Guide
When patching stops being worth it
A roof that needs replacing usually shows four or five separate small symptoms before it shows one large one.
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The age on the paperwork
If the roof is over twenty years old and made of asphalt, an inspection is worth doing whether or not it is leaking. The failure modes above are much cheaper to catch before the water arrives than after.
Shingles that curl, cup or go brittle
Look along the roof from the ground at a low angle rather than straight on. Edges that lift, corners that curl upward and a surface that no longer lies flat all mean the material has lost its flexibility. Brittle shingles crack when walked on, which is why contractors stop wanting to walk them.
Repeated repairs in different places
When the leaks stop clustering and start appearing anywhere, you are not fixing a fault any more. You are paying for a replacement in instalments, at a worse rate.
Sagging along a line
Straight lines going wavy means something underneath has softened. That is no longer a roofing question with a cheap answer.
Granules in the gutter
The granules are the sunscreen. Losing them in volume means the asphalt beneath is being cooked directly, and from that point the roof ages in years rather than decades.
Daylight or damp in the attic
Go up on a bright day with the lights off. Pinpoints of daylight through the deck, dark staining on the sheathing, damp insulation or rust running down a nail shank all say water is getting in and has been for a while.
In short
None of these on their own settles it. Two together usually do. An inspection costs little and removes the guesswork entirely.
Related questions
Why does ventilation keep coming up?
It is the most under-sold part of a roof. Trapped heat and moisture shorten shingle life, warp decking, and in cold weather it is what turns snow into an ice dam.
Does being near the ocean change what goes on the roof?
Yes. The specification that matters here is metal, not shingle. Ask directly what the fasteners and flashings are made of; in salt air that answer decides how long the roof lasts far more than the brand of the covering.
What if the decking is rotten underneath?
Some of it usually is. The important thing is that the price per sheet is agreed in writing before the tear-off, so the conversation on day two is about quantity rather than rate.
Find out what it costs
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