4 Important Ways to Tell If Your Roof Was Installed Correctly Right Now
There’s a reason people often say they’re thankful for the “roof over their head”. It’s because very few aspects of a home are more important than the roof. Whether your house’s roofing is brand new or has been there for years, it’s important to know for sure that it’s been installed correctly. The good news is that there are 4 helpful ways that you can tell if your home’s roof has been installed correctly or incorrectly.
How to Tell If Your Roof Is Installed Correctly
Combined with its often simple appearance, great roofing might not seem very complicated. But that’s far from the truth. In fact, there is a lot going on under the hood, as it were. The four indicators below are just a snapshot of the full picture, but they do a good job of helping a homeowner determine the state of their roof at a glance.
1. Check the flashing.
First and foremost, you can do a quick check of your flashing, which is the narrow, often galvanized steel material that gets installed on roofs to send water away from important areas. Flashing installation is often near chimneys, vents, or skylights. If the flashing is pulling up from the roof itself, then there’s a good chance it’s incorrectly installed and needs to be fixed or replaced. If it’s rusted or peeling, then it may simply be old, but that needs to be replaced as well.
2. Look for a uniform appearance.
A simple “trick” to see if your roof is correctly installed is the eye test. In other words, does it look the same all over? Is there uniformity across the entire roof, as far as you can see? If there are patches that don’t look the same as the rest, then you may have improperly installed roofing that needs to be corrected or replaced.
3. Check the shingles for proper nailing or overhang.
Good roofers worth their salt will always properly nail down your shingles, as well as prevent excess overhang. When correctly installed, the edges of your shingles will hang over a roof around 1” — 1 ½”, or about ½” — ¾” for drip edge flashing. If you have excess, then shingles can blow off with too much wind. If you don’t have enough, then water may drip down into rake or fascia boards. Do you notice that some of your shingles are coming up, sliding, or simply hanging askew? Then there’s a solid possibility that your roofing was installed poorly and needs an inspection.
4. Inspect for rotted roof decking.
Finally, as with any part of your home, rotting is always a bad sign. With your roof, it can even be dangerous. A rotted roof may ultimately collapse in on itself, which may cause serious injury to you and your loved ones. Do an “eye check” every now and then to observe your roof and the surrounding areas for any signs of rotting. If you notice any, call a professional roofer right away to give it a closer look.
How to Avoid Bad Roofing Work in the First Place
With all this in mind, you may be wondering how to avoid major roofing problems in the first place. That’s a question we get a lot. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid having poorly or incorrectly installed roofing right from the start.
First, hire a local. The roofers in your city, town, or county will know the specifications for the homes in your area and can ensure that the right materials are used and guidelines followed. Another benefit of hiring locally? You can probably ask around town to see if the company in question is any good. Chances are someone has hired them for their own roofing project in the past.
Second, interview any potential roofer upfront and ask for official paperwork and contact information. If they don’t have a physical location, then they probably aren’t legitimate. If they can’t provide documentation, then thank them for their time and run for the hills.
In all seriousness, local roofers are always preferable to an out-of-town company that probably doesn’t know the area, the materials typically used there, or the local restrictions that might be in place. Hire locally to get the best roofing installation every time.
Local Roofing Done Right
Nobody wants to end up with a bad roofing job, especially if you’ve just paid out your ears for the work to be done. Thankfully, there’s a local team that knows exactly how to handle any roofing problem or situation. Hire the folks here at Rennison Roofing to inspect your existing roof for proper installation, to do routine maintenance and repairs, or to install a brand new roof on your home. Give us a call or email today to see how we can help you with any roofing issue you may have, now and for years to come.