professional to come and have a look.
Source: HPD Consult
2. You’re Planning On Spending The Rest Of Your Life There
Another thing to consider when it comes to situations like these is how long do you plan on staying in the house? The fact of the matter is, these fixes aren’t exactly cheap and if you’re planning on leaving any time soon, it might not be a wise decision to replace the whole thing when you could’ve done it the ‘cheaper’ way.
On the other hand, if you know that the house you’re living in is the one you’re planning on spending the rest of your life in – it might be better to replace the whole thing. It might cost more in the first place but look at it this way – you’re not going to have to pay for a single repair for quite a long time. So, it’s safe to say that this would be a good, wise investment in the future.
Source: stamperroofing
3. Previous Bad Repairs
One of the biggest issues when it comes to repairs is, more often than not, we try to do them alone. According to www.oahu-roofing.com, most calls for a roof repairer come after an attempted DIY job has only made things worse and now it’s time for a complete overhaul. Repairs aren’t as simple as we think they are and unless we have a lot of experience on the matter, we really shouldn’t DIY this.
Let’s face it, we’re going to make mistakes and those mistakes will come back to haunt us. We need someone skilled to handle these jobs. However, we never feel like we do and once we mess things up several times – repair isn’t an option anymore and we’re only left with a replacement.
Source: dukesgloballinks.com
4. It Looks Better
What we also tend to do when we’re DIO-ing (doing-it-ourselves) is mix and match. Well, not really mix and match, but we get any shingles that remotely resemble the ones on our roof. And let’s be honest, that just look awful. It’s an eyesore and it really affects the way our house looks. In our defence though – it’s really hard to find the exact matching shingles unless we know which ones are on the roof in the first place.
So, unless you’re in for a patchy roof, or if that’s your thing for whatever reason, in some cases, it might be better to just replace the whole thing than to patch things up and have it looking like it’s been through thick and thin.
Source: thecoarseenvelope.com
5. You Have To Upgrade
Sometimes, you just have to replace the roof because your old one is not up-to-date with the latest building codes and standards. Now, you could just paste the new shingles over the old ones, but when you think about it, that’s basically a replacement, but without any actual benefits of the replacement, therefore, don’t do that. Masking the problem is not the solution and on top of that, 2 layers of shingles are as far as you can go if you still want to fit within the codes. Instead, if you have to get your roof up to standard, do it properly. Have a professional come by and replace the whole thing.
Source: Pinterest
6. Damage Is Too Severe
This would be another instance of you ‘have to’ replace your roof. In some cases, you can get by with just repairing the roof, but in case of severe damage – there’s just no other way to fix things. For instance, if a tree has fallen onto a roof or if a severe storm has taken off a majority of your shingles or if you just have more than a few leaks – repair is simply not enough.
Look at it this way – if less than a quarter of your roof is damaged – there’s no need for a replacement. Anything more than that would be too much for a repair job.
As you can tell, there are a few reasons to opt-out for a replacement instead of a repair. Whatever the case is, we hope we’ve given you enough info so you can make the best decision based on your situation.
