When hail or a fallen tree branch has punched a hole in your roof, throwing a tarp over it may halt the water leaking in but it doesn’t count as a repair. The major types of roof repair either maintain the structural integrity of the roof or restore it after it has been damaged.
Fascia Replacement
The fascia is the part of the roof that “closes in” the lower edges of your roof surface. The fascia is often made out of wood, which can warp and rot over time. It is especially prone to water damage due to poor drainage. You may be able to avoid further damage to your roof by having the fascia replaced and by fixing any drainage problems.
Replacing Shingles (or Tiles or …)
Shingles may need to be replaced because they’re wearing out or they’re damaged. For example, asphalt shingles lose their effectiveness as they lose their adhesive, lose the granules on the surface of the shingles, and just generally wear down. Shingles that are warped, cracked or letting water underneath may need to be replaced altogether. For example, if there is mold or moss growing under the shingles, you really won’t get rid of it unless you remove all of the shingles, clean the roof membrane completely, and replace the shingles entirely.
Replacing shingles may be done on a piece-by-piece basis or can be done for large sections of your roof. For example, if you have to replace or repair flashing around the chimney, there’s a fair chance all the lifted and warped shingles around it have to be replaced, too. Once you see many missing shingles across the entire roof surface, the whole roof probably needs to be replaced.
Replacing the Entire Roof … Eventually
Asphalt shingles could last as long as twenty years. If your roof is overheating because you don’t have attic ventilation or it is damaged by debris, you may need a roof replacement much sooner than this. If you own your home for an extended period of time, odds are you’ll need to eventually replace the entire roof eventually. Unless there are known leaks, you can generally schedule this work during the off-season, reducing costs and speeding up our schedule. Depending on who you ask, applying a layer of new shingles on top of an old one may count as replacing the entire roof. However, this can only be done once. After that, you have to rip them all up to the membrane (and maybe replace the roof membrane, too) and then replace the roof.
Installing a New Roof
This is a little different than replacing a roof. For example, when you decide to get rid of that wood shingle roof and replace it with a more durable metal roof, that counts as a brand new roof installation. If the roof is damaged in multiple points and you’re replacing both the underlying structural elements and the roof membrane itself, you’re installing a new roof. An entirely new roof installation is the only solution when you’ve experienced a roof blow-off, too. In these cases, you’ll want to have the roof’s wind uplift resistance increased. Your new roof might be installed with better ties to the underlying roof structure, a different type of roof, or a radically new roof design.
Solving Water Drainage Problems
If water ponds or pools on your roof surface, it can seep under shingles and damage the roof subsurface. Or, it could seep into the walls of your home, damaging the very structure of your house. This is why roof repairs sometimes address water drainage problems, too. Your roofing contractor might repair the flashing and drainage paths on the roof so that water drains away from the roof more effectively. The easiest type of “water drainage problem repairs” includes clearing out your gutters and downspouts.
You also want to make sure your gutters are functioning so that the water doesn’t pool on the ground near your house where it can damage the foundation of your home. Repairs to the gutter or improvements in the existing system could also prevent ice dams that can damage the roof if enough water and ice build up under the roof.
You can always replace your gutters when they’re warped or damaged. And you may want to upgrade your home’s gutters to reduce the need to clean them. If your existing gutters aren’t enough to control the run-off from your roof, you might choose a different type of rain gutter that’s more effective for your situation. For example, K shaped gutters are cheap, but half-round type gutters are easier to clean and less likely to have debris get stuck in them.
Cincinnati Roofing and Siding Professionals
If you need any type of home exterior work done on your Cincinnati area home, contact the pros at Harper Siding and Roofing – we do roofing, siding, gutters, windows, insulation and more!