The roof of your home is an area that is very susceptible to damage. Not only can bad spots in your roof devalue your property, but they can be dangerous. The longer you let it go, the weaker it can become. This can lead to roof collapses, water damage to your entire home, mold, and many more pitfalls that can really hurt you and your family. You do not have to call a pro to fix your roof though. It may be a little tedious to fix it yourself, but it is something that almost anyone can do. If you know how measure, saw, hammer, and count, you can fix your roof. You will need to re-shingle it once you are done, but this will only help to improve your home. The only thing that most of us don’t have is time. You will need the time to fix it. You can not start it now and finish it in a month or two. The roof keeps the elements from the inside of your home. If there is going to be rain, snow, sleet, or any other foul weather, you will need to wait before you begin.
The first thing you need to do, is identify that there is a problem. Many people think that a small leak or drip means damage. This is not always the case. A poor job of installing shingles can cause this, and if you catch it soon enough, can be easily fixed with more shingles and tar paper. If you have a leak or drip, you will want to inspect the area from the inside. It is much easier to look at the wood from inside your home, than pulling the shingles up to find that there is no major problem. You will also want to take a walk at least once a month. If you go about two or three houses down and across the street, you can usually see warped or wavy areas on your roof. You can also see dark spots more easily from a distance. These are very big indicators that there is a problem with your roof. You can also go about it the old fashioned way. This involves getting your level out and checking several spots in your roof to make sure they are even. A tight string or piece of yarn across the main edges can help to highlight waves, droops, and sags. You want to be careful when climbing on a damaged roof. You may inadvertently create a skylight if you step on a soft spot.
Once you identify a weak or damaged spot, you can patch it up. This is a lot simpler than it seems, but can take a little bit of planning and work to do properly. The first step in the repair process is to figure out how much of an area you need to patch. You never want to only fix the damaged area. You want to repair at least two feet in every direction from the damage. Since it is easier to work in squares, measure out two or more feet on top, bottom, and both sides of the area. You can then use this area as a square and work from there. You will also want to replace the support beams that hold your roof up. These are either 2×4’s or 4×4’s. Once you know the area that needs to be fixed, you can go get the supplies that you need. You will want everything on hand so that you can make this fix go as quickly as possible. You will need to keep in mind that you need shingles and tar paper in addition to all the wood, nails, and any braces that you want to reinforce the area. You will want to get a large tarp that can cover the area, as well. This will be used in case you can not finish the entire project in one day. It will keep any moisture and dirt out of your home.
Now that you have all of the supplies that you need, you can get started. You will want to mark off the area with a piece of chalk or other similar marking tool. This will give you a straight guide to work with. Once you have the area mapped out on the roof, you can remove the tiles. The easiest way to do this is cut the shingles along the chalk line with a box knife. Once you have the shingles cut, you can start from the outside and carefully remove the shingles. Once you have a gap between the shingles you want to save, you can easily shovel off the old shingles with a flat or snow shovel. After the area is clear of shingles and tar paper, you can start to pull the underlying plywood. Once you get the old and damaged plywood off the roof, it is time to have some fun.
Now that you have a nice whole in your roof, you can replace the supports underneath. You do not want to remove them all. You want to replace them, one at a time. Starting from the bottom up, you will want to replace each board with a new one that is measured to the needed length. Once you have that board sized and cut, you can pull the old one. Try to leave all other boards in place. Once the new board is in place, you will want to replace all the boards that connected to it, one at a time. After those are replaced, move to any boards that connected to those, and so on, until all the supporting wood is replaced. After you have the support network in place, you can put the new plywood in place. You want to nail it down with at least one nail every six inches along the supporting boards. That is all there is to fix the damaged section.
All that is left is to put new shingles on. You will have an important decision to make at this point. You may want to replace all of the shingles at once. This will make a better fit between the new and old shingles. You may also choose to replace only the removed shingles. This will save a little time and money, but you may need to replace all of the shingles later anyways. If you do choose to only replace the damaged area shingles, you will want them to intermingle and overlap the rest of the shingles on the roof. If there are any gaps, you will be back on the roof in a couple months doing this all over again. Make sure the tar paper overlaps by a foot and start from the bottom and work up. You want the shingles to start from the bottom and work up as well. This will ensure the water can roll off of the roof without dropping under the shingles and paper.
Roofing problems may sound difficult, especially if you are scared of heights, but they are really simple. The roof may be very important, but it is very simple in its construction. As long as you keep all the supports in place, you can easily replace weak sections of your roof. This will not only save you money, but it can save your home from a lot of injury and headache. Whether you are selling your home or staying in it for years to come, the roof should always be in good shape.
