Some Thoughts From Your Inspector... |
How much is left in it?
A question that generally comes up at a home inspection is... How much is left in that roof? Well it is tough to actually tell you for sure. There are many factors that can go into a shingles life span. Attic temps, how many layers of shingles, quality of shingle, which direction the roof plane faces, past hail exposure, etc. all play a role. As a rule of thumb though if you can fit one standard pencil in between the tabs on a 3 tab shingle you are in good shape and are about 0-1/3rd through the life of the shingle. If you can fit 2 pencils in between the shingle you are about 1/3rd to 2/3rds through the life of the shingle. If you can fit 3 pencils in there your roof is pretty much toast. The next question is 1/3rd of what? In MN shingles take a beating, they go from extreme cold to extreme heat and this inevitably shortens the life span. In perfect conditions most shingles are expected to last 20-30 yrs. This seldom happens in MN, I have seen 10 yr old shingles that are on their last legs. In some instances this is due to manufacturers defect but most of the time it is just a builder using the cheaper quality shingles that just can't hack our beautiful weather.
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Get them before they get you...
You keep putting it off thinking I will get to it next season and pretty soon you have an issue. Trim those trees back ASAP. They don't have to be in direct contact to do damage. Even branches 2 feet away can do damage when the wind blows. Ideally they should be trimmed back 5+ feet so there is no chance that the branches can scrape the shingles. Once the granule surface is removed deterioration will start quickly and steadily progress. You cant inject botox to bring them back to new and wishing them back doesn't help either. New shingles will have to be installed in this area which is a little bit of a pain to do so take that 10 minutes and get to them first.
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Face them correctly
It is important when having new shingles installed to have the ridge shingles facing the correct way. In MN that means having the overlap facing the south and east. Prevailing winds will dictate this. When they are installed the opposite way they are prone to getting caught by the wind and being torn off. Also wind driven rain has an easier time getting into the ridge. This mistake is surprisingly common on many homes I inspect. If you are having a new roof put on bring this up to the contractor to make sure the workers know which way they should face. Some installers know their stuff and apparently some don't. |
About Us
Your local Twin Cities inspection Company. We are hear to help shed some light on your sale/purchase.
"Pray that we find nothing wrong with the home but thank God if we do"
Inspection WerX 26540 France Ave Elko, Minnesota 55020 Inspection WerX 612-386-2660 |