No one will ever find your home as valuable as you do. This is why taking care of it means much more than it may look from the outside. Maintenance is not something that you skip or put off for later. A lack of maintenance may look to you like something manageable, and maybe cost-efficient if you don’t have the foresight. If you ignore maintenance, you’re opening up a door of trouble, drafting inconvenience and expenses.
This doesn’t mean that your maintenance has to exclusively mean that you replace anything damaged, nor keep repairing it for decades either. We’ll be discussing a common problem that many people seem to grapple with, which is knowing when to repair or replace a roof.
Leaking Roof
Nothing can ruin your day like a leaking roof, especially if you live in a rainy location. Some companies may quickly decide that the whole roof needs to be replaced without actually taking the time to fully inspect it. In rainy states like Pennsylvania, water leakage from the roof is quite common. According to the people at Superior Services of PA & MD, even insurance companies recommend calling a contractor first to mitigate the damage from water as soon as possible. Some companies can even do both; commencing the insurance process and repair the water damage at the same time.
Assessing Life Span
Your roof is the most exposed part of your home. It faces a lot of challenges during its time. Everything has a lifespan; it doesn’t mean that it will disintegrate after a specific time is exceeded. Natural elements like rain, snow, strong wind, heat, and UV rays can start to seriously damage your roof once it gets too old to fight back. Different materials have different life spans so try to know your roof’s. If your roof happens to exceed its life span, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll need to replace it.
Strong Natural Causes
Natural elements may not be as gentle as we’re used to. Earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, and fires can all cause extreme damage to your roof to the point of complete destruction. Strong hurricanes can rip off shingles; earthquakes could damage the gutters or knock something on the roof. Replacing the roof will be an easy choice as repairing it will probably cost more.
Damaged and Missing Shingles
Asphalt roof shingles can become crooked, torn, or even fully go missing. It may look quite unsightly, but that still doesn’t deem it as irreparable yet. It can mean that your roof needs more attention; you can consider it as a warning for what to come if no care is provided to the roof. If more than 30% of the shingles are damaged, you may have to consider replacing it.
Deciding whether your roof needs to be repaired or replaced is an important decision. Ignoring the fact that you’ll have to make a decision could cost you more than it was originally going to cost you. A roof is an important and costly section of your home, so make sure you keep it maintained and inspected regularly.
