8 Signs You Need A New Roof
8 signs You need A new roof starts with proper roofing knowledge. Your home’s roof protects your family and belongings from the elements, but eventually, it will need some form of roof maintenance or you may even need a new roof replacement. Here is 8 signs you need a new roof to help you make that decision. It is not if but when the time comes for a new roof, we’d love to help you through the entire new roof installation process on your Baton Rouge home. Until then, here are a few roofing tips you should know that could help to lengthen your roofs life.
Is Your Roof Past its Useful Life
Varying temperatures, wind and other natural forces can lead to issues such as blisters, splits and punctures. If your roof does not have proper ventilation it can make these roofing problems even worse. Unfortunately, these aren’t the only dangers your roof faces. Poor design, substandard workmanship and even low-quality materials can accelerate the onset of many of these problems. This, in turn, increases the risk of structural failure.
Many times, when a house has an addition added the roof and roof line are after thoughts and can lead to many different types of roofing problems. Valleys that are not well thought through, pipe jacks that are too close to a side wall or actually touching the homes sidewall flashings. If the shingles are not torn back in the connecting valleys and then a proper course of shingles run, you may actually be able to just lift the shingles right off your roof. This sounds extreme and crazy, but this is not that uncommon for construction crews with little roofing experience.
Fortunately, there are several common roof problems that can warn you before structural failure occurs. Make sure to keep an eye out for these five issues and how they can be remedied.
1. Blisters
When it comes to 8 signs you need a new roof, Blisters are one of the most common roofing problems. They will appear as small to midsize areas on your roof’s shingles where the granules are missing. In many cases these can look like hail damage and are even miss diagnosed by many roof inspectors as hell damage. While common, they require timely attention. When water vapor or other gases become trapped between roofing elements, heat expansion can put pressure on a roof’s materials. This results in expansions that can cause blisters.
Roof membranes that are protected from moisture typically don’t experience this problem. These membranes and materials that absorb moisture can be installed even during a recovery. This will combat blisters and other moisture-specific problems – such as damaged insulation. If you live in an area with excessive rain, snow or dew, you should definitely consider this route.
Improper roof ventilation is the biggest cause for shingle blisters. Many times, a roofing crew will cover the cut-out keyway in the roofs ridge and not cut the felt out of the way, then they just cover the ridge with ridge vent that will have no function and a new roof may be covered in blisters within five to seven years. Shingle blistering can cause roof leaks and left un-repaired can by itself cause you to need a new roof.
2. Punctures
Punctures are one of the most highly overrated roofing problems. They usually only occur thanks to people – such as painters, HVAC mechanics, satellite installers and tenants – who are walking on the roof. Summer time heat is when even more and worse damage can be caused to your roofing shingles simply by walking on them. Houses with mid to steep roofs get even more damage from foot traffic. The extreme heat makes the roofing shingles more pliable and even soft soled tennis shoes can rub the granules of the shingles. In some cases, though, tears and holes can appear due to debris or heavy equipment being moved across the surface.
3. Flashing
Flashing is a material that’s applied as part of a weather-resistant barrier system to your roofing system. While it’s only a thin layer, it creates a barrier that allows water to slip down the wall or to the curb and prevents water from funneling into the building. Flashing typically extends under a metal structure known as counterflashing, but if it doesn’t adhere properly, water can get into shingle joints, chimney ridges and more. Drip edge, eve flashing or sometimes even called eve gutter system that is not properly installed can lead to eve rot on the home or even fascia rot.
4. Open Laps
- Applied too much or too little adhesive.
- Heat welding in the cold.
- Application to a dirty surface.
- Not allowing enough time for settling.
5. Surface Coating
A roof’s surface coating can protect it from UV radiation and foot traffic. For EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) or ballasted roofs, this type of coating can greatly extend the life of the structure. If the coating is damaged, wears off or becomes displaced, it will no longer serve as a protective layer. This means maintenance will be required.
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Time for That New Roof
You can see by now that there are a few bonuses to 8 signs you need a new roof. There are a handful of others that just needed to be in this material. There are a few that will just jump right out at you however the ones rarely thought of just needed to be added.
Unfortunately, not all roofing issues can be fixed with a simple repair or even a large roof repair. There are certain problems that can only be rectified by replacing the roof entirely. If any roof repair is going to cost 33% of what a new roof would cost, you need to go ahead and purchase the new roof. 33% is a good baseline when considering a new roof or a repair. Here are a few signs that let you know the time for replacing your roof may have come.
- Curled shingle edges or cupped shingle tabs. Curled or cupped shingles indicate the life of the shingles are gone. This will look like what it sounds like, the edge of the shingle is curled up some or cupped just like if you cupped your hand. Overheating, improper installation, cheap shingles and improper ventilation are just a few things that can cause curled or cupped shingle but once they get like this the useful life of the shingle is over.
