The maintenance of a home these days can get very expensive. If you are a homeowner you know the expense of even small repairs can be outrageous. Letting repairs get out of control by not taking care of those small roof repairs can turn into a large job and a large expense as well. Staying on top of any repairs in the beginning stages is always an advantage to a smart home or business owner. Ignoring that small repair can only lead to a large headache.
One of the greatest expenses for a homeowner is having to replace a roof. Having to replace a roof even on a smaller home can cost thousands of dollars. So it is vitally important to inspect your roof twice a year to maintain the health of your roof. Taking care of any repairs during those inspections can keep you from having to replace your entire roof. Damaged shingles can seriously compromise the life of your roof.
Inspecting your roof means you will have to get on your roof to have a close look at your shingles and evaluate the condition of your roof. Any time you have to get on your roof always put safety first. Make sure you use sturdy ladders, appropriate footwear, gloves, never take unnecessary chances. When walking on the roof be sure to walk slowly and don’t get distracted and lose your footing. If the roof is steep a harness is a necessity. Don’t take chances, use your head.
Walk the entire roof finding the damaged shingles. There may only be a single shingle or there may be several. Assess the damage so you will know how to address the problem. Look for missing shingles, cracked shingles, and shingles where the nails are backing out. Some shingles may be old and decayed or dried out and broken. In this case, the shingles may not be repairable. If the damage is greater than you expected you might want to replace the entire roof.
To remove a split or broken shingle use a crowbar to loosen the adhesive and lift revealing the nails underneath. Lift each nail with your crowbar so you can loosen and remove the damaged shingle. You will need to find matching shingles to replace the damaged ones and that can be challenging in itself. Over a period of time shingles tend to fade or you may not even be able to find that particular shingle anymore. Once you’re ready to install the new shingle position it into place lining it up with the existing row of shingles and nail it into place.
Now use roofing cement to stick the new shingle down on top of the existing shingle below it. Once you have completed that shingle moves on to the next damaged shingle repeating the process. You should make sure you have replaced or repaired all the shingles on your roof by once again inspecting the entire roof.
