Roofing resources
Repair or Replace: How a Roofer Evaluates the Remaining Life of a Roof
A repair is the right answer more often than homeowners expect. Here is how we decide.
Age is a starting point, not the answer
A twelve-year-old roof with one failed pipe boot needs a pipe boot. A twelve-year-old roof with brittle shingles that crack when lifted is a different conversation. We use age to set expectations and then look at the actual material.
What we check on the roof
Shingle flexibility and whether the mat is still intact. Whether sealant strips are still holding across the field or have released broadly. The condition of flashing at walls, chimneys, and skylights. Pipe boots and their collars. Valleys. Ridge and intake ventilation. Decking feel underfoot, which tells us about moisture below.
We also look at how many separate problem areas exist and how spread out they are. Three isolated repairs on an otherwise sound roof is repair work. The same three problems on a roof shedding granules everywhere means the money is better spent on a replacement.
Matching material matters
A repair has to blend. Discontinued shingle lines and heavily weathered color make an exact match impossible sometimes, and we will tell you when a repair will be visible rather than surprising you afterward.
How we tell you
You get photographs, a plain explanation, and a written itemized price for the option or options that make sense. If the roof has years left, we say so. The estimate is free and there is no obligation.
Questions about your own roof?
Free, No-Obligation Roof Estimate, with photos of what we find and a written itemized price if work is needed.