Five Signs You Need a New Roof
It’s no secret. As the years pass, your asphalt shingles age and will eventually need to be replaced. The average age of an asphalt shingle roof is approximately 8-10 years-give or take a few years depending upon how extreme the weather conditions are in your area. But when shingles exhibit any of the following signs, you should consider replacing your old shingles with new before more serious troubles can have a chance to happen.
Visible Damages
This is the easiest of all shingle damages to spot. As shingles age, they become more brittle and weaken. Visible damages such as multiple broken shingle tabs/tiles are quick to spot and should be replaced right away before more costly damages from a leaky roof can occur. But when storm damages break shingles, they can often be repaired without replacing the entire roof.
Penetrations
It’s not just the asphalt shingles that age-your roofing sealants, flashings and lead boots all take a pretty good beating from Mother Nature. Cracked sealants, rusted flashing and peeled membranes should all be inspected by a professional roofing contractor right away. In most cases, a reroof will be necessary, but every so often, products fail and may warrant a simple replacement versus an entire shingle reroof.
Dark Patches
When areas of your roof where shingles that face the sunlight predominately exhibit dark patches on their surface, you can be sure that you’ll need a new roof soon. Shingles are covered with a layer of stone granules that protect the asphalt layer from sunlight degradation. As they stone wears away, the asphalt is exposed and leaves the telltale “black patches” that signal it’s time for a new shingle roof.
Gutter Granules
The darker color the shingle, the harder it is to tell if the granules are wearing away. If you have gutters-or even if you don’t-when excessive amounts of roofing granules are in gutters, valleys or around downspouts, you can be sure that your roof is ready to be replaced as soon as possible, before a roof leak has a chance to take you by surprise.
Curling/Cupping Shingles
Attic ventilation plays an important role in alleviating the high temperatures that plague an attic space. If they can’t escape through conventional ventilation means, then they can have a chance to affect the shingles above them. Curled edges or cupping is a common symptom of poor attic ventilation and should be addressed before replacing your worn out cupped shingles.
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