How Do You Tell If Your Home Will Need a New Roof?

In this section of Home Inspectors New York we will go over what to look for or what
your home inspector should be looking for.

One of the things home inspectors look for is a new roof.
The reason for this if you were to need a new roof it could be a rather
expensive item. The National Roofing Contractors Association or NRCA for short
recommends checking your roof twice a year in the fall and spring. Certainly
then when you are buying a new home that is one of the things to check out.

Some obvious things that you can spot on your own are things
like water damage or leaking, dark spots or if light is showing through your
roof. Let me explain each one.

If from the outside you can see there are parts of the roof
that are sagging by simply looking from a distance that is an indication that
you will more than likely need a new roof. Your home inspector should then be
telling you something that you will now already suspect in your own mind.

If you are able to see spots on the outside of the roof so
that the color is not similar to the rest of the roof again this is a clear
sign of needing a new roof. If you have light showing through the roof from the
inside this too is something you or a home inspector should pick up right away.

Also if there are trees growing near the house they can have
branches that reach over the home. If that is the case you may want to have
them trimmed and you would also check the roof for dark spots or moss that
grows as a result. This will weaken the roof and would lead a home inspector to
tell you that you require a new roof.

You can also look at your rain gutters for roof shingle
debris that may have washed into the gutter. If there are parts in there from
your roof that is a good sign that you would need to have those shingles
repaired, replaced or that your entire roof needs replacing.

It is interesting to
note that the boards that support the roof shingles play an important part as
well. My friend for example decided to use press wood rather than cedar when
replacing the roof boards in his roof. This was cheaper, however the estimate
is about eight years difference on the life of the roof. Though every roofer
and home inspector would differ on how much is saved by using real wood.

One of the main points in addition to looking for the clues
we have just described is the age of the roof of the home you are looking to
buy. If the roof is more than fifteen to twenty years old then even if the roof
is fixed it may be that you would in the near future need a new roof. Therefore
before buying the home you most certainly want to ask about the age of the
roof. Make sure your home inspector has covered this with you.

A roof is certainly important to any home; any new home
buyer would want to make sure that is sound. But having to spend on a new roof
when one is not prepared for it is not fair and that is where both an educated
buyer and a good home inspector can really help.