When you want to minimize your costs as a homeowner, you must make good decisions, especially when it comes to big jobs like roof repairs. Sometimes you will need to choose a roof replacement instead. The decision as to which process is right for your home should be made before hiring a contractor or choosing shingles.
Deciding What to do with Your Roof
Deciding whether your home needs a roof repair or a roof replacement starts with deciding if you have too many leaks and damaged areas to simply patch over. Replacing your roof’s shingles is both easy and inexpensive as you’re simply removing the damaged shingles and slipping new ones into their place. Unfortunately, these shingles typically won’t match the color of your existing roof, but if this extends your roof’s life for a few years, it’s a small price to pay. Fortunately, most contractors can find shingles that closely match your roof’s color today.
When your roof has sustained more significant damage in a single area, you can opt for partial reroofing. This will cost you thousands of dollars less than a full roof replacement. It’ll also make it easier to blend new and old shingles since the color difference won’t be nearly as noticeable. Unfortunately, you may have other issues to deal with here such as a lopsided roof if there are already two or more layers of shingles on your home. This brings us to another important consideration…
Deciding Whether to Tear off Your old Roof or Simply Roof Over It
When you opt for a roof replacement instead of a roof repair, you’ll have to make yet another decision: Will you simply put additional shingles on top of your existing roof or will you remove it completely before any work begins?
A large part of this consideration rests upon whether you want to save some money now and risk spending more later or if you want to spend more money now and minimize your future expenses. When there are two layers of shingles already in place you won’t need to make this decision because the International Residential Code (R907.3) dictates that you cannot put a new roof over the top of two applications of any type of roof covering. This is because 1,500 square feet of shingles is like parking a two-ton SUV on your roof. This amount of weight can have a negative impact on your home’s structure.
Most homeowners in Florida will opt to replace their roof instead of adding another layer to their already existing roof. This is because hurricane strength winds can quickly and easily remove any shingles that aren’t directly fastened to the roof itself.
A total roof replacement also has another great benefit: It’ll allow you to evaluate your roof’s condition to see if there’s any wood rot or if you don’t have enough sheathing fasteners.
Conclusion
Even when only part of your roof shows signs of wear, you may think that a roof repair would be your best option. However, by replacing your entire roof while you have workers and their equipment on your property is less expensive. Clearly there are several variables at play here, all of which you must seriously consider. When choosing a roof replacement, it will cost you a lot of money, but when it’s done properly it’ll last you for decades. This means you’ll have one less thing to worry about next hurricane season, so you’ll have more money in your wallet then for any other home repairs you may need to make. To ensure that you don’t get ripped off, give Done Rite Roofing Inc a call and put them to work on your roof today.