- Bald spots and missing granules. These shingle issues can be from many different roofing problems. Sometimes shingles will look like they have holes in them with what looks like threads or even cotton. This is a sure sign you have real roofing problems. Manufacturers defects, overheating, blistering, hail damage and foot traffic can cause these issues.
- Our 8 signs you need a new roof would never be complete without adding this one, cracked shingles, cracked shingles are most common on roofs that have been overheated for a long period of time. Wind damage can also give shingles this look however shingle wind damage normally will bend the shingle up from the bottom and the cracks will normally be at the top of the shingle running horizontally. Cracked shingles from overheating the cracks can be horizontal or vertical and can even look like you baked them in your oven.
- Roof is 20 years old. While some shingles are built to last longer than this, many factors could result in accelerated aging. A roof that’s not properly ventilated, for instance, can weaken shingles and make the lifetime of the shingle less than half of what it should have been. In the deep south, the heat is so extreme shingles from the past rarely made the expected lifetime that shingle manufactures said they would. The new modern shingles we have now not only have algae resistance built in the quality is much better and you are more likely to get a full life span from these new modern shingles. This is of course much more likely if you buy higher end shingles from a reputable manufacturer like CertainTeed which even has a fifty-year warranty on their shingles.
- Neighbors are getting new roofs. Homes that are built around the same time experience the same amount of wear and tear and this would be a good indication you at least need a roof inspection. You could have even been out of town when a hail storm came through your neighborhood and you would not even know it without seeing your neighbors getting new roofs.
- An old and worn appearance is just a fact of life with any roof that is old enough. The water shedding ability may still be with your roof, but you are just sick of looking at it. If your roof gets old enough you can count on this roofing problem to happen.
- Dark streaks. While this could be a sign of a bigger issue, it’s often simply caused by airborne algae. If this is the case, a solution of 50:50 water and bleach can be sprayed on the roof to try and remove streaks. Protect the granules by using a low-volume garden hose, and make sure to protect your landscaping from runoff. This is not a suggested course of action due to the probability of roof granule damage, however, if you are trying to push off buying a new roof for a little longer you may not have much to lose.
- Moss growth. A lack of sunlight in cool, moist climates can result in moss growth. Unfortunately, this isn’t always just cosmetic. Moss can trap water and even damage granules when freezing temperatures occur. You can brush off moss if careful not to damage shingles, but it will likely grow back.
Missing shingles are on the 8 signs you need a new roof list, yet another cause for needing a new roof soon or even immediately Missing shingles are very common in high wind areas like Louisiana. Homeowners with 3-tab shingles are much more likely to see missing shingles than a homeowner with even an older architectural style roofing shingle. Even a well manufactured 3-tab shingle is only rated for 60 MPH winds, and in the Baton Rouge, Hammond and North Shore areas of Louisiana 60 plus MPH winds have become a fairly common event. Another roofing problem that will lead to your roof’s shingles just sliding off your roof or blowing off in a Louisiana wind storm is called high nailing. When a shingle has been high nailed the roofing crew missed the nail line the shingle manufacturer placed in the shingle. If the nail is not placed in the nail line there will be no strength in the shingle at that point and in many cases, over time the shingles will just slide down the roof.
Thermal shock is a real roofing issue that most people do not even realize is happening or how extreme it really is. Thermal shock is most extreme is late fall or winter times. In Louisiana, it is common to see a 20-30-degree night and see the temperature climb to the mid to upper 70s or even the low 80s. When this happens the temperature on the roof can swing nearly 100 degrees, then that is correct almost a 100-degree difference. In a hot summer in Louisiana it is nothing for the temperature on the roof to reach 140 plus degrees, so you can see how going from frozen to 100 degrees and shock the roofs shingles, years and years of this is just hard on any shingle.
The Conclusion
No two roofs are created equally, so it’s important to consider the structure itself before deciding on a new roofing system. Will it constantly be exposed to foot traffic or UV rays? If so, your selected roof should be resistant to these problems. This thermal movement could turn into an issue, but the EPDM membrane is the perfect solution thanks to its lower stretchability.
Regardless of the roof, you select, shingle, metal or synthetic, anomalies will eventually surface in the system as it ages. With an appropriate maintenance program form a top-rated roofing company, however, you can minimize these roofing issues. This will result in a longer lifespan along with fewer roof repair expenses. If you need an expert roofer in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Hammond or the Northshore of Louisiana to help your long-term investment last, contact one of our representatives today for a no-obligation, free roof inspection from Roof Crafters.
Don’t wait until it’s too late, have your roof inspected today by Roof Crafters. Your home’s roof is the first line of defense from mother nature, don’t let your roof be the most overlooked part of your house.
Roof Crafters provides roofing services in Hammond, Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Walker, Watson, Ponchatoula, Slidell, Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville, and the entire North Shore areas of Louisiana.
