Are you planning a roofing project for your home? One of the top decisions is whether to hire roofing experts or do it yourself. And while you might be convinced that your roofing job is simple enough for a DIY, it’s never advisable, particularly when dealing with critical projects. Instead, you should hire professionals to protect your roof and home. So, below are some of the top roofing services where using a qualified contractor is necessary.
Roof Installation
A new roof is an excellent home improvement project to invest in. It can offer you several benefits, from a great curb appeal to improved energy efficiency, increased health and safety of your home, a new roof warranty, improved home value, and more. Installation is also one of the top roofing projects where you should hire roofing experts instead of attempting a DIY job.
One of the top reasons to hire professionals during a roof installation is the amount of work involved. Apart from the roofing material, you may also need to install other structures like joists, collar beams, rafters, soffits, fascia, flashing, decking, underlayment, vents, and more. Therefore, attempting all this work on your own is impractical. Instead, you should hire professional roofers who can do the job efficiently.
The other top reason to hire professionals is the risk of a poor installation, which can lead to costly problems later. For example, a mistake during the installation can cause your roof to start leaking, thus causing water damage, mold growth, and foundation problems. These problems are costly to repair and can also inconvenience you and your family in many ways.
Lastly, according to Angi, poor installation is one of the top reasons that can void your roofing warranty and, potentially, even your homeowner’s insurance policy. Therefore, should any issues occur, you’ll have to pay for them out of your pocket. And even if you had installed the roof correctly, your insurance company can still claim you were at fault and reject your claim.
Roof Repair
Roofing issues like leaks, missing, damaged, or broken shingles can be a nightmare for any homeowner. Therefore, you should make urgent arrangements to fix them when they occur. And if you want to avoid problems, you should hire roofing experts for repairs instead of attempting to fix the issue yourself.
One of the top reasons to hire roofing contractors is that you might misdiagnose the problem when attempting DIY repairs. And even if you find the issue, you could miss out on hidden damages, for example, broken roof seams, damaged underlayment, or even a mold problem. Therefore, by attempting to fix your roof, you might leave your home exposed to other threats, which can cause costly damage.
The other danger of DIY repairs is that you can cause more damage to your roof. For example, in your attempt to replace a missing shingle, you might damage more of them or even cause a part of the roof to collapse. This can leave you in an even worse situation, where you must pay for more roof repairs.
Lastly, if you don’t know what you’re doing, it might take several attempts to get DIY repairs right or finally give up and call a contractor. Unfortunately, this will give your roofing issue more time to stew, leading to more extensive damage to your home. Therefore, you might waste a lot of time and money attempting to fix a small problem.
Roof Replacement
Replacing your old or damaged roof is another top home improvement project. And it can offer you many benefits, like enhancing your home’s beauty, safety, security, and energy efficiency. Therefore, it’s a vital task best handled by roofing experts.
But if you think you can replace your home’s roof alone, the cost ramifications might make you reconsider. According to HomeAdvisor, a replacement can cost anywhere between $5,764 and $46,000. Therefore, you’ll risk all this money by attempting to DIY it. So, it’s better to hire professional roofing services who can guarantee you a high-quality job that protects your roofing investment.
The other top reason to hire professionals for roofing replacement is the amount of work involved. Before installing the new roof, you must remove the existing one, including the roofing material, decking, underlayment, and other damaged structures. When you factor in the new roof install, you’ll find that a replacement project is a lot of work, which you can’t quite possibly handle by yourself, even when you have a few helping hands.
In addition, you can easily cause damage to your home when attempting to remove the old roof, especially if its structure has been compromised. Even worse, you can seriously injure yourself through a slip and fall or become exposed to health hazards like mold and asbestos. Therefore, you’re better off hiring roofing experts who have the necessary training and equipment to safely replace your roof.
Gutter Installation and Maintenance
Gutters are another part of your roof you can invest in to spruce up your home. And a gutter project might appear simple enough, tempting you into doing it yourself. However, it’s still critical enough that you should hire roofing experts to tackle it.
One of the top reasons to hire roofing professionals for a gutter project, especially an installation, is the high cost of gutter material. According to This Old House, a gutter installation typically costs between $1,000 and $7,000. Therefore, making a mistake during the installation can be costly. For example, you could damage your gutters or order materials based on the wrong measurements, incurring heavy losses.
Another danger of DIY gutter installation is the risk of damaging your home. For example, you could damage your roofing shingles or the fascia when installing your gutters. Additionally, a poor installation can cause water damage to your roofing, wall, floors, and foundation. And because of DIY repairs, your insurance company is unlikely to cover such damages, thus leading to costly home repairs.
Unfortunately, even something as simple as DIY gutter cleaning can have severe consequences. For example, during maintenance, you could cause costly damage to your gutters and roofing system. In addition, a gutter job requires you to use a ladder, from where you can easily fall. And according to the CDC, ladder falls cause thousands of serious injuries yearly, some even being fatal.
