Should I Replace or Repair my Roof?

Here is your quick answer; you should replace your roof if it is generally older, or if it isn’t, you should follow the roofing nail trail to find out why you’re experiencing the roofing problem.

A total roof replacement is recommended not just because this post is being written on behalf of a trustworthy and successful roofing company that has been in the roofing business for almost 25 years.

Having a complete roof of a consistent age is also the best way to track your roof’s life cycle.

Yes, your roof has an approximate fifteen-year life cycle. Of course, that number is dependent on several things regarding your roof. The quality of the shingle, the roof’s maintenance upkeep and its environment all affect how long your roof will last.

For example, your roof may be constantly subjected to ice dams in the winter, or a tree canopy may be rubbing at the shingles in the summer.

If you need some time to secure financing, tarping your roof can be a reasonable stop-gap measure.

Read more in the chapter below that addresses shingle-blow to learn more about the reality of what you might at first hope is a minor repair. Choosing to fix small areas at a time is never a good idea:

• It throws off your roof’s life cycle; you will forever have shingles maturing at different times.
• A slight colour change due to the effects of UV means your newly patched shingles will not mix in with your old ones.
• Replacing a portion of shingles will not fix the underlying reason for the failure.

Forest City Roofing has a long relationship with a third-party financing company for sudden roofing surprises. Read more here.

What if an accident happens, like a tree hitting my roof? Should I repair just that area?

Your insurance company will be involved, and at that time, you should consult a trustworthy and knowledgeable roofing company to address whether the rest of the roof should be replaced simultaneously.

For all the above reasons, ‘the quality of the original shingle purchased, the age of the original roof and the roof’s maintenance upkeep’, you may benefit by replacing the whole roof at the same time as an extensive repair.

What if only a few shingles are blowing off, and the rest looks fine?

Generally, you should be worried if a few shingles are blowing off. Loose shingles do not happen for no reason. You should follow the roofing nail trail since it’s a roof.

And that roofing nail trail almost always leads to wetness.

Shingles endure holes caused by roofing nails that hold the shingles in place on the roof deck. If the roof deck, the plywood roof base which is nailed to your roof trusses takes on moisture, which is usually from underneath, it softens the wood and allows the roofing nails to move in their holes. The moisture also lessens the hold of the shingle’s glue strip.

Eventually, that movement, always caused by wind or rubbing branches, causes the shingle nail hole to get bigger, allowing the shingle to move. This leads to rain working its way under the shingle or through the hole, degrading the glue strip even more, and voila, that section of your roof’s shingles is blowing off.

But what causes wetness under my roof?

Let’s say someone convinces you to put on one of those plastic space suits meant to help you lose (water) weight. Fully sealed in your silver suit, you will accumulate much moisture in said suit, and you will not enjoy it.

Neither does your attic. Your attic is a live thing. Warm air rises from your home’s levels, and that warm air has moisture in it, which finds a great large organic thing, the underside of your plywood roofing deck, which absorbs the water.

The most efficient attic space maintains a neutral temperature that does not create humidity and causes it to transfer to the plywood.

Roofing, vents and eave troughing are our specialties, and vents are a perfect solution to help end your attic moisture.

Roof vents and attic insulation work hand in hand to keep your attic air moving while preventing moisture from entering your attic in the first place.

Please read everything there is to know about attic vents and proper insulation: Roof Vents and Attic Insulation – How They Help

Forest City Roofing of London, Ontario, is here to help you with any roofing concern, big or small, in the London area.

Please call us at (519) 659 6937 or visit our contact page.