Here’s a riddle for you. What’s the last thing you want once the roof installation at your home is completed? Roof problems. Right? No matter which roofing material, type, and style you get, one thing you surely want is to forget about roof problems for years to come – let alone days after the installation.
Even if the roofers have completed their work and everything seems fine at first glance, the roof’s resistance and durability will be tried next time it rains or a storm comes your way. And although this is one way of testing the way the job is done, it’s not always the right way to make sure the roof is installed right. Why? Because if the roofers did a bad job, your home will be seriously affected by a storm. The whole point is to be absolutely sure the job is done right, but that’s difficult. Isn’t it?
Who can climb on the roof to check the work? And even if we assume that you can do that, you are not a roofer, are you? How will you be able to tell if the roof is installed correctly? That’s truly a tough situation. So, let’s see what we can do to help you.
How to tell a roof is installed correctly
Although you are not a roofer, you may take a look – even from afar, and you can always check the roof from the inside by going up to the attic. When you are in the attic, make sure that the roofers did exactly what it was agreed to do. Visit on a rainy day and try to understand if some drops find their way in.
Now, when you walk outside and look up to see the roof, try to understand if something strikes you as odd. For example, there might not be symmetry on two sides of the roof with the shingles protruding on one and missing on the other.
Your disappointment may be seen from two different angles. The one has to do with the actual roof installation – the way all components of the roof are installed – from the rain gutters to the flashing and the shingles. The other has to do with the quality of the materials and whether or not the roofers do replace the old ones. An example, which may sound far stretched right now, is that they could leave the old underlayment without your knowledge and so troubles won’t be long before coming. So, to be sure that the roof and everything about it is installed properly, everything must be checked. And that’s why this is a difficult task for you. Not only can’t you go up on the roof – or, you shouldn’t, for that matter, for safety reasons alone, but you cannot tell the difference either. So, what should you do?
Find an independent home contractor
It may sound frustrating but if you have some doubts about the work of the roofers, it’s best if you find another contractor – one that has nothing to do with the roofers. One that has nothing to gain by telling you that the roof is correctly or incorrectly installed. We understand that this is an additional expense but perhaps a small one compared to what will happen if the roof is not correctly installed.
Choose a professional roofing company
It makes sense to say that the best thing to do is to find a professional roofing contractor from the start. This is also difficult to do nowadays when it’s hard to tell if some reviews are real or not. All the same, this is the safest method to find a reliable roof contractor and so you should first focus on detecting a trusted source of roofing reviews. Friends and family may also suggest roofers, but only if they have worked with them repeatedly the recent years. If, one way or another, you find a couple of roof companies, bombard them with questions having as a priority to ensure they have the credentials and a real address. As it turns out, the quality of the company is perhaps the best guarantee of a roof installed correctly.
