For many residents of Florida, your roof’s lifetime can be critical. While very few things last forever, it’s important to recognize when your roof needs to be replaced. For example, asphalt and tile roofs in Florida may wear down faster due to extreme weather conditions.
Installing a new roof is arguably one of the most essential major home repairs. Your roof is critical to the integrity of your household: it prevents wind and water from destroying your home’s interior, among other things. Few things can be as disastrous as a failing roof.
Homeowners should never take roof replacement lightly, nor should they ignore critical roof repairs. Contact the roofing contractors at Big Al’s Roofing in Southwest Ranches if you think your roof is ready for renewal.
Signs That Your Roof Needs to Be Replaced
Your roof is a critical component of your home, but do you know how to tell when it’s nearing the end of its useful life? The following are a few vital signs that can help you realize if it’s time for a new roof:
- Your roof’s age: One of the easiest ways to tell if you need a new roof is its age. Every roof has an average lifespan depending on the materials used. Asphalt, for example, can last up to 20 years, while slate tiles can last up to a century. Once you’ve exceeded this timespan, your roof will start needing a lot more repairs and maintenance. Talk to your roofing contractor to determine how many years your roof has left.
- Look for light shining through. A good way of inspecting your roof is from the inside. By going into the attic, you can examine for signs of daylight shining through the roofing: a clear indicator that your roof needs critical repairs or replacement as soon as possible. Also, look for stains, streaks, or other tell-tale signs of water damage.
- Inspect your shingles: If you notice any curling or missing shingles, especially after a heavy storm, it’s likely time to repair or even replace your roof. Also, inspect the shingles themselves to see if they are losing granules, a sure indicator that they have exceeded their life expectancy. We recommend inspecting your shingles at least twice yearly or after any storm or hurricane.
- Inspect the flashing: Regardless of the type of roofing material you have, you should make sure to inspect the flashing, which you can find around skylights, chimneys, vents, and other areas that disrupt the flow of shingles. Flashing ensures that your roof is water-tight.
- Water damage: You don’t always have to replace a leaky roof, but you may need to if there are signs of water damage like sagging or rotting areas, dark stains, or mold.
- Mold or mildew: Mold or algae don’t necessarily indicate that your roof needs to be replaced. It does mean that you need to take care of it. Allowing mold to stay can lead to water damage by trapping moisture. Many times, you can just spray it away with a hose or scrub it off.
Adding a Roof Layer or Tearing the Roof Off
Many building codes allow for two layers of asphalt shingles on a home, so tearing everything down to the plywood sheathing isn’t your only option.
Fastening new shingles over existing ones is not as costly and can be more efficient, but you may lose the opportunity to inspect the sheathing for signs of water damage.
If your roof is in good shape but has some damage to one side from a downed tree or has lost shingles in a wind storm, an overlay is worth considering.
Peeling off the old roof down to the sheathing is your only option if you already have two layers, but it is more expensive because of the additional labor and materials. This Old House general contractor Tom Silva prefers this route even when the roof is just a single layer so he can find the source of any water damage, upgrade the flashing, and install shingles so they lie flatter.
Contact Experienced Roofers Today
At Big Al’s Roofing, we look forward to taking care of our Southwest Ranches customers and community. We have many years of roofing and customer experience under our belts, and we look forward to providing you with the highest quality service.
Repairing or replacing an entire roof doesn’t have to be an unpleasant or stressful experience. We start the process with a free cost evaluation to determine your budget needs and the available options. We promise to stand by our product and service and not surprise you with unexpected costs or delays.
We understand that repairs on your home, especially your roof, can introduce an element of chaos to your daily routine. We work hard to reduce the disruption to get you back to your everyday life as soon as possible.
Our team of South Florida roofing contractors is ready to help raise your home’s value and protect what’s important to you.
Let our team of highly-trained roofing contractors fix your roof right away.
