Do You Need to Repair or Replace your Roof? – By your Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Do You Need to Repair or Replace your Roof? – By your Friendly Vancouver Mortgage Broker

A sound roof in good repair keeps your home dry and protects the inside from damage. It’s also a place many people tend to ignore until the damage begins to creep inside. You can take it from your friendly Vancouver mortgage broker that many prospective home owners do not take the time to check the roof.

A good home inspector can evaluate and eyeball potential problems fairly quickly and put a kibosh on whether your home sells. All roofing materials used whether it has asphalt shingles or cedar shingles, and some of the more common materials, will wear down and deteriorate. A good wind storm can also cause damage.

A damaged roof may not necessarily be immediately apparent, but you’ll know quickly enough when the bedroom ceiling collapses and drenches you while you’re sleeping. Obviously, it’s too late.

Each year in the spring and especially after a vicious wind storm, take the time to perform a thorough examination of your roof. If you can spot the tell tale signs of looming roof damage before you end up with leaks and mould problems, you can save yourself a lot of grief and added expense.

With newer roofs you may only need some localized repairs but if wear and tear appears all over the roof then you should seriously give thought to replacing in its entirety.

Here are the major signs of potential problems that show your roof needs attention.

• Are any of your shingles missing?
• Are any or some or many of the shingles curled, appear blistered, cracked or are there bare patches?
• Is your roof showing significant signs of discolouration?
• Do you see signs of leakage such as stains or mould in the attic, or is the insulation damp?
• Are any wet spots appearing anywhere in the ceiling?
• Is the metal flashing showing signs of rusting
• Are there patches of moss or mould on the shingles?
• Does the roof sag at all anywhere? Here you should also take particular note of the roof ridge.
• Is water pooling anywhere on some of the flatter areas of the roof?
• Does ice dam up in winter as that can melt under the eaves and can cause damage. Ice should freely melt from the roof if the attic is insulated enough.

These are all serious signs that roof needs attention. Some simple repairs can be done by those who are handy with DIY projects. Small repair task such as caulking, replacing the flashing or a few shingles can be performed so long as you have the proper skills.

If you have to replace your roof in its entirety, you will need to budget to hire a roof contractor for the job, because it does involve a fairly major expense.

It would also be to your advantage that you take the time a skilled, licensed and established roof contractor who has a solid reputation. Take it from your friendly Vancouver mortgage broker and do some research before you pick any name out of the yellow pages. A mediocre roofer who doesn’t know their business can cause a lot more headaches and added expense than they are worth.