An increasing number of young adults are buying homes and many other slightly older adults are buying their second or third homes. When you’re choosing the perfect house for your family, you should never skimp on getting a good home inspection. That should include a thorough investigation of the roof. It’s always worth it to hire your local roofing contractor to have a look to see if the roof will need to be replaced anytime soon, or if it has a bad roof job that will cause you a lot of problems and issues right off the bat.
Here are some signs of a bad roofing job.
1. The roof’s appearance isn’t uniform.
You’ll notice it looks perfect on one side of the house but not so much on the other side. Another example is that the shingles aren’t matching; this indicates that the previous owner chose to replace only parts of the roof instead of the whole thing, or just made patches to leaky or problem areas.
2. There is missing underlayment.
This will take a close look at the roof, and a major reason why it’s always a good idea to have a trusted roofer inspect the roof of any home you are looking to buy.
Underlayment is the material that goes underneath roofing shingles, above the roof sheathing. It provides a water proofing barrier and without it, you’re almost guaranteed to have a leak. It contributes to an early aging of the roof; a 1-year-old roof without underlayment will look like it’s 50 years old.
3. The roof is missing a drip edge.
Drip edges are important to how successfully the roof works. They are pieces of galvanized steel that go above the underlayment and below the shingles right at the edge of the roof, and extend to just over the gutter. This keeps water moving down the roof and into the gutter, away from the house.
In areas prone to high winds, the drip edge keep water from getting into the home at the roof’s edge. If water gets in here, it will compromise the entire height of the wall on the interior of your home. Other damage a missing drip edge can cause includes rot, staining, soil erosion along the foundation, mould, and flooded basement.
4. The roof has improper attachment methods.
The attachment method required will be determined by your county/city’s building code. The roofer you choose to do the inspection will know the type of attachment needed. Roofers who cut corners and use the wrong nail type or skimp on the amount of nails used will contribute to roof damage that would other be preventable, as well as flying debris, increased replacement or repair costs to the homeowner, and increased insurance premiums.
5. There are black stains on the roof.
Another obvious sign of a roof problem is signs of black stains on your roof. This is a sign of water leaks. Check in the attic to see how extensive the leak is, and what kind of damage has resulted.
6. The roof is missing shingles.
Even before your roofing contractor shows up to do his or her inspection, you should have a look and tell immediately if the roof needs some work. Missing or damaged shingles are obvious, and while they aren’t an immediate flag to a problem, they can give you information as to the quality of the roofing job in general. If, for example, the area has just had a bad windstorm, it’s not unexpected to see some missing or damaged shingles. If the home you’re looking to buy is the only one with damage, however, it is a sign that the roofing job wasn’t the best to begin with.