8 Signs you need a new roof
Roofs protect your family and belongings from the elements, but eventually, you will have to perform roof maintenance or even replace the roof. Here are eight signs you should get to upgrade your roof. It isn’t about if, but when it comes to installing a new roof, let us take care of everything. In the meantime, here are some roofing tips from Admiral Custom Roofing that you should know that could extend the life of your roof.
New Roof or Roof Repair
8 Signs You Need a New Roof: Is Your Roof Past its Useful Life
A perfectly good roof might need to be replaced if it is damaged by high winds, hail, or other catastrophes, but most of the time, it will simply reach the end of its useful life. The fact that this isn’t a roof failure doesn’t mean that it can’t be replaced sooner rather than later, although postponing the roof replacement may cause serious problems.
If your roof doesn’t have proper ventilation, it can exacerbate roofing problems such as blisters, splits, and punctures caused by fluctuating temperatures, wind, and other natural forces. The problems you may encounter with your roof aren’t limited to these issues. Poor design, substandard workmanship, or even poor-quality materials can accelerate the development of many of these problems. Therefore, structural failure becomes more likely.
It is common for roofs and rooflines to be afterthoughts when an addition is built, and this can lead to many different types of roofing problems. Inadequately designed valleys and pipe jacks that are too close to the sides of the house or in contact with the side wall flashings. A proper course of shingles will ensure the shingles do not tear back in the connecting valleys, so you might be able to lift them off the roof just by lifting them. Construction crews with little roofing experience sometimes do this, which may seem extreme or crazy at first.
Keep an eye out for these five commonly encountered roofing issues and how you can prevent them from occurring before structural failure occurs.
1. Blisters
A blister on your roof’s shingles is one of the most standard signs you need a new roof. It appears as small to medium-sized areas on your roof’s shingles where some granules are missing. Mostly, these can look like hail damage and are even misdiagnosed as hell damage. Despite being common, blisters occur when water vapor or other gases become trapped between the roof’s components. Heat expansion results in pressure on the roof’s materials, causing expansions.
It is not uncommon for roof membranes with moisture-resistant properties to experience this problem. Membranes with moisture-absorbing properties can be installed even during a recovery period. Those living in an area where excessive rain, snow, or dew prevails should consider this solution to prevent blisters and damage to insulation.
Improper roof ventilation can also lead to shingle blisters. It is not uncommon for a roofing crew to cover the cut-out keyway in the roof’s ridge without removing the felt. They then cover the ridge with a ridge vent that will have no functionality, causing blisters to form within five to seven years. Left unrepaired, blistering on your shingles can cause leaks in your roof, which may necessitate replacement.
Shingle Blister
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2. Punctures
Punctures are considered one of the most common roofing problems. Most of them are caused by people – such as painters, HVAC mechanics, satellite installers, and tenants – who walk on the roof. During the summer heat, walking on your roofing shingles can cause even more damage to them. Houses with steep or medium-sloped roofs are more susceptible to damage. Tennis shoes with soft soles are capable of rubbing off the granules from the roof shingles as a result of the extreme heat. However, in some instances, tears or holes may appear as a result of heavy equipment moving across it or debris being thrown on it.
Nail Pop
3. Flashing
Roofing flashings protect your roofing system from the weather by providing a weather-resistant barrier. Although it’s only a thin layer, it provides a barrier to prevent water from funneling into the building by letting water slide down the wall. Counterflashing extends under shingle joints, chimney ridges, and other metal structures, but if it does not adhere properly, water can get into those areas. An improperly installed drip edge, eve flashing, or sometimes even eve gutter system can cause eve rot or fascia rot on a home.
4. Open Laps
It is a common problem to have open laps on a roof due to poor installation work. This occurs when contractors fail to apply adhesive to the entire surface of a roof properly. These lappings may initially appear closed, but they will begin to open over time. There are several reasons why laps may need to be revised.
If In Doubt Get A Roof Inspection
- Too much or too little addhesive.
- Heat welding in the cold.
- Application to a dirty surface.
- A lack of time for settling.
5. Surface Coating
The surface coating of a roof is one of the most important components in protecting it from UV radiation and foot traffic. This type of coating is especially beneficial for EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) and ballasted roofs. The paint coating will no longer act as a protective layer if it is damaged, wears off, or becomes displaced. This means that maintenance is necessary.
8 Signs You Need a New Roof: Time for That New Roof
We’ve already mentioned a few extras to our eight signs you need a new roof list, but there are several other things we thought would be helpful. Among these, a few jump out at you right away, but others you may not have considered just needed to be included.
A simple repair or even a massive roofing repair will not fix all roofing issues. There are some issues that can only be overcome by replacing the roof entirely. It is better to purchase a new roof if any roof repair costs more than 33% of what a new roof would cost. 33% is an appropriate baseline when considering a replacement roof or repair. Here are a few signs that the time for replacing your roof may have come.
