Estimating Your Roofing Costs For Repair Or Replacement

The structural integrity of any building structure such as a business or home

, relies on a solid roof. A properly insalled roof also helps to manage energy costs. When damage to a roof happens, the costs involved help determine whether the roof gets replaced or repaired. Costs are determined based on the materials and labor that will be required. Additional damage could occur over time if proper action is not taken quickly.

A roof can sustain damage in many ways. All types of weather, wind, rain, snow and ice may cause shingles to loosen, lift or sometimes fall off. Storms may be the cause of structural damage as may falling trees or fire. Leaks, decay and algae are other signs of long term trouble. A rule of thumb to guesstimate whether it is time to replace your roof is when a third of it has been damaged, it might be time to consider replacement.

In order to decide what to do, a good idea is to estimate the size of the area that will either be repaired or, in case of the entire roof, replaced. You will want to be as precise as you can since roofing materials may be pricey. Roofs are measured in squares. One square is one ten foot by ten foot section. The first thing to do is find out the length and width of you home and multiple those together. This give you the square footage.

You are not done, however. Roofs have another dimension, height. This is referred to as the pitch. The slope or pitch of a roof is expressed as a ratio. For example, three to twelve, meaning the roof rises three feet for every twelve feet in length. There are low, medium and high pitched roofs. The higher the pitch, the more difficult it is to repair or replace which will affect the cost.

Now you can calculate the size of your roof in three dimensions. Multiply the factor for the pitch by the square footage. This tells you how much materials will be needed. If you find out the cost of a square foot of whatever type of material you will need, you can multiply those tow together and come up with a rough estimate for materials.

If your roof has multiple layers, this will affect your labor costs. Sometimes, roofs are repaired by going right over the old roof with the new. Sometime, however, they need to be stripped and replaced. Multiple layers require more stripping and more clean up too.

What type of material you choose depends on the climate where your home is built. Certain climates are more appropriate for certain types of roofs. Ceramic tiles, as is often seen in the southeast United States, would be destroyed by the winter in the northeast. Whichever material you choose, multiply the cost by the size of the area that you are replacing or repairing. If you are repairing your roof frequently, it may be time to invest in a full replacement.

Roofing costs will influence whether you choose to repair or replace your roof. If you need more advice or information, it may be worthwhile to speak to a professional roofer.

by: John Horn

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