Repair Vs. Replacing Roof Shingles: How To Know What’s Best

The weather is turning around, and people across Minnesota are taking a hard look at their roofs. When harsh winter or spring weather has damaged your asphalt shingles, it’s time to think long and hard about whether it’s more prudent to repair vs. replacing roof shingles.

At BD Exteriors, we can have our professionals inspect your roof safely. We’ll determine the extent of damage, or wear and age, and help you make the right decision for your home and family.

If you end up repairing, we’ll do our best to match your new shingles to your old. If you’re replacing, we have amazing asphalt, composite, metal and other roofing options to consider.

Contact BD For An Estimate Today

Repair Vs. Replacing Roof Shingles

Situations Where Roof Repair Is More Likely

1. Ice Dam

Having an ice dam form in winter is one of the worst feelings for a homeowner. When it comes to your shingles, ice dams typically affect a concentrated portion of your roof, possibly up to 5-10 feet back from the edge.

An ice dam can damage the tops of your shingles, as well as push under your shingles, separating them from the roof. This double-sided attack really does a number on your roof. Thankfully, ice dams are usually concentrated due to specific conditions and can be repaired.

2. Accumulated Debris/Water

If branches and other debris have accumulated, they may be both removing granules from your asphalt shingles, as well as collecting water. The water they collect can prematurely age your shingles and even seep inside your home at a certain level.

However, these debris accumulations typically stay localized, allowing for roof repair instead of roof replacement.

3. Flashing Damage

Are you seeing rust or other damage to your flashing? Whether it’s around the chimney, gutters, dormers, eaves, valleys or elsewhere, it may need to be replaced. Luckily, it doesn’t mean your whole roof needs to be replaced, just the shingles nearby.

Situations Where Roof Replacement Is More Likely

1. Hail/Storm Damage

If you’ve had hail or other storm damage come through this winter or spring, it usually affects the entire roof equally. Hailstones can dent metal roofing, and sufficiently wear down asphalt shingles as well. Having a tree or large branch falls on your house can make quite an impact on a large part of your roof.

In this case, the battle between repair vs. replacing your roof shingles is usually pretty clear-cut on the side of roof replacement.

2. General Wear & Tear / Age

Over the years, your roofing will wear down and age. Rain, sun, branches, critters, and more all play a part in your roof’s age. Typically, a roof with tree branches hovering over it will age faster than an open roof, due to wear from the branches scraping on the shingles. However, so many factors play in, that a roof usually ages at almost the same rate across the board, making roof replacement the more likely scenario.

Contact BD For An Estimate Today