- Typical shingle edges or tabs are cupped or curled. Curled or cupped shingles indicate the shingles are dead. In other words, it looks like you are curling up the edge of a shingle a bit or cupping it like you are holding it. If a shingle becomes curled or cupped as a result of overheating, improper installation, cheap shingles, or improper ventilation, then it has reached the end of its useful life.
Overheated Shingles
- Bald spots and missing granules. A shingle issue can be caused by a number of different roofing issues. In some situations, shingles will appear to have holes and appear to be threaded with cotton or threads. A roof that shows this kind of wear and tear is sure to have real structural problems. Manufacturers’ defects, overheating, blistering, hail damage, and foot traffic can all lead to this type of problem.
- We would never be complete without adding cracked shingles to our list of 8 signs you need a new roof. Cracked shingles are typically found on roofs that have been overheated for an extended period of time. The cracks on these shingles usually run horizontally at the top and are caused by wind damage. Shingle wind damage bends the shingle up from the bottom, but the cracks run vertically from the top. In some cases, you can even see cracks on the shingles that look like they were baked in the oven due to overheating.
- The roof is 20 years old. There are some shingles that can last longer than this, but many factors can accelerate the aging process. When shingles aren’t properly ventilated, for example, they can weaken and last half as long as they should. Heat conditions in the Deep South are so extreme that shingles from the past rarely last the expected lifetime. Unlike older styles of shingles, modern shingles are built with algae resistance, are of much better quality, and have a longer lifespan. The chances of this happening are much higher if you buy high-quality shingles from a reliable manufacturer like Owens Corning, whose shingles come with a fifty-year warranty.
Warning Signs For A New Roof
- There is a similar amount of wear and tear on homes built around the same time, and this would be a prominant indication that you should have your roof inspected. A hail storm could have struck your neighborhood while you were out of town, and you wouldn’t have even known it unless your neighbors were getting new roofs because of it.
- With any old roof, you can expect a worn and aged appearance. It may still be able to shed water on your roof, but you’re just tired of seeing it all the time. It is inevitable that this roof problem will occur when your roof gets old enough.
- Dark streaks. There may be a bigger problem causing streaks on your roof, but it’s frequently simply the result of airborne algae. If this is the case, spray on a solution of 50:50 water and bleach to restore your roof’s appearance. Be sure to protect your landscaping from runoff, and use a low-volume garden hose to protect the granules. While this is not recommended due to the possibility of damage to the roof granules, it may not hurt if you are trying to delay getting a new roof for a few more months.
- Moss growth. In cool, moist climates, moss can grow if there is not enough sunlight. Unfortunately, this isn’t always an aesthetic problem. If you brush off moss without damaging shingles, it is likely to grow back as soon as you stop brushing. If you fail to brush off moss, it can trap water and even damage granules when freezing temperatures occur.
Another reason for needing a new roof soon or even immediately is the presence of missing shingles along the roof. Missing shingles are particularly prevalent in high-wind areas such as Tennessee. Missing shingles are much more common among homeowners with 3-tab roofing shingles than those with older architectural style roofing shingles. Despite their high quality, even very well-made 3-tab shingles are only rated for wind speeds up to 60 miles per hour. This is a pretty common occurrence in Memphis, Tennessee, and northern Mississippi. High nailing is another roofing problem causing your roof’s shingles to blow off or slide off during a Tennessee windstorm. Roofing crews often miss nail lines put in shingles by shingle manufacturers when shingles are high-nailed. At that point, the shingle will lose its strength and, over time, will simply slide down the roof if the nail is not placed in the nail line.
Shingles That Were High Nailed
A roofing issue called thermal shock happens all the time, but most people are unaware of its severity. Thermal shock is most extreme in the late fall or winter months. A 20-30 degree night is common in Tennessee, and temperatures can reach the mid-70s or even low 80s during the day. The temperature can change by almost 100 degrees when this happens, yes, almost 100 degrees. In Tennessee, where it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach 140 degrees or more on the roof, you can imagine how going from frozen to 100 degrees shocks the roof’s shingles over years and years.
8 Signs You Need A New Roof: The Conclusion
Several factors need to be taken into account before selecting a new roofing system, including the structure itself. Your roof should be resistant to UV rays and foot traffic if it is continuously exposed to them. EPDM membranes are perfect for dealing with this kind of thermal movement because they are less stretchy.
If you have a shingle roof, a metal roof, or a synthetic roof, anomalies will eventually become apparent over time. However, a top-rated roofing company’s maintenance program can minimize these roofing problems, thus extending the lifetime of your roof and reducing roof repair costs. Admiral Roofing offers free roof inspections to Memphis, Tennessee, and Northern Mississippi residents to ensure their long-term investments last. Contact Admiral Roofing today for a no-obligation, free roof inspection.
Ensure your home’s roof is in tip-top shape by having Admiral Roofing inspect it today. Your roof is the first and strong line of defense of your family against Mother Nature, so don’t neglect it.
Providing roofing services in Atoka, Collierville, Germantown, Tennessee, and Northern Mississippi, Admiral Roofing is a leader in the industry.
