Every house and public building in the United States today, and indeed the world, has a roof on it. Roofs are of course built when the building is constructed along with the walls, floors, and the rest, and a roof will keep out the elements such as rain, wind, strong sunlight, and more. Not only that, but the roof prevents items from getting into the house and it will also play a part in the house’s climate control. A well insulated house will have spray foam insulation up in the attic, and this helps prevent warm air from escaping the house in winter and keeps cool air in during summer. Roofs can be made of tile shingles, slate tile, or even solid metal in some cases.
However, while a roof is a large and impressive piece of hardware, it might get damaged, worn out, or otherwise defective over time and may need replacement. A very old roof may be more trouble than it’s even worth to repair, so a homeowner may contact local roofing contractors to remove it and put on a new one. Roof replacement contractors may be found online, and they will send teams of roofing expert to get the job done. When is it time to call upon roofing experts? What can they do?
What Happens to Roofs
Why might a homeowner’s roof become faulty and need to be replaced? For one thing, a serious storm and traumatic weather might greatly damage a roof or even blow it off entirely in some extreme cases. This has been known to happen many times, and powerful storms such as tornadoes (most common in the Midwest’s Tornado Alley) and hurricanes along the east coast (especially Florida). Such storms offer very strong winds that can fling around heavy debris that, in turn, may strike a roof and blast off a lot of its tiles, break the wood, or in some cases, pry off the roof entirely and blow it away. Hurricane winds have been known to blast off a house’s roof, debris or not, and naturally the homeowner will need a new roof after the storm passes.
Not all roof damage is so dramatic. Even without hurricanes or tornadoes, a roof may simply wear out over time, most often shingle tile roofs. These roofs may warp and expand or contract as the temperature changes over the years, and that may put a lot of cracks into the roofing material. That, and large hail might strike the roof and scour off tiles and put in cracks or holes. The problem here is that holes and cracks in the roof will admit a lot of rain water, and whenever it rains or snow on the roof melts, it can leak into the house and cause more damage. Leaking water will rot and expand wood in the attic, and also foster unwanted mold growth with that excess moisture. Deeper in the house, intruding rain water may get onto the drywall and stain it, and that may need to be repaired as well. Intruding water may also short out electrical components in the walls (more repairs) and this water may pool in the basement. None of this is to be desired, so if a roof is badly damaged and leaks a lot, it may be more cost-friendly in the long run to replace it than keep hiring repair crews so often.
Putting on a New Roof
Someone who has owned their house for a long time, or someone who moves into a very old house, may have the most need for roofing replacement contractors. If the roof is visibly damaged and worn out, and if it’s constantly leaking, then the homeowner may look online to find roofing contractors in their area and visit their websites. The homeowner may choose from among several different local crews based on customer reviews or services that they offer. And if so desired, the homeowner may contact a metal roofing company in particular and have a tough metal roof put on. These roofs last three to seven times longer than shingle ones, and they are durable enough to resist winds over 110 MPH and they won’t easily get cracked or develop leaks. They’re also price-efficient to install and can be recycled later.
