If you or a roof repair company haven’t looked at your roof recently, you should look or call your roofer. In fact, you should walk around your home at least once a quarter and after every major weather event and look for changes and issues. Evaluating your roof requires a little knowledge, a ladder, and a pair of binoculars.
Start with the Roof’s Surface
Look at your roof without binoculars first. Look for staining, streaking, and other discolorations. These are all signs of algae that is literally eating away at your roof’s surface. If you have any of these, you should clean your roof or call a reputable roof cleaning company. Next, look for missing shingles or shingles that aren’t aligned properly. If you see either of these issues, call a roof repair company for a repair estimate. Last, use the binoculars to look for curled, bent, and dented shingles. All are signs of a deteriorating roof that should be evaluated by a professional roofer.
Look in Your Attic
Your attic can give you may signs that you need a roof repair company. If you see light shining through or dark stains on the underside of your roof you likely have a roof leak requiring repair. You may need to use your hands and touch your insulation. If it looks matted down or feels wet, that’s a sign of a roof leak.
Inside Your Home
Because water follows the path of least resistance, a roof leak may show itself in strange places. Some signs are bubbling paint on walls and ceilings, water under the floor molding and around the fireplace. All can indicate that water is coming in through your roof and causing damage.
Age of Your Roof
As your roof ages, it’s going to need repair more frequently. The average life of a 3-tab shingle roof is about 12 years. With good maintenance, you may be able to get 15 years out of it. An architectural shingle roof should last at least 20 years, but longer with maintenance. Good maintenance comes from a licensed roof repair company. Although we recommend a roofing inspection annually, not all homeowners see that as a good use of their budget when, in reality, keeping your roof in good shape with inspections and immediate repair can help you put off the large expense of a roof replacement for years.
If you haven’t had a professional roof repair company inspect your roof in the past year, call Cooley Roofing and Construction. We’re a local Winston-Salem area roofing contractor with decades of experience in roof inspections, storm damage repair, and roof replacements. Fill out our contact form or call (336) 766-6488 today.
