5 Tips To The Perfect Time To Change Your Roof
5 Tips to the perfect time to change your roof must always start with the basics. I am well aware that my home is the biggest investment I will likely make in my lifetime. But, sometimes I forget the importance of timing in doing the proper maintenance and home improvements that my property requires. Life experience has taught me that investing in a new roof before I spot the first warning signs of damage is the most economical move. These signs can include:
- Loose or broken shingles: I learned to check my roof every time thunderstorms or high winds and hail go through my area. Once leaks appear, it costs me much more than the price of a roof to replace portions of my ceiling.
- Moss or algae growing on the roof: This can cause mold growth and serious decay, thus shortening the lifespan of your roof.
- Evidence of leaks on the ceilings or damp or rotten areas under the roof: This can cause structural integrity that shortens the life of your roof. In my case, it damaged the rafters and ceiling joists, as well as my ceiling.
5 Tips To The Perfect Time To Change Your Roof: Timing Is Everything
Once my roof was compromised by minor leaks, I had to spend even more money repairing the damage. As you can imagine, these costly repairs wreaked havoc on my budget.
I assumed that as long as I didn’t have any major leaks showing on my ceilings, my roof was in excellent shape. The truth is that roofs should be replaced before you spot these warning signs to ensure that you don’t have to pay for other pricey repairs.
Roofs are not meant to last forever. Although copper, slate or tile roofs can last for 50 years or more, other roofs don’t last nearly that long. Wood shake roofs last approximately 30 years, while roofs with fiber cement shingles can last about 25 years. But, an asphalt shingle roof — like mine — and composition roofs only last about 20 years. Tip: Find out the age of your roof. If you didn’t have the home built, you can find the year it was built on your mortgage papers. If the roof’s lifespan is nearing an end, it wise to consult with professional roofing companies to get a complimentary roof analysis and roof replacement estimates.
Let’s Talk About Weather
5 tips to the perfect time to change your roof must always include the weather. Inclement weather, such as hail, snow, high winds and strong rains are particularly hard on roofs and shorten its lifespan. Extremely hot temperatures can also wear down your roof, particularly if it doesn’t have a special UV coating that blocks harsh ultraviolet rays. Improper roof ventilation can also cause major shortening of a roof’s lifespan.
Increasing Your Home’s Selling Price
A new roof adds curb appeal and monetary value to your home. It can boost the sale price by $10K or more. When I finally purchased a new roof, it made my home look much more attractive. The fact that many newer roofs are created to reflect solar heat during the summer months gives owners the added value of reducing their utility costs; that’s a bonus that most people greatly appreciate.
Conclusion
5 tips to the perfect time to change your roof points squarely at fall. Let’s follow up with why to wrap the reasons.
- Don’t wait too late but the weather is important. You want the shingles pliable when placed on the roof so some higher temperatures are ok.
- Damage to the roof that is on the home now. Are there any active leaks, blown off shingles, dry rotted pipe jacks? If so you may not have much of a choice.
- Do you have a home real estate closing in the near future? Insurance companies more and more are requiring a roof inspection prior to a home real estate closing to make sure the roof has at least five plus years of life remaining. If not you will probably be required to install a new roof prior to your home’s closing.
- There is such a thing as seasonal price adjustments in roofing materials. Spring and summer are the most active time in roofing and shingle manufacturers typically will raise shingle prices during this time of year. It is possible to get some reduction in your roofing material costs in the fall.
- The new roof install itself. Sounds crazy but during the fall temperatures will still be high on the roof but not 140 degrees which in many cases leads to marring of the shingles. Marring of the shingles is caused in many cases just from foot traffic on an extreamly hot shingle. The damage done during this process can be just as bad as hail damage to the shingles in the end.