After a heavy rain, you notice your roof’s leaking. What do you do?

If you’re a proactive homeowner, you won’t have to do anything. Why? Because you’ve already planned ahead, by replacing your roof before it wore out.

The average household should budget 1-4% of their home’s value for annual upkeep and maintenance. However, while it’s easy to budget for regular upkeep, budgeting for a roof can be a bit trickier.

Confusion surrounding the reroofing process, and costs, can make it hard for homeowners to know when they need a roofing crew. Thankfully, we’ve created a short but complete guide to help you understand the roofing process.

Are you ready to be a proactive homeowner? Then take a look, at everything you need to know about getting a new roof.

Signs You Need to Replace Your Roof

Oftentimes a roof will naturally reach the end of its life, while other times a major storm can speed things along. Replacing your roof is never a project you should delay because it can cause bigger problems for your house down the road.

Here are the potential signs that it’s time for you to reroof:

• Curled shingle edges
• Bald spots
• Cracked shingles
• Missing shingles
• Your roof looks old and worn out
• Your neighbors are getting new roofs
• Dark streaks
• Moss

Different factors can affect how quickly your shingles age. For instance, if you don’t have the proper ventilation on your roof, it can cause shingles to wear out sooner than later.

If you noticed that your neighbors are getting new roofs, it’s a good sign that you might need to think about re-roofing yourself. Your neighbors are experiencing the same weather conditions as you, and it’s likely that your homes are around the same age.

Next, look for dark streaks on your roof. Algae in the air can cause dark streaks on your roof deck. The dark streaks won’t necessarily hurt your roof, but they aren’t pretty to look at.

Certain algae streaks you’ll be able to clean off, but other ones might try to stick around. Finally, moss is another plant that can affect the life of your roof. If your roof doesn’t get a lot of sunlight, moss can grow and damage the shingles.

What Happens When You’re Replacing Your Roof

Before you hire a roofer, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the roofing process. The better you understand the process, and jargon, the easier it’ll be for you to make advised decisions.

Here’s what the overall re-roofing process looks like

• Take off all existing shingles
• Deposit old shingles in a roll-off dumpster
• Make minor repairs on the roof
• Lay down asphalt roofing paper
• Apply metal drip edging
• Apply new valley flashing
• Put down new shingles
• Install the ridge vent
• Final cleanup

First, the roofing crew will take off all of the existing shingles and dispose of them in a roll-off dumpster. If there’s any damaged valley flashing, or drip edges, they’ll be coming off too. If your under roof is in fairly good condition, the roofing crew will be able to jump right into laying down the asphalt paper.

If there’s damage, the roofers will replace any of the bad wood, with new plywood, or whatever material is best for your roof type. After putting down the asphalt roofing paper, the crew will need to apply metal drip edging around the entire edge of the roof.

Once they nail the metal drip in place, they can begin installing the new valley flashing where the 2 roof planes meet. Finally, the roofing crew will put down the new shingles, install the ridge vent, and clean up any leftover debris.

How to Reduce Roof Replacement Costs

The price for replacing your roof is going to depend on how big your roof, is and the materials you’re using.

Here are a few tips to help reduce your replacement cost:

• Research
• Comparison
• Good timing
• Insurance
• Overlay

First, you’ll need to determine the size of your roof. It”s common for roofing contractors to provide quotes per square foot. The more research you do about what you need, the easier it’ll be to do apple-to-apple comparisons for quotes.

Find a company that offers free roofing estimates. Next, ask the contractor if they have any material or installation warranties.

If your roof damage isn’t because of neglect, your homeowner’s insurance will likely be willing to help cover the cost. Before you contact your insurance agency, make sure you understand the exact types of damages that they cover under your policy.

Finally, you can look into getting an overlay. An overlay means that they will leave the old shingles on and put new shingles over them. Doing an overlay saves time, and money because it takes less work.

Should I Stay Home During Roof Replacement?

Once you find the perfect contractor to replace your roof, you’ll want to get ready for the re-roofing process. You do not have to move out of your home while your roof is being replaced. It’s normal for the entire process on an average size single-family home, to only take a few days.

It’s common for roofing contractors to complete projects during the weekdays, while you’re at work. When you come home from work, the roofing crew will already be gone, and they won’t be back until you leave for work the next day.

However, if you work from home, or spend the majority of your time at home, you might want to make special plans to be out of the house. While the roofing crew is there, there will be people walking around the top of your house, and it is going to be noisy! Even the most respectful crews can’t avoid how loud the re-roofing process can be.

If you have kids, make sure they understand why the roofers are there. You’ll also want to avoid having anyone go outside while the work is being done because it’s not safe.

The roofers will be tearing off your old roof, and a lot of debris will be falling off the side of your roof. Next, if you have pets, it helps if you keep them in a quiet room, such as the basement. If you don’t have a basement, you can try playing soothing music, to help combat the noise.

Protect Your Home

Preventative maintenance, such as replacing your roof, is the best way to protect your home. Hopefully, today, you were able to learn at least one new thing about the roofing process.

If you’re looking for more ways to keep your house looking good, we can help. Go ahead and check out the rest of this site!