Roof repair or roof replacement – what are my options?

Here at George J Keller & Sons, LLC we’ve been climbing on roofs a long time – over 40 years at this point! One question we get asked on a regular basis is “Can I repair my roof rather than replace it?” The conventional wisdom here being that repairing the roof is going to be faster and cheaper than replacing the roof.

Here are a few factors for you to consider when considering repair over replacement:

Can I repair this roof?

Age of roof

If you roof is in the 15-20 year old range chances are that you’ll need a new roof soon if not immediately. Over 20 years and its almost 100% guaranteed that you’ll need to replace your roof. Under 15 years and you might be able to repair sections – just bear in mind that repairing roof sections isn’t necessarily less expensive per section than replacing the whole roof. You might be postponing the inevitable and paying more because of it.

Visible defects / Falling roof material

If your shingles are curling or are buckled then you are probably a good candidate for replacing your roof. If shingle granules or even chunks of shingles are falling from the roof this could be a symptom of serious situation. Collection of debris in certain areas especially roof valleys might be hiding damaged shingles and could be a source of leaks and the cause of ice dams.

Mold / Moss

The formation of mold and/or moss on a roof is as a result of live bacteria eating away at the shingles. Cleaning the surface of the roof is often in vain as the most serious attack is happening under the shingles and the chemicals required for cleaning can also damage the shingles. The major shingle manufacturers all now produce shingles that are much more mold & moss resistant so often replacing the roof is a much better long term solution.

Roof already has two layers of shingles

If your roof already has two layers of shingles and you are experiencing problems then building codes mandate that you have to tear off both layers and start from scratch.

Do-it-yourself issues

Roofing repairs are often referred to as something that the home owner can do themselves. After many years of experience and thousands of roofs we can tell you that most roofing jobs are NOT something that the average homeowner can handle. Getting on and off a roof is a learned skill and handling the specialist tools required to do the work on the roof is not something that most weekend do-it-yourselfers can manage.

If you have any questions regarding whether your roof can be repaired or whether it needs to be replaced please give George J Keller & Sons, LLC a call at 973-927-0963 and we’ll have one of our roofing experts stop by and give you their expert opinion.