Roof Repair Tips

Keeping the elements out of your home is important to every home owner. The last thing you want to worry about is having to deal with rain, sleet, or snow leaking into your house from your ceiling and causing a huge mess. Water damage to your home is expensive to repair and can cause other problems that might not be evident at the time. Fixing the damaged areas will only last until the next rain or snow storm if you don't fix the cause of the damage. Roof repair can help keep the water out of your home and keep the damage from happening again.

If you are handy around the house, then you might be able to do some of the roof repair yourself. If that is the case then there are a few things to remember. First off the shingles aren't the only thing that needs to be replaced in order to fix the leak. The underlying boards must be damaged in order to let water through. That means once you find the area that is leaking you need to remove the shingles, and the felt to get to the boards. All of this must be replaced in order to repair the leak.

If, during your roof repair, you are faced the fact that the leak is coming not from damage to the shingles or boards underneath it is coming from a chimney or vent don't panic. These areas are actually more common in the leak department than people realize. Often you'll just have to take away the shingles around the base of the vent or chimney and replace the flashing. This will give it a new water tight seal. Once that is replaced then you will have to put down new shingles as before.

Often times a patch job will take care of the problem. But as with anything, your roof will eventually wear out. When that happens you will need to strip it of all shingles and felt and replace them all. This will also give you a chance to inspect the underlying boards for damage and around any vents or chimneys you may have. You can take the time to replace any damaged boards and flashing before replacing the felt and then adding the new shingles on top of it. A new layer of shingles should last you anywhere from 10 to 20 years as long as there is no damage from outside forces such as hail, wind, or trees.

Roof repair doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. If the entire area needs to be replaced or you are unsure of what to do then you might want to consider hiring a professional to do the work for you. If you are filing an insurance claim to have them replace it then you'll have to have someone do the work for you even if you are handy. Be sure to do your homework on all the potential roofers in your area so that you are sure you get good quality work.