If you hear a loud thump on the roof or you find out a new water stain on the ceiling, the first thing your mind tells you is to grab a container or bowl and look for where the opening is and place the bowl right under it, or you curl up under a soft blanket before the roof repair.
Most homeowners never planned to tackle a problem as big as fixing a roof which costs thousands of dollars, yet it’s necessary to fix whatever that comes up.
Extreme damage is not caused by a fallen tree branch or a leakage. What you do is to install new shingles or replace flashing. Under research on some homeowners, the average cost for some repairs is quite affordable.
Disclaimer: It’s very dangerous working on a roof and must be done with serious caution. Get an experienced roofing contractor if you are not feeling safe or comfortable.
Damaged Flashing
The material used to cover the crease connecting fixtures like skylights or chimneys to the roof is called Flashing. It’s made up of plastic, sheet or metal. Under your roofing material, there is also flashing for venting pipes. When the Flashing is loosed, worn or cracked, the surrounding of these fixtures will be exposed to moisture or rain.
Solution: Get the old Flashing out and replace with a new one. Materials surrounding it, such as shingles, need to be lifted away for installation and removal.
Damaged Vent Boot
This part seals the surrounding of your vents from moisture to get in, just as flashing seals all the parts of the roof. When the vent boot is damaged, it may be the main source of the leakage.
Solution: Replace the vent boot with a new one and take out the damaged one. To successfully do this, clear off any surrounding materials before nailing and caulking the boot.
Frayed Sealant
A sealant is used by roofers around the edges of skylights and also for flashing. Worn out or old sealant will never do its job, which will result in leakage.
Solution: It is either you recaulk or make use of new tar. Then temporarily remove the surrounding materials to apply the sealant confidently.
Damaged or Missing Shingles
Few damages and missing shingles easily occur as there are lots of outside factors acting against them. Such as:
- Wearing away of protective surface granules.
- Weight of ices dams and pooling water
- Cracks and breaks from animal activities
- Breaks and cracks from hail
Solution: Get the old shingles off then replace with a new one instead of a roof repair. Make your gutters clean for good drainage and remove snow to prevent ice dams.
Punctures
Animals, weather and falling branches can cause a notable opening and punctures on your roof. These involve many steps as there may be a need for reframing part of the roof itself, so expert roofers are required to handle it.
Solution: When the necessary reframing has been done by the roofer, with the installation of a layer of sheathing and then a felt paper followed by shingles.
Aesthetic damage and leaks can be fixed so easily without removing the whole of your roof. Nevertheless, there is also a time that replacing the roof is the best investment. That is before renting out your home; you should be sure your roof is inspected for quality if it’s 22 to 26 years old before the roof repair.