When you don’t have an aesthetic roof on your home, you may think that you can just install one yourself without any professional help. Although it would potentially save some of us money on roofing if we could do the job as a DIY project, the truth is that most roofing jobs are too complicated or require too much manpower to do on our own. Even if you have experience in the roofing industry, you’ll probably find that installing or repairing an aesthetic roof requires more than one person for safety.
If you used to work on roofs but have since retired, it can present a safety concern to attempt to do a roofing job yourself. Many people have fallen off of roofs or experienced injuries from lifting heavy items because they tried to fix or replace their roofs themselves. When you dream of an aesthetic roof, you should call in the professionals and hire a professional company if you suspect that this job may be bigger than what you can accomplish as an individual.
Why Should You Hire a Professional Roofer?
While the decision to hire contractors is typically a personal one that only you can make, there are a few good reasons why you should think about enlisting a contractor instead of completing a project on your own. Firstly, a professional roofer has the experience and skills it takes to get the job right the first time. Rather than guessing about whether they might be doing the right thing on a job, they’ll know whether they’re properly installing a roof, fixing a shingle, or completing another task related to roofing because they’ll have gone through an apprenticeship or trade program that taught them everything they need to know about this job.
On top of the training that roofing professionals receive, they also have the professional tools and materials it takes to get a job done. Even though you may be able to find some roofing supplies and professional-grade tools in home improvement stores, they may not be as abundant as they are for professionals. Some tools and machinery may also require a specific permit or license to operate, so it’s wise to get a professional involved if you suspect that you may need to use things like a forklift or crane to complete a roofing job.
Hiring a professional roofer can also be important because they’ll know not only when something is going right but also when it’s going wrong in a roofing job. As a DIY home improvement hobbyist, you may find that you won’t have the same sense of intuition about when you should stop a project on your roof before you mess it up worse. If you damage your roof by trying to fix something yourself, you’ll have to spend more money down the road because you’ll have to hire contractors to not only address the initial issue but also fix the issues you’ve created as a result of attempting to save money. If you harm the roof by trying to fix it, you might not be able to get resources like your insurance company to cover the costs associated with repairing it so you should reach out to a contractor before you try to fix it on your own.
Can Any Roof Repairs Be Done by Yourself?
If you’re not a roofing professional, you may wonder if any repairs could be considered a good DIY project. While we would advise against attempting to fix your roof on your own, you may be able to get away with doing some small repairs by yourself if you have the appropriate amount of help. If you’re planning on working on your roof, you should prioritize safety and learn about how to safely get on the roof and exit the roof. You should also work on it when you have friends or other people available to spot you when you’re on the roof and call emergency services right away if you take a tumble.
For those who have worked in roofing before, it can be okay to complete roofing jobs on your own as long as you know what you’re doing and have enough people to help you safely complete the task. While you might be able to get away with replacing a single shingle by yourself, expecting to replace an entire asphalt roof on your own is unrealistic and dangerous. No matter how you decide to fix your roof, you shouldn’t let your desire to save money get in the way of your health and well-being.
Repairs
Sometimes, you may already have an aesthetic roof and just need to hire someone to fix it so you can continue enjoying the way it looks and functions. In this case, you can contact residential roofing companies to repair if the property that has a nice roof that needs to be fixed is a residential one. For commercial properties, you can call commercial roofing companies that specialize in completing local roof repairs.
For most homeowners and business owners, it would feel much better to pay for a small fix now than it would to pay to replace a roof that has been damaged beyond repair. The best way to stay on top of scheduling repairs for your roof is to have a roofing professional inspect your roof every year or every couple of years. Since roofs tend to last multiple decades, you should maintain your roof so you get the most mileage out of it while you have it. Sometimes, people need to replace a roof or another part of their home sooner than they expected because they haven’t put in the work to stay on top of little maintenance tasks that could go a long way in preserving this part of their home.
Replacement
When you have a roof that doesn’t look as good as you would like it to look in your home or business, the best way to gain an aesthetic roof may be to remove the current roof and replace it. If it’s been a long time since the last time you replaced your roof, you should try to find a local roofing service in your area that understands your concerns. The roofing contractors that worked in the field when you last replaced your roof may not be available anymore, so you should keep an open mind about who you’re willing to hire and also consider how much money you can budget towards replacing the roof.
