One of the most common factors affecting your home's roof is age. As the roof ages, the materials on it start to deteriorate and break down, causing leaks and other problems that lead to roofers having to make repairs or replace the roof on the house.
Roof Age
Roofing materials have specific life span ratings, and while they are not all the same, they all have some end date that the roofing materials are expected to need replacement. If you know the age of the roof on your house, the roofing contractors you are working with can help you determine if your roof is getting close to needing replacement.
While you may be able to repair the roof even if it is nearing the end of its advertised life span, the cost to fix it is often not practical. If you spend time making repairs in one area, it is only a matter of time before you need repairs in other areas of the roof, and spending the money on a new roof may make more sense.
Replacement Roofing Materials
When you are ready to replace the roof on your home, you can use the same roofing materials on the house, but you don't have to. If you want to remove the shingles on your roof and install a metal roof or some other material, talk to the roofing contractors working on your project before they start the job.
The materials typically need ordering in advance of the job, so you need to communicate the change with them to allow time for the roofers to get the material and hardware required for the job. The installation methods are often different from one material to the next, and the materials under the roofing, like the vapor barrier, the underlay plywood, or other components may also need consideration when you are changing to a different roof material.
Roofing Cost
In some situations, a homeowner may want to change the roofing material to save some money or extend that roof's lifetime, saving costs in the long term. A roof replacement is not cheap, but the costs can vary with the material and the amount of work involved. Roofing contractors may not all charge the same, so you may want to get several estimates if money is a concern, and let the contractors know you are shopping around because they may quote a better price if they want the work and are concerned they will not get the job.
While each contractor may give you a different price, you need to ask what the price includes to ensure that the work is the same no matter who you hire, and saving some money will not leave you with a poor roof replacement that is not going to last.
Contact a local roofer to learn more.
