Sunday, August 26, 2012

Should I try to fix my leaky roof myself?


Should I try to fix my leaky roof myself?

Many people believe that when they have something wrong with their home they should go ahead and fix it themselves. In a lot of cases that can be true but there are certain things in your home that you shouldn’t fix yourself. If you think of your home as the largest investment that you will ever make then you should understand that there are certain parts of the house that should be fixed by professionals.
One of those areas that you should have a professional fix or replace is the roof and roofing material that is covering it.

Your roof is the first line of defence when comes to defending your home against the endless assault that Mother Nature throws at it. Your roof takes the hot sun on it all day; it takes the brunt of the high winds, the driving rain, the dumping snow, the freezing rain and the pounding hail. No other part of your house is assaulted like the roof of your house.

And no other part of a house is installed or repaired more improperly then the roof of your home. I have personally repaired people’s roofs, roof’s that had been repaired by the homeowner creating an even bigger leak and then proceeded to fix the inside of their water damaged home. The homeowner tried to fix it themselves to save a thousand dollars, in the end it cost them over 10,000 dollars for all the drywall, flooring and paint that I had to repair and replace. That was money they could have saved if they had a professional repair it immediately after finding out they had a problem.

Roofing is like a lot of things, the best roofers are the ones with a lot of experience. This is how a lot of homeowners get themselves in trouble; they don’t have enough experience fixing roofs to know how to fix the leak properly.

There are so many things that can go wrong when you go onto a roof; here is just a small list of the things that you as the homeowner can cause;

If you don’t repair the leak properly you can actually make the leak worse. This happens when homeowners don’t understand how certain flashings work and how they interact with each other.

You can cause damage to the rest of the roofing material on the roof. A lot of products on your roof do not survive having heavy humans walking on top of it. Steel roofing can dent if you don’t know where to walk. If you have shingles nearing the end of their life you can actually create more leaks with every step you take while walking up the roof.

You can be seriously injured. Countless homeowners are severely injured or killed from falling off ladders or roofs every year.  Most people don’t realize how hard it is to walk around on a roof; one misstep or slip could send you rolling down the roof slope and down to the ground.

You can damage your eave trough and or facia. If you don’t know where to put your ladder you can easily damage the eave trough or the facia. Most eave trough is aluminum that dents fairly easily and once there is a dent there is no way to remove it unless you replace the trough.

You could be damaging the structure of your roof by repairing the shingles yourself. A lot of people don’t realize it but by the time that most people notice that you have a leak in your roof months have gone by of water penetrating the home. This can cause rot in the roof sheeting, the plywood or OSB that is on your roof can already be rotting or water damaged. This can cause the sheeting to fail the next time that there is any kind of load on it; snow or even you walking around on it. If it isn’t repaired when the roof is fixed this can lead to a whole host of structural problems in your roof and to a larger repair bill later.

You could disrupt the way the roof breaths. Roofs need to breath, they need to draw fresh air in through the soffits and allow hot moist air to escape through the top of the roof. These vents can easily be compromised if they are repaired or replaced by someone that doesn’t know what they are doing. If you disrupt this flow you can cause interior moisture problems or even mold issues.

Please have a professional fix your roof; it’s a small cost to protect the investment that you have already made in your home.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

23 comments:

  1. I would advise against it, you may not particularly maintain the skill it takes to precisely make sure your roof will be fine afterwards.

    -Adam Ahmed
    Waterproofing Brooklyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Repairing the roof needs some special skills. Firstly, you should have accurate information about the roofing materials which have to be used for proper roofing. So the best thing is that hire a local contractor to get best of the roofing services. As we all know that roof is the protective element of your house. So it should be well maintained always.

    Nashville Roofers

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I can’t say that DIY repairs are bad for your roof. It’s all well and good if you need a quick roof fix in case it’s raining and your roof’s leaking. But I still recommend getting professionals for the job. This is because they’re the experts in that field. They know the best roofing repair procedure for your specific roofing type and problem.
    Roslyn Petermann

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is a bit risky doing roof repairs on my own. I could cause more damage to it if I do not do it right the first. Better have the professionals do it for me.
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    ReplyDelete
  5. Well I guess one wouldn’t worry about DIY’s if they are indeed a professional who is experienced in repairing roofs. It would always be good to have some help in renovating the roof, since it could also be dangerous to climb and walk on softened or damaged roofing. Since hiring services would cost some dough, it would surely be good to find a good company to do the service, so research would come in play.

    Brendan Gertner

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey great stuff nice info your passing on.
    Ronnie Vanguard

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fixing roof leaks can absolutely be done by professionals and by yourself even. The important thing is that you are fully knowledgeable about this serious task and that you know the step-by-step process of fixing your roof. And next time, to avoid this certain dilemma, I suggest you have your roofs inspected as often as once a month for you to have an assurance that your roof is still in optimal condition.

    Rolf Matchen

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oftentimes, homeowners do not realize that fixing a roof has a rigorous process. It is not simply done by placing metal sheets or wooden planks on top of your house. I also suggest the same thing as you do, Rob. Hire a professional. It may cost more than a thousand bucks, but surely, it cost way less than a permanent damage to a roof due to lack of knowledge about roofing repairs and replacements.

    Elizabeth Hoffnung

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree with Bill that roof repair requires some special skills. Tread carefully and make sound decisions, since a mistake in repair might cost you even more in the long run, when the mistake leads to a bigger problem. It would always be good to ask some help when the task at hand seems to be beyond us.

    Becky Steele

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hiring a professional is definitely the best solution in fixing roof leaks. These professionals do not just fix your common roof damages, but they also provide you possible solutions on how to prevent and take good care of your roofs, so that this certain crisis will not happen again.

    Laurelle  Baughman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roof damage can range from minor to severe, and it is important to have an expert inspect your roof to determine the best options for repair.Roofing Contractor Melbourne

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  11. Really interesting post. I always need to ketchener and reinforce until someday I "get it". Go To

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  13. If you have attic access, the easiest way to track down a leak is to go up there with a flashlight and look for the evidence. There will be water stains, black marks or mold. But if access is a problem or you have a vaulted ceiling, you’ll have to go up onto the roof and examine the suspects.
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  14. Some really beautiful cuts. Keep the posts coming. Thanks RV Roof leaks Repair

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  15. Thanks for taking the time for reading it and commenting. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Not everyone can get up on a roof.If the roof leaks, there is no time to wait. Any delay in repairs can result in significant damage to your home interior. Contact your roofing contractor and inquire about an inspection and repair estimate. Your roofer provides guaranteed work.
    Roofing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a good point about the guarantee, fixing it yourself will bring you no guarantee.

      Delete
  17. Looking for a roof solution? Look no more! Check out roofing contractors bronx

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  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. Hiring the best roof repair professionals will ensure you of the quality and the finished job. This is also to avoid unnecessary petty problems that will arise because of poor handling of the work from a non experienced workers,
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