What to Look for in The Roof When Buying a Home

Most experienced home-buyers spend time, not only looking at a potential house they want to buy, but its roof as well. They know that roofs can be the most expensive part of a house, and ensuring that a house’s roof is in good condition can save them a lot of money down the line. If you’re in the market to buy, read on for Pinnacle Roofing’s definitive guide on what to look for in the roof when you’re buying a home!

Get to Know How Old the Rooftop Is

A roof’s age is generally a good indicator of whether it will need repair or replacement anytime soon. Generally, roofs will have a lifespan of 20-40 years, so knowing how old a roof is can help you estimate when repairs or replacements would be necessary. If you see a lot of damage or deformities in a roof, then that can be a more obvious sign that the roof is quite old and may need replacement or repair. You may want to build the cost of a new roof into your budget if you’re set on buying a home with an older roof.

In addition to asking the homeowner about the lifespan of the roof, you should learn what it is made out of. Roofs are commonly made from materials like composite, metal, tin, rubber, or cedar shingles. A roof made from composite shingles may have a longer lifespan than a roof made from other common materials, which may require inspection and possible maintenance on an annual basis.

Though age is generally a good indicator of where a roof is in its lifespan, there are other, more visually obvious signs that a house may not have a good roof over it.

Look for mold spots or stains

Spots and stains are the main warning signs of mold. While black mold is the most common, you may also see other colors like green or white. In most cases, the mold spots will be located on the top of the roofing material, although sometimes mold may be found closer to the bottom of the material where water has intruded into the home.

If any areas in the interior were treated for water damage, it’s important to take a close look at your roofing material. In most cases, homeowners will fix the area where the water seeped through the walls while ignoring the original point where it first hit the roof. Since mold can rot your roof and release dangerous spores into your home, it’s important to tackle this problem immediately. If you choose to go through with the purchase, you should be ready to either invest in a new roof or repairs.

A sure sign there’s a leak somewhere in the house is a water stain. You’re most likely to find them on the ceilings in the upstairs rooms of the home.

Even if the current homeowner has tried to cover these up, there are ways of finding out if there has been a leak.

• If there’s a smell of fresh paint coming from upstairs ceilings, that can be a sign that the stains have been painted over.
• You’ll also find out if there’s a leak when your roofer comes to inspect the roof. They’ll get into the attic to take a look at it, and they’ll soon see if there’s water coming through.

A ventilation system on the roof is a crucial part of a healthy home. It should allow both air and sun to come inside so you can avoid the risk of mold growth while keeping ventilation running throughout the home. There are many different types of roof vents, so if you’re not sure what to look for, our expert team is happy to give you a hand.

Evaluate the shingles

It’s important to look at the roof as a whole to see how it’s holding up. Are there shingles missing? Do any look cracked or curled? Try to find out when the roof was installed from the sellers so you can determine how much longer you have left before the shingles (or the roof as a whole) needs to be replaced. If you’re not comfortable getting on the roof or you have questions about areas of concern, call a professional.

Missing or broken shingles aren’t the worst issue if caught quickly. If there are any tiles or shingles that are missing or broken, that means that the roof is vulnerable to water damage in those areas. After every storm that comes through, homeowners should be checking roofs to ensure that all shingles are accounted for.

If you see any sign of sagging on the ceilings inside of the home, this could mean water damage has occurred in the past. The smartest way to address this is by having a roofer look under the shingles to determine if any damage has been done. They’ll be able to look for water damage (and mold, while they’re at it) so you can prepare for repairs or a new roof.

If there are any missing shingles, you can ask that they’re replaced before you buy. Most roofers recommend that homeowners keep an extra box of shingles when they have their roof replaced, as then if a shingle goes missing, it’s easy to grab a replacement and fix the problem. If the current homeowners have done this, you’re in luck. If not, replacing shingles is easy to do with a professional roofing service like Pinnacle Roofing.

Check the gutters

Since the gutters are such an important part of your roof’s overall health, it’s incredibly important to see what shape they are in before you buy. In most cases, gutters will simply be messy and need to be cleaned out to allow water to flow smoothly off of your roof. However, if there is any damage to the gutters, this can lead to significant water damage on your roof as well as the interior of your home.

This is another issue that should be fixed quickly before it causes any issues. If there’s debris sitting in the gutters, it’s a sign that water may be getting backed up out of the gutters, and getting into the roof. This causes problems over time as water isn’t being guided away from the roof itself.

If the problem is addressed quickly, then it won’t cause any major problems. It’s easy to simply pull the debris out with your hands, and most homeowners nowadays have installed a gutter guard to keep the debris out and the water flowing freely.

Tip: Inspect the drainage pipes and downspouts to ensure that the seepage system as a whole is in good shape. All downspouts on the roof should not lead directly into the ground, otherwise, you will experience flooding. Instead, these should be placed at a steep angle so the water runoff will be directed away from the house.

Buy your house responsibly with Pinnacle Roofing

Whether you’re considering buying a home, putting yours on the market, or simply want an evaluation, the roof experts at Pinnacle Roofing can help you locate, diagnose, and address problem areas in a home’s roof.

Pinnacle Roofing is a trusted roofing service that has been serving Memphis and the Mid-South for years, and we only use the safest and most advanced roofing materials to fix your roof. If you’re ready to get a roof into shape, contact us today for a free roof estimate. We look forward to working with you.