Getting your Roof Repaired

Since the roof is the most important part of your home's weatherproofing, a leaky roof can cause a huge amount of damage in a short period of time. Unfortunately, once a leak has started it's often difficult to get a roofer to make simple repairs. Understanding the reasons behind a roofers' reluctance to make repairs instead of replace your roof can better position you to get the repair services of a competent roofer.

Obviously, a roofer can make more money doing replacements rather than doing simple repairs. This, however, is not the main reason that roofers tend to avoid repair work. Roofing repair work can be a thankless task. It can take a large amount of time to make a good diagnosis, yet homeowners tend to discount the value of this time because they don't see any finished repairs. If the roofer is feeling pressure from the homeowner, he may feel rushed to make a quick diagnosis. For best results, you should indicate to the roofer that you understand the importance of an accurate diagnosis and you don't want to rush him.

Another reason roofers are hesitant to repair rather than replace is that if the homeowner sees a leak a few months after the initial repairs were completed, he may feel owed additional repairs for free even if the new leak is unrelated to the old one. Often a roofer must choose between disappointing his customer and doing the work for free. You should reassure the roofer that you won't hold him accountable for things for which he isn't responsible. Many roof repairs are necessitated by falling trees, high winds and other natural causes. Also, if you have one spot on your roof that has rotted, it could very well mean that you will have other spots that will soon rot as well because your roof may be just getting to old.

Homeowners should be aware that installation problems don't always show up immediately. Just because your roof has never leaked before does not mean that the original installation was done properly. In fact, roofs commonly fail because some aspect of the original installation was done improperly. Problems caused by poor installation can show up five or ten years after the installation. By the time a leak occurs, the home may have changed hands or the homeowner no longer remembers who installed the roof. There are however the lucky few homeowners whose roofs fail simply because the materials have surpassed their useful life. If your roof is leaking and is 15 years old or older, there is a good chance that you will need a new roof soon. At this point, doing a patch job is a waste of your money. You will end up spending as much in repairs in the long run as you would have on a new roof and then you will have to actually get a new roof. All in all, you could end up spending double what you would have spent if you simply had a new roof put on to begin with.

If you and your roofer have determined that a repair is the wise choice for you, then there are a few things you need to be aware of before the work begins. First of all, you need to know how the roofer plans to deal with the old roofing materials. If the repair is large enough, your roofer may feel the need to back a dump truck to your home and drop the old materials in it from the roof. You should ask him how he plans to avoid damaging your lawn. Secondly, you need to find out how long the job will take. And thirdly, what type of warranty will he provide and exactly what will be covered by that warranty. (Keeping in mind that he can only guarantee the work that he actually does)