A door may protect you from unwanted visitors and criminal activity, but a roof will protect you from everything else. Think about it. Your roof literally covers your house and everything in it. What do you think would happen if anything went wrong with it?
This is the reason a good roof is a solid investment. It will prevent you from spending tens of thousands of dollars down the road for the price of hundreds of dollars worth of maintenance every year. If you’re building a new home, the one area you should never attempt to cut corners or costs is your roof.
Cutting corners on your roof is akin to shooting yourself in the foot. Not only must you guard against your own human tendency to want to save a few dollars, you’ll have to watch the contractor and workers on your home roofing project as well.
Shortcuts can be taken that you know nothing about. You may only become aware of them when a different contractor who comes in to do repairs points them out to you. This is why it’s so important to pick a contractor with a good reputation. A good contractor who cares about his work will ensure you have a quality roof on your house.
Here’s why a good quality roof is important.
1. It keeps the weather where it belongs.
When it rains, the last place you want to see it is in the form of drips from your ceiling. And if you’re seeing leaks on your ceiling, it means your roof has been in trouble for some time. Are you aware that if left to continue, that leak can bring a chunk of your ceiling down on your head?
This is one, if not the primary reason to have a good roof over your head. The water damage from a leaking roof can cause structural damage that can weaken your home and put your family in danger.
Beyond that, the water damage can cause your paint on your walls to peel and grow mold. It can cause unsightly puddles in areas of your house that can eventually weaken your floors.
To prevent all of this, have a yearly inspection of your roof and promptly repair any damage to shingles, seals and the guttering.
2. It makes a more energy efficient home
Your roof not only keeps the weather out, it also keeps the climate controlled air in. The seals in your roof assist in keeping that air in, so that your home remains comfortably cool in the summer and warm in winter.
If your seals haven’t been done properly, it means your home is leaking this air. You can call a roofing company like https://domroofing.com/ for help with this. It’s important to get those seals airtight. Until they are, your HVAC system is going to be working harder to keep your house warm or cool and send your energy bills up in the process.
3. It increases the value of your home
Having a sound roof on your home does the above in two ways. Firstly, if you are about to sell your home, a well maintained roof gives your home a “taken care of” look. Nothing detracts from the look of a house like a roof that isn’t In good repair. A prospective buyer sees missing and discoloured shingles and broken guttering, the first thing they are thinking about is offering you a lower price, regardless of what’s on the inside.
The second way is connected to the first. Because your roof is cared for, other areas of your home will not experience the damage spoken of earlier. Your home is not going to be filled with signs of these repairs. This enables you to fetch a better price for it as well.
4. It protects your valuables
A sturdy roof is what makes your home worth having. If you didn’t, you might as well be outside. You know what you might as well leave outside if your roof is in bad shape? Your valuables.
From family photos, to furniture and appliances, to grandma’s heirlooms, if your roof leaks, expect them to get damaged at some time. Worse, you’ll have trouble claiming if you insured any of them. The company is likely to point out that you allowed your roof to fall into disrepair and did not exercise due diligence in the care of your belongings.
5. It allows you to get lower insurance rates
Speaking about insurance, having a good roof enables you to get lower rates on your homeowner’s insurance as well.
That’s because as far as the insurer is concerned, a roof in good condition makes the rest of the home safer. Because you do not represent a high risk, your monthly/annual premiums will be lower.
6. It represents a cost savings in the long run
If you’ve bought a new house, the first thing to do is to see what condition the roof really is in. If it is in relatively good condition, you’ve bought yourself some years.
If it could use some work, make that your first homeowner’s project. Don’t wait for the issue to worsen. You’ll save yourself a lot of money and heartache.
Take care when selecting a contractor to get this work done. You don’t want to go through spending twice on roof repairs because the first contractor botched the job. Get references from people you trust and ask to see examples of their work before selecting one.
You wouldn’t leave your door open for burglars to walk in. You know that will cost you money. In the same vein, don’t leave your roof in disrepair. It’s throwing money away.
