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Should I DIY My Roof Repair?

Posted on Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 at 5:08 pm    

Should I DIY My Roof Repair?America is the land of do-it-yourself, especially in the Lone Star State. We want to do everything ourselves and take all the credit for the results. Most of the time, there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, it’s a terrible idea. When it comes to your roof, it can be disastrous.

Roofs are deceptively simple, and damage can go much deeper than homeowners realize when they climb up a ladder with a hammer and pocket full of nails. There are situations where the homeowner could do a quick repair, but in any of these cases, you should consult residential roofing professionals before you tackle the work.

Call the Texas roof repair professionals at Kidd Roofing to get a roof inspection before taking any further action.

Permits

In Texas, you need a permit for any of the following: installing a new roof, replacing an old roof, or “any major roof repair.” How major a “major roof repair” must be to require a permit is unclear, but it is more than tacking down a few loose shingles. Most roofing contractors suggest that if you are not sure, then you should get a permit.

A licensed contractor knows how and when to get a permit and how to fill out the paperwork and pay the fees. Failing to get a permit starts a cascade of problems that will trail you if you try to sell the home. If you did not get a permit, the roof cannot be inspected and signed off by the inspector, and the inspection will not be recorded. If you tell a prospective buyer the home has a new roof, there won’t be an inspection recorded with the deed.

Fines can be assessed retroactively for unpermitted work, and they can be expensive. It’s easier to have a contractor help you with the permits and do the work for you.

Insurance for the Home, Insurance for Yourself

It is a shock to learn that many homeowners’ insurance policies will not cover your damage claim if they learn you repaired your roof yourself prior to the damage. For instance, suppose you decide to replace one side of your roof and get all the proper permits. That spring, a tornado blows the entire roof away. You file your insurance claim and discover, to your horror, that a clause in your policy lets them deny your claim because you did not use a bonded and licensed contractor to replace the roof.

On the other hand, climbing on a roof is hot, hard, dirty work. Shingles and roofing panels are heavy and awkward to carry. Falling is easy to do, and injuries from a fall like that are serious. And it’s possible that your insurance carrier wouldn’t pay for your medical care because your fall was not a “covered” injury. That might be the case if the insurance company determines that it was not “reasonably foreseeable” that you would climb up on a roof.

Licensed roofing contractors provide worker’s compensation insurance for their roofers. They make sure they use proper safety equipment and that they follow guidelines regarding what they can and cannot do while working. The crews have sufficient personnel to move ladders and equipment around. It is much safer for them than it is for you.

Why Does That Hole Have Teeth?

Should I DIY My Roof Repair?There’s more to roof repair than patching a few loose shingles. By the time your roof is damaged to the point that the average homeowner notices a leak inside the house, chances are that several layers of roofing material have been damaged, and water and mold have followed the crack down into the house. Unless the repair is done correctly, that damage will remain and get worse after the surface patch is done.

There are other issues to watch out for when climbing around on a roof. Animals like rats, possums, and raccoons like living in human dwellings and loose shingles provide easy access into attics and crawl spaces. These animals also cause damage by chewing through the roof or making nests.

Insects, like termites and ants, are more often found in walls, but they can have nests on roofs, like their angrier cousins, the bees. Any of these will cause you problems if you are so busy being stung that you forget you are on a roof.

Call Us for Roof Repair

The short answer is that you can always repair your own roof. Nobody can stop you. But the benefits of using a licensed contractor outweigh the benefits of doing it yourself.

Our results speak for themselves. With more than 40 years of roofing experience in Texas, we can help you make the right decisions and protect your investment.

Call Kidd Roofing at (866) 671-7791 to have an inspection and get an estimate for any repair or replacement. We will look at the size and type of job and give you a reasonable price for any work you need to have done.