Repair or Replace

12 Signs You Need a New Roof – Extend Your Roof’s Lifespan!

Some of these indicate your roofing needs replacement right now. Others are clues it won’t be long before you need a new roof.

  • Roof Leaks – Water staining or damage in your attic or on ceilings
  • Visible Deterioration – Cupping shingles, splitting shakes, cracked tiles, rusting metal
  • Missing Roofing – From wind damage, poor installation, walking on it
  • Algae Streaks – Washing will sometimes help
  • Sagging Roof Line / Spongy Roof – You’ll need a tear-off and the roof decking replaced
  • Daylight in the Attic – You need roof replacement “yesterday”
  • Storm Damage – Call your insurance agent to see what’s covered
  • Moss – Clear the moss, but moss traps moisture, and it might be too late
  • Blistering – Moisture below, a sure sign of needed roof replacement, causes blisters
  • Missing Flashing – Check around walls, dormers, and chimneys where water can penetrate
  • Granules in Your Gutters – The shingles are losing reflectivity, and shingle damage will soon follow
  • Your Roof is Just Old – See expected roof life estimates below, and plan ahead for a new roof

What Can Shorten the Life of Your Roof?

Most of these are preventable – all but the weather. Obviously, storms can damage a roof but many weather conditions could shorten its lifespan. Extreme heat or cold can cause asphalt shingles to become brittle, high winds can tear shingles and tiles, large hail can damage any kind of roofing material.

While none of us can change the weather, you can choose a roof best suited to your climate.

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Most Efficient Roofing Systems for Homes: How Much They Cost

The roof design is fundamental for an energy efficient home. You can have the most efficient air conditioning and space heating equipment in the market, but they will still waste energy if your roofing material is not an effective thermal barrier.

  • A roof that is constantly absorbing heat in summer leads to higher air conditioning costs.
  • A roof that loses too much heat during winter will drive up your heating and home maintenance costs.

To be energy efficient, a roof must accomplish two main functions. It must have a surface that reflects as much sunlight as possible away from your home, since this reduces heat gain during summer.

Your roof also needs adequate insulation, since this helps you save on HVAC costs all year long. Insulation reduces both summer heat gain and winter heat loss.

You can go one step further: there are now roofs with built-in solar cells, which means they can generate electricity all year long. In this scenario, the roof is not only acting as a thermal barrier for your home, but also as an onsite power generator.

As you can see in the monthly Consumer Price Index data, US electricity prices were up by more than 14% last year. Consequently, home solar systems have become more valuable since the electricity they generate is now worth more.

Here we will discuss three of the most efficient roofing options for homes:

  • Roof shingles with Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) and/or ENERGY STAR rating.
  • Metal roofs with CRRC and/or ENERGY STAR rating.
  • GAF Timberline Solar Shingles

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