3 Simple Tips For Evaluating Your Roof

In an ideal world, everyone would keep perfect records of their home's maintenance history. You could check these records to determine the age of critical components such as your roof, furnace, or siding, allowing you to easily estimate when you're likely to need replacements. Of course, few people maintain these records, and even fewer homeowners inherit good records from previous owners.

As a result, you may need to guess about essential information such as the age of your roof. This lack of knowledge can make it challenging to determine whether it's time to replace your roof or if you can wait a few more years. While there's no substitute for a professional evaluation, these three tips will help you to learn a little bit more about your roof and understand if a replacement may be in your future.

1. Look for Granule Loss

An asphalt roof uses shingles covered in tiny granules of stone. These granules serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose and tend to also serve as an early indicator of an aging roof. In addition to giving your roof its color and appearance, the granules on your shingles protect the roof from the sun's ultraviolet rays and other environmental factors.

The process of granule loss begins as soon as you install your new roof. However, the slow degradation of your roofing tiles is usually not noticeable. If you see multiple shingles with bare spots or granules that seem to be shedding at an accelerating rate, that's a good sign that your roof is fairly old and that you may need a replacement soon.

2. Check for Widespread Curling

Curling is easy to spot, and you'll often be able to see it without getting onto a ladder. Curling typically describes a situation where the outer edges of a shingle begin to curl upward, creating a bowed appearance. Curling often starts as a relatively minor problem, but it progressively worsens as your roof ages.

Although several problems can cause curling, it's most commonly a symptom of old age. The shingles will inevitably go through many moist and dry cycles throughout their lifetimes, eventually causing them to begin to curl at the edges and pull away from your roof. Widespread curling across your entire roof is an excellent sign that it's time to install a replacement.

3. Investigate Signs of Damage

Roofs are highly vulnerable to environmental conditions and inevitably pick up damage over the years. Hail, heavy winds, deep snow, and blown debris can all impact your roof. These events might not cause much damage individually, but they can add up over time. Common signs of damage include pitting from hail, cracks from wind, torn shingles, and similar problems.

Although you can often repair localized damage, widespread damage is more challenging to address. More importantly, the presence of many types of damage in multiple areas indicates that your roof is probably fairly old. In these cases, replacement is often the best option.

Contact a company like NJ Roofing for more information.