How to tell if you need a new roof

[jjacobs]

Hi-

We are thinking it's time to get a new roof. The house was built in 1982 and it still has the original roof. The thing is, the roof looks good/great from the outside and from the inside the attic everything looks good too--so how are you suppose to know when to replace a roof that you maybe can get another few years out of. Our ceilings don't have nay leak marks, so what can we look at int he attic to see if the roof is still good?

Thanks

[pushkins]

Your roof is 24 years old and for most shingle materials this is "getting on in age".
Generally speaking the cheaper the shingle the shorter lifespan. Some can be as low as 10 years.

The fact that the shingles still look good and let in no water is not the best way to determine their longevity. Shingles as they age past their use by date wont always let in copious amounts of water but they will "weep" water in and that can be far worse as it's not ever as noticeable.

Some simple things to look at are:
Shingle curl (shingles edges starting to curl, this can also be from lack of proper ventilation)
Granular loss (areas on shingles where the surface is now smooth and without the granular coating)

[Longdog]

I Agree

I agree w/last post.Now if you have the money for new roof go for it.Because once the leaks come then your talking big money.

[jjacobs]

quote

For a 1700 sq. ft. roof is $3400 a reasonable estimate for 25 year shingles and a complete rip off?

[kactuskid]

That's a pretty good price, just wondering what all it includes. What part of the country do you live in. If you live in the north then you'll want a product called Ice & Water shield installed along the roof perimeter that extends 3' up from the edge. You'll also want to have sufficient ventillation installed, like a ridge vent. This allows your soffit vents to intake air and discharge it out through the ridge.

What type of shingles are these? Best is to install 3 dimentional shingles (laminate). And are they also installing 15 or 30 # felt? Also need to have a special roof vent installed to discharge your bathroom exhaust fans up and out to the outside.

And one last thing, new flashing should be installed around your chimeny, plumbing stacks and in any valleys. And, if you have any areas where a wall meets the roof you'll want flashing installed at these joints to keep the siding at minimum 1" above the roofs surface to prevent rot and leaks.