Whether you’re purchasing, leasing or renting a new building, residential or commercial, your roof is a crucial point of interest. It keeps the occupants and their property safe, provides structure and support, and protects you from the elements.
With age, continuous exposure to harsh sunlight or rain, deterioration of materials, extreme weather events and more, roofs can be damaged. Though there may not be any visible signs, your roof may have hidden areas that need repair or renovation. Unless this is attended to as soon as possible, you could incur a safety risk, or have to spend much more later.
The solution is regular roof inspections by a licensed, experienced professional. It has to be done in a step by step process, so that the inspection is comprehensive and consistent. Find more information on assessing and fixing your roofing at this website.
Five Important Steps To See If Your Roof Needs Repairs
- Hire the Right Roofing Contractor: This is half the battle won. Consult trustworthy sources, get quotes from local roofers, check online reviews and make a shortlist of likely candidates. Ensure that they have worked on roofing projects like yours in the recent past. Ask to talk to former clients, and check whether the firms have a local street address and landline telephone number. You must also confirm that they have the right qualifications, licenses, insurance and work permits. Ensure that the workers who will conduct the inspection have the permits and license to work at heights. Roof inspectors in Australia need a good knowledge of the country’s building codes. They may also have qualifications in electrical and plumbing works.
- Visual Inspection: The first task that roofers undertake is a thorough visual inspection. This informs them about leakage, warps, cracks, growth of algae or plant vegetation, animal or bird infestation or moss. These are potential spots where damage happens. Warped shingles, missing or cracked tiles are other warning signs. Make a note of damage to flashings and gutters, rust or corrosion of metal fasteners. Older structures have roofs constructed on wooden rafters that may warp or bend.
- Detailed Inspection: While the visual inspection can reveal obvious damage, it is only one part of the process. There could be minor issues if left unattended to, could lead to greater damage and expense down the line. The detailed inspection may take a longer time. It involves spending time on the roof and examining all parts meticulously. Experienced roofers usually have a checklist for this. They will examine each item on the list and make a note of the condition. Parts of the roof that need to be examined include the base of pipes and any other masonry work on the roof. For instance, chimneys, skylights, ventilation openings, or work done to install electrical lines or HVAC systems have to be well examined for gaps, leakage and damage. In pitched roofs, one of the areas that need special care is the valleys where two or three slopes meet. These are generally points where leakage happens. Rain water is supposed to run off in these areas, but if there is damage to the tiles or a pile-up of debris and dead leaves, this is a hotspot for potential damage.
- Pricing: The cost of roof inspection depends on several factors. Since roofing contractors are professionals skilled and experienced in their trade, they have certain industry-dependent guidelines regarding pricing. Apart from this, different roofers charge a variety of rates based on other criteria. These include location, size, accessibility, nature of work, time and labor involved, cost of materials chosen and complexity of the task. If you live in a remote area, you may not find a local contractor easily, so you may have to pay a little more to get a professional from the nearest city. In case your roof design is complex, with many slopes and pitches, roofers will charge more. If your roof is difficult to access, costs will be higher. Heritage buildings have special requirements for access, and the risk will be higher.
- Quotation: Based on their inspection, contractors will give a detailed quote. This includes time, money, materials and labor costs. You can discuss and negotiate costs at this stage, before signing up. Get quotes from two or three contractors to compare prices, quality of work and time taken. Remember that cheapest is not always the best. Paying a few bucks extra can give you a better quality of work. Avoid storm-chasers and opportunists who land up at your door offering to inspect your roof. They may not be able to guarantee either workmanship or materials.
Once the inspection is complete, the roofing inspector or firm will submit its assessment report. Based on this you can go ahead with repairs, restoration or renovation. You may also decide to install a completely new roof using modern materials and techniques.
