Replacing a roof is no small undertaking in terms of expense, so most people put it off as long as possible. Sometimes, though, when a roof has developed problems, a choice must be made between replacing the whole thing or doing targeted repairs.
Even that choice can be murky. Say you fix one area of the roof only to find that another area then needs repairs. You rightly wonder if you’ll end up paying for a bunch of separate repairs when you should have just gone ahead and replaced the roof.
Usually, the wisest course of action in this scenario is to call in a professional roofer. Get the problems assessed by the expert. Then you can take the recommendations and figure out your next steps.
Factors to Weigh in the Repair/Replace Decision
Before you call for professional advice, look at a few factors that may influence your decision to repair or replace the roof.
The Age of The Roof
Your roof’s age is especially relevant to your repair/replace choice if it’s clad in asphalt shingles. Shingles are a cost-friendly roofing material, but they don’t last a long time, especially if they weren’t high quality to begin with. Getting 15 to 20 years out of asphalt shingles is fairly typical. After that, much of their granule cover has worn off, some are probably missing, and others are brittle, lifting, and warping.
If you’ve got an asphalt shingle roof that’s getting up there in age, consider replacing it.
The Appearance of The Roof
If the damage is localized, you’ll be tempted to just fix that section. But unless you saved a stash of extra materials from the initial installation, the patch of that section with new materials will likely look different from the rest of the roof. Even if the roofer can order the same color, the shingles will come from a different batch than the batch of 15 years ago. The new shingles or tile may still stand out. Do you care? That’s the question to ask yourself.
What You Can Afford
This point loops back to our opening paragraph. Even with financing, can you swing 13-16 grand right now for an asphalt shingle re-roof? It makes the prospect of a slightly mismatched repaired section look less disagreeable. Furthermore, if you don’t plan to sell the home any time soon, you might decide to put up with the appearance flaw.
On the other hand, if you can afford to replace the roof and not have to look at that off-colored patch for ten years, you might go for it.