Guide
How to tell a roof is past repairing
Most roofs give you two or three years of warning. The trouble is that the warnings are easy to explain away one at a time.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three La Verne contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in La Verne is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Sagging along a line
Straight lines going wavy means something underneath has softened. That is no longer a roofing question with a cheap answer.
The age on the paperwork
If the roof is over twenty years old and made of asphalt, an inspection is worth doing whether or not it is leaking. The failure modes above are much cheaper to catch before the water arrives than after.
Daylight or damp in the attic
The attic tells the truth earlier than the ceiling does. Staining on the underside of the deck predates any stain you will see downstairs by a long way.
Granules in the gutter
The granules are the sunscreen. Losing them in volume means the asphalt beneath is being cooked directly, and from that point the roof ages in years rather than decades.
Shingles that curl, cup or go brittle
Look along the roof from the ground at a low angle rather than straight on. Edges that lift, corners that curl upward and a surface that no longer lies flat all mean the material has lost its flexibility. Brittle shingles crack when walked on, which is why contractors stop wanting to walk them.
Repeated repairs in different places
When the leaks stop clustering and start appearing anywhere, you are not fixing a fault any more. You are paying for a replacement in instalments, at a worse rate.
In short
None of these on their own settles it. Two together usually do. An inspection costs little and removes the guesswork entirely.
Related questions
How long should a roof last here?
An architectural asphalt roof is rated for twenty-five to thirty years and, in this climate, tends to land at the lower end of that. Tile and metal go much further, provided what is underneath them is maintained.
I rent. Can I use this?
You can submit it, but the owner has to authorise any work, so the useful move is to get the landlord to make the request or to give you permission in writing first. Contractors will not start work for a tenant.
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Move what you can out of the way, put a bucket under it, and if there is a bulge in the ceiling put a small hole at its lowest point to let the water out in one place rather than bringing the whole panel down. Then mark your request as an emergency — those go out first.
Find out what it costs
No cost. We email you once when a provider near you can take it on.