It's time to replace your roof. DIY or Professional?
The time has finally come to replace your roof. By about now you’ve most likely gone through article after article about roof replacement, what you should do - what not to do, and a swath of roofer tips and tricks. The reality of replacing your roof is that it is expensive. Roof replacement consumes a lot of materials and time plus the nature of the work itself adds to the price. Often times this leads you to wonder whether you want to wonder whether you can do the replacement on your own.
When can you do DIY roof replacement?
This is a very good option if you are trying to save some money. There are limits to this, though. You can’t and shouldn’t try to replace your whole roof all on your own (unless of course you are a roofing contractor). Number one reason is safety because you will be moving around a lot at an elevated height off of the ground. And Number two - You most likely don’t have all of the necessary tools and equipment to go about replacing your roof properly.
All of that said - you can still make some DIY roof replacements on a small scale. When your roof is in need of a partial replacement and you know exactly what needs to be done to it then you should be good to do it on your own. For instance, replacing old shingles with new ones so long as you have taken all of the safety precautions necessary for such a task.
You should also be able to identify some spots that look like they might be letting water in that could result in a leak. Something like this is repairable on your own as well. Just do some research in advance so that you make sure that you aren’t accidentally making anything worse.
When should you hire a professional contractor?
As we mentioned earlier - You should absolutely look into hiring a professional roofer if your entire roof is in need of replacement. There are many technicalities that are involved that you most likely can’t handle on your own ora are simply unaware of. What it comes down to is that there is just too much at stake for you to risk doing it on your own.
Aside from the complete roof replacement - there are a few other scenarios in which you should turn your roofing nailer over to the professionals for help:
Smaller replacements on broad surfaces where there are complicated aspects involved.
If there are too many leaks that have developed far enough to make it inside the house and you are unable to keep track of them.
When there are damaged shingles scattered over all of your roof.
If your roof is multi-layered and you aren’t able to tell which roof layer is the problem layer.
And when you intend on putting your house on the market and you need to guarantee that everything is good with your roof.
A DIY roof replacement tends to be easier than professional ones but that’s often because owners will cut corners. This results in a less effective roof and one that may put you at risk of more issues down the road.