Most homeowners in Fort Collins, CO don’t worry about their roof until after a problem develops. If you have noticed a leak, it might not mean that you have to get the entire roof replaced. Sometimes small problems can be repaired, and delay the need for a costly roof replacement. How do you know if your roof needs to be fully completely replaced or not? Continue reading to get a rough idea of what steps will need to be taken to make sure your home is protected with proper roofing in Fort Collins, CO.
How Old is Your Roof?
According to most experts, a properly installed roof should last around 25 years. If your roof is more than 20 years old, you should probably be looking at getting it re-roofed. If you are noticing that the little granules are coming loose from the shingles, this is a good sign that your roof is near the end of its life cycle. You might notice a lot of granules collecting in the gutter, or you might be able to tell by looking at the shingles if they look like a lot of the granules have come loose. Another sign to look for is peeling and curling shingles. If you look along the angle of the roof line, you might be able to tell if the shingles are curling up a bit and peeling back. Another thing you can look for is daylight shining in through your roof. You might not see any problems from the outside. However, if you go inside the attic and you can see light coming through between the boards in places, that is another good sign that you need to re-roof the whole thing. One more thing you can check is the flexibility of the shingles. On a warm day, if you pick up the edge of a shingle and try to bend it up, if it is near the end of its useful life, it will crumble and break off. If your shingles are still good for a while, it should bend up and flop back down when you let go without breaking.
Multiple Layers
It is a common practice for a roof to be re-shingled right on top of the existing roof. Usually building codes will say that there can be no more than two layers of shingle on a roof. This is not because it will cause problems with the roofing materials, but because the structure of your house can only support a certain amount of weight. The good news is if you only have one layer of shingles on your roof now, you can save money. It is alright to have the new roof put on right on top of the existing one.
