The first question most homeowners ask us is the same one: can this be fixed, or do I need a whole new roof? It's a fair question, because the two answers are very different in cost. The honest answer depends on three things — how old the roof is, how widespread the problem is, and what's happening underneath the shingles.
A repair usually makes sense when the damage is in one place and the rest of the roof is healthy. A few shingles blown off in a storm. A leak around a chimney, a vent pipe or where a roof meets a wall — those are almost always flashing problems, not shingle problems. A single soft spot near the edge. Fix the cause, and the roof has years left in it.
Replacement is the better call when the wear is everywhere. Look for shingles that are curling at the edges or cupping in the middle, bald patches where the granules have washed off (check your gutters — that's where they end up), cracked shingles across whole slopes, or leaks showing up in more than one room. Moss or dark streaks alone aren't a death sentence, but together with the rest they tell you the roof is tired.
Age matters too. A roof near the end of its expected life that starts leaking will keep finding new places to leak. Paying for repair after repair on a roof like that often costs more over a few years than replacing it once.
The part you can't see from the ground is the deck — the wood the shingles are nailed to. If it has stayed wet, it rots, and no shingle repair holds on rotten wood. That's why we get on the roof before giving an opinion, and why a proper replacement includes checking the deck and replacing damaged sections.
If you're not sure which side of the line your roof is on, ask for an inspection before the next big storm rather than after it. A small problem caught in dry weather is a repair; the same problem found during a week of rain is a ceiling.
RC Roofing and Siding LLC repairs and replaces roofs across Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina. Call (864) 421-3659 for a free estimate — we'll tell you honestly which one your roof needs.