Roof Repair or Roof Replace?

Putting a new roof on your home can be quite expensive, so if repairing your roof is an option, it's certainly an approach worth considering. Which option is best varies by each example, so the best advice we can offer to everyone is to look for cost efficiency. If a replacement will cost you 10K, while a repair will cost you 2.5K and only buy you another year (or less), the repair option would be a waste of your money, in the long-run. To entertain repair work, we recommend to look for 2 major factors: A) Will the repair even work? B) Will I get the longevity out of the repair to make it worthy of the investment?

The biggest detail that usually answers these questions is the age of the roof! As a roof ages, it slowly deteriorates, which makes the chances for a successful repair lessen as each year goes by. Here are some examples to look for to confirm an aged out roof:

A) Seal - the seal strip area that allows the shingles to adhere to one another is comprised of tar. Being asphalt based, this tar will dry up over the years, which weakens the seal and lowers the wind resistance.

B) Granulate loss - the granulates on shingles come in many different colors, which gives them their aesthetic appeal, but they serve as much more. The granulates also protect the fiberglass / asphalt shingle beneath from the weather, especially the Sun. Granulate loss is a gradual process that begins from the first year a roof is installed, but should not be an issue of concern until the roof is at the final stages of it's life. If significant, spotting granulate loss from the ground is not difficult. The area will have a milky white, low-sheen appearance.

Granulate Loss

C) Curling - as a roof ages, the asphalt content in the shingles dries out and the shingles begin to curl (shrivel). This issue accelerates quickly in areas that have suffered granulate loss, and that is not a coincidence. Imagine putting a leather coat under direct Sun, indefinitely. Eventually it will resemble crocodile skin, with cracks, etc. Once the asphalt in the shingle dries out, the fiberglass will not be too far behind.

Curling Shingles

D) Mold - another content in shingles is copper. The algae resistance these shingles carry is due to the copper within them. Still to date, most shingles carry enough copper to be warrantied for 10 years of algae resistance.

Mold On A Roof

The examples given above are more ideal in helping determine the age of a roof. What role they would play in determining a successful repair, would vary.

With this information established, if you were to still be in debate over repair or replace, perhaps a more simplistic approach could help???

Most of the shingles on today's roofs are promoted as 30 year shingles, so look for the halfway point as your tie-breaker.

If your roof is under 15 years old, be more open to repair. If your roof is over 15 years old, be more open to replace.

We would not recommend this approach as option 1. A decision like this warrants more consideration than a "flip of the coin"

As always, we hope the information we share helps as customers seek insights for their upcoming project needs.

Thank you, Amazon Roofing - Toledo Ohio