Part of being a homeowner is preparing for the inevitability that things are going to go wrong. It’s not a matter of if, but rather of matter of when.
Paint is going to peel, appliances are going to break, siding is going to wear and, most importantly for those of you reading this today, shingles are going to break free, flashing is going to grow old and roofs in general are going to outlive their usefulness.
No matter how well roofs are installed and how much homeowners spend on them, even the best roofs have an expiration date. You don’t always know exactly when this date is, but there are warning signs you can watch for when determining how many months or years your roof has left.
All that being said, you can extend the life of your roof by taking good care of it. And often times, that means catching minor repairs before they become major and much more expensive ones.
Let’s take a look at a few of the most common types of roof repairs.
1. Damage Caused By Mother Nature
During extreme weather events, roofs often see a good bit of damage simply due to the fact that they’re the first thing in the path of the storm. So whether it’s hurricanes, tornadoes, nor’easters, hail storms or any kind of extreme weather, you always want to give your roof a thorough checkup once it’s safe to do so.
No matter the extent of the damage, it’s always best to catch any problem areas as early as possible. A missing shingle or two can become a much more serious situation once the next rain storm hits and more water begins entering your attic and/or living areas.
2. Repairing And/Or Replacing Shingles
Speaking of shingles, repairing and/or replacing them certainly falls on our list of the most frequent roofing repairs.
Missing shingles can mean additional exposure to the elements, so you want to take care of this situation as soon as you possibly can. This is a perfect example of a small problem that can turn into a much bigger one, if you delay repairs.
Call a professional roofer if you need to, and let them tell you the best way to proceed. But however you decide to handle the matter, do so as quickly as you can to avoid additional issues.
3. Leak Damage
Leaks develop quite often on roofs, and for a multitude of different reasons. These include storm damage, shingles that have come loose or are missing entirely and even a poor job done by the original installers of the roof.
But as mentioned above, these leaks can be minor at first but become much bigger problems if left unattended. One leak could multiply into several and cause extensive damage over time. This is one of most serious emergency roof repairs homeowner can face, you need to get help right away.
So if you see or suspect a leak on your roof, get out your ladder or your telephone, if more comfortable, and address the issue as soon as you can.
4. Those Pesky Pests!
Pests and vermin can cause damage throughout your home, and your roof is certainly no exception. So if built up debris on your roof has attracted pests like mice, cockroaches and squirrels, you want to take care of this as soon as you can.
If these pests create holes in your roof, you could be dealing with a pretty big roofing repair. And they could also enter your home via the attic and cause even more problems for you moving forward.
Keeping debris off your roof can keep this from even becoming an issue. But if the damage has already been done, call a professional roofer out to have a look before it gets any worse.
5. Damage Caused by Poor Installation
Sometimes the damage to your roof can be traced back to the very first day it was being worked on. In other words, the people who installed it did a less than stellar job.
If you can prove that the damage you’re currently experiencing was caused by poor installation, you may have some recourse with the original roofing company that worked on your home.
But regardless of whether or not this can be proven, it’s again important that you address any roofing issues as soon as possible to keep them from morphing into much larger issues.
