Things to Know Before Your Roof Replacement
Roof Replacement: Your home’s roof is arguably the most important structural pieces of your home. After all, it keeps water out of your living area. While nobody likes having to pay to replace a roof, it’s necessary, and while the price is high, ensuring a quality job helps all the trouble be worth it in the end!
1.)Know Your Options
Some roofing professionals don’t worry much about customer satisfaction since replacing a roof is a once-every-few-decades job, which implies they don’t need to count on your recurring business.
Plus, many property owners (incorrectly) pick their roofer based mainly on price, and lots of cheap roofers employ low-wage employees so they can provide the most affordable possible bids. All of which is to state: You have to be very mindful whom you work with.
Get referrals from next-door neighbors (or tradespeople or lumber backyards) that you trust, and check major roofing manufacturer websites for lists of licensed installers. Ask the roofer to supply proof of insurance as well as reference BEFORE you start your roof replacement. Also make sure you ask about materials, maybe synthetic slate or natural cedar roofing is a better option for your home. Having these conversations before you even start will save you lots of headaches
2.) Strip Away The Old
You can have up to 2 layers of asphalt shingles on your roof, so if there’s only one in place now, you can have a new layer set up right on top. That will conserve you as much as $1,000 and a fair bit of mess, however it means the roofer cannot examine and fix the decking and flashing beneath. Which could cost you more later if there is moisture below the first layer of shingles.
If you live in a cold environment, stripping away the old roof enables the contractor to install ice and water shields. These are rubber membranes utilized to prevent leakages at the eaves in case of ice accumulation. The tear-off gets a lot more complex if you have something aside from asphalt up there: If you can see original wood shingles on the underside of your roofing system when you’re up in the attic, you’ll need not just to tear everything off, but also to set up brand-new plywood decking, all which most likely adds $5,000 or more to your expenses.
3.) Shop High Quality
To make sure you do not have to stress over your roof once again– and give you some selling points when you’re ready to move– go for high-quality products. That indicates: 50-year-shingles (shingles with the longest available service warranty add simply $300 to $500 to your overall expense) with an “architectural” appearance (differing color and thickness that develops upscale character for simply $250 to $750 additional). You’ll likewise want to go with copper flashing, the most resilient metal for sealing the joints where a roofing system fulfills a wall or another roof, which might add $1,000 or more compared to aluminum.
While this makes the project more expensive, it pays off in the long-run. If you sell your house it will be worth more due to the quality of materials and how good it looks! Home selling appraisers like to see quality and newer materials on homes as it makes them easy to sell, so consider this roof replacement a worthy investment.
4.) Take note of the paperwork.
For such a quick task– two to five days, depending upon the size and style of the roofing– roofing includes a remarkable quantity of liability and money. Three documents are essential if you want to have fewer problems later:
1.) Many towns need a building authorization for a roofing task; this can help to ensure that your specialist follows building regulations. This is essential as building codes and laws can incur hefty fines if ignored.
2.) A written agreement that defines all the agreed-to details, products, and expenses of the job. Make sure there is a discussion and section for things like hidden damage and other unforeseen circumstances
3.) A letter resolved to you from the contractor’s insurance coverage provider verifying that the particular task is covered under the roofing contractor’s worker’s settlement and liability strategy. Insurance is your best protection from accidents!
Here are a few more articles we are recommending for you.
- How to Select A Top Local Roofing Contractor
- When Is It Time to Get My Roof Repaired?
- How to Tell When You Need A Roof Repair
- The Facts About Roofing Repair