4 Signs That Show You Need to Replace Your Roof
Are you a homeowner?
If so, when last did you check your roof. Roofs are usually the most ignored parts of our homes. Most people don’t worry about the roofing until it starts leaking. While this is understandable, you’ll wish you acted sooner on the maintenance front when the water starts pouring in during a torrential rainstorm.
Not -so fun fact – it takes you about three seconds to get soaked in a torrential rainstorm. Imagine how long it would take your home to become a swimming pool in a torrential storm.
Unfortunately, a roof can sometimes get to the end of its useful life without experiencing any failure. That’s great if you are one of the lucky ones, but delaying the replacement of an aged roof because it hasn’t experienced failure could result in bigger problems in the future.
As a homeowner looking to remodel or renovate your home, you are probably wondering if you also need to add the roofing to your plans. Well, here are 4 signs that your long-time serving roof needs to be replaced by a professional roofing contractor.
Light Beams Coming Through the Roof Boards
Your attic is usually the best place to see this firsthand. Head up there, and before you turn your flashlight on, check if you see any light beams come piercing though the roof. If you see light beams, then water can also find its way though. This is a sure sign that your roof needs replacing – and you need to act fast.
Bulging Ceiling Boards
These are quite easier to spot. Moisture tends to make your ceiling boards swell up or sag downwards. Do a spot check across every room to see if you notice any sagging areas. To double check, use your hand or a long broom if your ceiling boards are high up to poke the sagging areas. The spot will usually be wet or bend easily without much pressure. Don’t ignore this sort of damage: it can get worse really fast.
Streaks and Stains
These are also extremely easy to spot. If you discover dark stains or streaks on the ceiling boards, or running down the walls from the spot where your walls meet the roof, you likely have a leak problem. You also need to act quite fast in cases like this because your roof is not just leaking. The leakages are also damaging the interior structure of your home.
Rotting Roofs or Decaying Shingles
While rotting is a common malaise of asphalt and wooden roofs, shingle ones usually suffer from decay and cracking. The easiest way to spot a rotting roof is mold buildup on a group of tiles, or missing and broken tiles. Shingles start showing signs of decay by curling, or you start to find spots with missing shingles or shingles that are just out of place.
4 Signs That Show You Need to Replace Your Roof: Final Thoughts
By now, you should be able to spot a bad roof that needs replacing. One important thing to point out is when spot checking your home from the exterior, it is always best to get a competent professional to get this done. They know smaller tell-tale signs that you might not notice yourself.
These inspections are mostly free, so be careful if the company you are speaking with doesn’t offer free inspections. When in doubt, contact a licensed roofing contractor to get a professional opinion. That way, you will be able to validate the damage you spotted, and also probably discover any other damage you might have missed.
