The national average roof repair cost is approximately $700.
It is critical to have a professional roofer inspect and maintain your roof every 3 to 5 years.
Maintaining a sound roof is literally at the top of the list of crucial home repairs. Your roof is your home’s defense against the weather and keeping you and your family warm and dry. If you notice any damage or signs of wear call Ideal Roofing and Exteriors immediately. A quick roof repair will keep water from seeping under the shingles and rotting the wood sheathing beneath, possibly saving you the unexpected expense of a roof replacement which could cost hundreds of dollars. If your roof is more than 15 years old and most of the shingles are damaged or badly worn, it’s time to replace it.
If you have water stains that extend across your ceilings or are running down your walls, the source is probably a roof leak. Most roof leaks are similar in nature and are caused by the same types of problems.
These include:
- Blown off or missing shingles — Regardless of the material they’re made of, shingles are prone to lifting up due to high winds. Lighter materials suffer from this more than heavier, but even heavy asphalt shingles can peel up and blow away, leaving your underlayment and roof deck exposed to the elements.
- Bad or leaking pipe flashing — The vent pipes on your roof sit underneath your roof material. They are usually well-sealed, but corrosion of the pipe flashing or of the sealant can allow water to seep through to the interior.
- Chimney/skylight step flashing — Chimney flashing can leak if high winds pull it away from your chimney or roof, or if the sealant is compromised. Skylights are trickier to diagnose. What looks like a leak can just be condensation. However, a cracked skylight or worn seals can allow leaks to form.
- Valleys — Valleys are the little gutters that run down interior angles on your roof. Flashing can be damaged by lifting tiles, fungus build up, or improper cleaning. Since the bulk of the rainwater is going to be channeled down these valleys by the laws of gravity, it’s imperative to be sure they are not damaged.
- Ice dams — Ice dams form when melted snow refreezes on your roof. This creates a wall that won’t allow other runoff to drain into your rain gutters or otherwise leave your roof.
- Low slope/inadequate roof pitch — Low slope roofs are susceptible to wind damage almost as much as flat roofs. They also often don’t provide good runoff in regions that see a lot of rain. Ponds can often form when rafters sag due to age and weight.
If you notice any of these signs, you should call Ideal Roofing and Exteriors – your roof repair specialist – immediately to get the problem fixed.
Leaks due to weather or improper installation can be difficult to locate and repair.
Roof leaks during extended periods of cold weather, or during storms in the summer, are certainly due to poor flashing. Soffits that intersect on a roof are difficult to waterproof, leaving an area susceptible to leaks. The solution begins with good flashing since this should stop leaks from rainfall and might stop the leaks from ice dams as well. An ice dam occurs when snow melts and the water freezes when it hits the colder edges of your roof. Eventually, water pools behind the dam and works its way back up under the shingles and under the soffit until it finds an opening through the roof. Depending on how the roof sections join, the cause could be sliding metal step flashing behind the fascia board (the trim behind the gutter) or the valley flashing, which is laid over the joint where the two roof sections meet and should overlap the step flashing by at least 2 inches.