Installation
In the same vein as replacing a roof, you can call the contractors to help you install an aesthetic roof on your home or property. Before you decide to install a new roof, you should contact more than one roofing company for a quote. Although it can seem pretty simple to complete a new roof install, it can cost a pretty penny when you’re paying for the labor, materials, and other aspects of this project.
Installing a roof takes a skilled hand so you should never try to do this on your own. While you might feel confident after reading a few books or watching a few videos on roof installation, you won’t be able to account for all of the things that could go wrong if you try to do it without professional help or experience. New roofers may struggle to install a roof even if they have plenty of practice and support in this project, so you can imagine how hard it would be for someone who’s never worked on a roof to complete this task effectively.
Maintenance
When you have an aesthetic roof on your home, you’ll want to maintain it so that it lasts as long as possible. No one wants to call the local roofers to replace a roof after a couple of years because they failed to maintain it. Maintaining your home shows that you respect your house and your community. When you pour into your home by hiring contractors to maintain something like your roof, it also helps maintain the value of the home.
If you intend to sell your house at some point, you should focus on maintaining it regularly so you don’t have a high bill that cuts into your earnings on the sale later when you sell it if you have a laundry list of repairs that need to be done. Some of the most common tasks that you should complete with maintaining your roof like clearing out the gutters or keeping it free from debris could be done on your own if you have the right tools and physical condition to do it. Others like getting your roof inspected will have to be done by a professional who is qualified to do so.
Re-Roofing
If the bones of your aesthetic roof are good, you may be able to get away with re-roofing instead of replacing the whole thing. This process involves stacking shingles on top of the ones that are already there to create a desirable renewed effect on the roof. For those who have a metal roof, this might not be an option so you should call a metal roof contractor if you want to see if it’s possible to re-roof your roof.
For roofs that are missing shingles or have a lot of damage from water, it may be a better idea to replace your roof than go with this choice. Some contractors will refuse to re-roof something that is in poor condition or doesn’t meet the requirements to get this job done. If one professional thinks it’s impossible to re-roof but another one thinks it may be possible, you should evaluate all of your options and get a third opinion if you feel conflicted about it from a contractor you trust.
Inspection
One of the key aspects of the job of a roofing contractor is conducting inspections. Even if you have the most aesthetic roof in the world, that doesn’t mean that it will pass inspection protocol. Some roofs may look good on the outside but have deep structural issues that require a specialist to come and fix them.
While many homeowners dread inspections, they’re an important part of keeping your home safe. If you intend to sell your home, you’ll increase the market value by getting a thorough inspection and scheduling repairs to address the concerns that your roof inspector brings up. To make it simple to schedule an inspection, you should do it around the same time every year and put a reminder in your calendar to schedule it a few weeks before you intend to have it done.
Cleaning
For a roofing business, keeping your roof clean is an important part of what they do. While you may think that you can only call up roofing services when your roof needs to be fixed or replaced, you can also call them when your roof is dirty or you need to remove something like built-up snow from it. Although a clean roof may be a more aesthetic roof than a dirty one, there’s a practical reason for keeping it clean that goes beyond what it looks like. Maintaining a clean roof and home can prevent some of the common issues that homeowners face.
If you’re planning on selling your home soon, you should also schedule a cleaning for your roof and your entire home. This will make it more appealing to potential home buyers who see it listed on a real estate website or stumble across the “for sale” sign in your yard. It can also make it so that a real estate agent would feel more comfortable working with you to sell the house.
As a homeowner, you may want to stay in control and complete every project to improve your house by yourself. While it’s noble to take pride in your home ownership and to want to save money on the costs associated with an aesthetic roof, it’s wise to know your limits. Roofing is a profession that can be unsafe and unpredictable, so you don’t want to attempt to fix your roof without professional help most of the time. Even if you could complete a task in roof maintenance on your own, leaving it to the professionals can reduce your stress.