Re-Roofing
Re-roofing is another excellent home improvement roofing project you can invest in. It involves placing a new roofing material over the existing one, thus restoring its original appeal. Since you’re not replacing the roof structure, re-roofing is a cost-effective way to fix your home.
Besides the cost benefits, re-roofing offers several other advantages. For example, it helps to fix roof problems like water leaks, damaged shingles, and air leaks (thus, increasing your home’s energy efficiency). It also helps to prevent roofing problems from exacerbating into serious and costly issues and can restore your home’s curb appeal. Given the many benefits, hiring roofing experts to handle a re-roofing project for your home is vital.
However, several other reasons also make working with professional roofers when re-roofing your home crucial. One of the top ones is the increased risk of damaging your home. When re-roofing, you’re adding more weight to the existing roof structure. Therefore, if you’re not careful, you can easily cause damage or collapse of your entire roof system.
The other top reason to hire roofing experts is that you need a professional assessment to determine whether your home needs re-roofing or a complete roof replacement. For example, you shouldn’t re-roof your home if it has been re-roofed before or if the existing roof has experienced structural damage. Unfortunately, these are things that you might not easily tell when doing DIY roof repairs. Therefore, you’re better off hiring a residential roofing company that offers expert advice and handles your project with utmost care and safety.
Roof Maintenance
According to the National Roof Certification and Inspection Association, maintenance is one of the most critical roofing projects you can invest in. Properly maintaining your roof ensures that it remains functional while helping to extend its longevity. Therefore, given how critical maintenance is, you should always hire roofing experts for the job.
But in case you’re still considering DIY roof maintenance, there are several reasons you should think twice. The most important one is that maintaining your roof can help to spot hidden issues and fix them before they worsen. Therefore, trying to skimp out on maintenance by not hiring roofing companies is a horrible idea. Chances are, you’ll soon start experiencing problems like leaks, water damage, and mold growth, which will cost you a lot to fix.
The other danger of DIY roof maintenance is that you cause extensive damage to your home. When walking on the roof, you can easily damage the shingle or other structures if the roofing is unstable enough. This can leave you with a huge repair bill. Worse, you can easily fall off the roof, resulting in severe injuries or even death.
Lastly, roof maintenance is vital to your roof’s warranty and homeowner’s insurance. Therefore, by failing to hire a professional, your insurance company and the roofing material manufacturer might deem you negligent in maintaining your roof. Consequently, this can void your cover, forcing you to incur the costs of any subsequent damage to your roof.
Roof Cleaning
Roof cleaning is a great way to care for your roofing system and home. It offers many benefits, like removing debris, moss, algae, and vegetation growth. It also helps to restore your home’s curb appeal and extend your roofing system’s longevity. But while cleaning seems like a simple job that you can DIY, hiring roofing experts is a better idea.
One of the top reasons to hire residential roofing services to clean your roof is the equipment and supplies needed. For example, you need pressure washing equipment, safety equipment, and cleaning chemicals. Hiring a professional saves you from the trouble of acquiring all these supplies yourself.
The risk of damaging your home is another reason you should always use local roofing contractors. Using the wrong cleaning products can easily damage your shingles during DIY roof cleaning. In addition, using too much pressure when power washing can damage your shingles and cause water to leak deep into your roofing system. This can cause problems like water damage, mold growth, and a roof leak.
Lastly, DIY roof cleaning is dangerous; first, you must walk on the roof, where you can easily fall and injure yourself. On top of that, water, algae, and other debris can make your roof more slippery, increasing the risk of a fall. According to the CDC, you can also inflict serious injuries on yourself and other people when operating a pressure washer. Therefore, hiring roofing professionals for the job is a much safer option.
Roof Inspection
A roof inspection is another vital service that can help to protect your roof. With regular inspections, you can spot problems at their onset, making it easy for you to fix them before they require costly repairs. Inspecting your roof can also be useful when selling your home, as it can identify potential issues that can delay or cause the deal to fall through.
Given how vital roof inspections are, it’s another service where you should hire roofing experts. Working with a professional will ensure your roof is properly inspected, identifying all the hidden issues. On the other hand, if you decide to do a DIY inspection, you’re likely to miss some signs of roof problems, which can lead to costly repairs in the future.
The other benefit of hiring a professional for roofing inspection is that it protects your warranty and insurance coverage. After all, inspections are a vital part of roof maintenance, making it essential to conduct them properly. So, if you choose to do a DIY inspection, you can void your warranty, leaving you to incur heavy roofing repair or replacement costs.
Lastly, working with a professional roofing inspector helps to guarantee your safety. That’s because they have been properly trained to safely conduct an inspection. In addition, according to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, inspectors must follow several safety guidelines, including using safety equipment and avoiding dangerous situations. Therefore, they can protect themselves and you from fall hazards, leading to severe injuries or death.
Your roof is one of your home’s most valuable assets, so you should care for it by hiring roofing experts. On top of that, working with professionals helps you avoid DIY mistakes that can lead to costly roof and property damage or even jeopardize your life. So, the next time you consider any of the above roofing services, call a roofing expert.