Why You Shouldn’t Do Your Own Roof Repairs

Many homeowners like to do their own repair and maintenance jobs and that’s great. Simple tasks like changing a light bulb or hanging up a picture hook are something everyone should be able to do. However, when it comes to trickier tasks like roof repairs, these jobs should only be done by professionals. While you might think doing it yourself with the help of a video tutorial will be cheaper, you’d be surprised to find there’s a lot involved and at stake when it comes to any roof work.

It causes more damage

Typically, it’s not recommended you go on your roof for any reason because it’s very easy to cause more damage while you’re up there. 

Roofing professionals have years of experience working on these delicate and complicated structures. They know how doing the same work and know how to fix common issues, as well as how to safely walk across these uneven surfaces. 

On the other hand, if you aren’t an expert, you might go up there to fix a hole and only end up causing lots more. Shingles and tiles can be broken easily if you put too much weight on them, for instance.

You may injure yourself

Working at heights is dangerous, even for the professionals. Even just getting up there can be a hazard. A ladder can slip causing you to fall. The risks only increase once you’re on the roof.

Because of the sloped nature of roofs, it can be difficult to maintain your balance. And, unless you set up safety precautions, there may be nothing to stop you from falling off the roof.

Even if you don’t fall off the roof, you also risk falling through it. The roof may not be structurally sound because of a leak or damaged section, or you may misplace your footing and step where you shouldn’t. As a result, you may fall through the roof.

In any of these instances, the injuries to yourself can be severe. From concussions and broken bones to paralysis and even death, saving a few dollars isn’t worth risking your life.

You spend more time and money

As you learn a skill, you often waste materials or even choose the wrong ones for the job. The same applies to fix a roof. You likely won’t have the necessary equipment, tools and materials on hand and will, therefore, need to purchase them all.

As an inexperienced roofer, you may pay more than you need to for items, like getting a higher quality material than you need or too much of something. And when it comes to starting the work, you may waste materials as you attempt the work, spending more money.

Further, as you need to learn how to complete the task, you will undoubtedly take longer to get the job done than a professional. You may even need to stop and start to get extra instruction or more materials. 

You may void the warranty of products

Some roofing materials come with warranties that are immediately voided if they aren’t installed by a professional roofer. While you may be able to get the job done yourself, you may find yourself wishing you had that warranty still if the product turns out to be faulty.

The end results won’t be as good

Unless you’re a roofing savant, it’s unlikely that your repairs will look anywhere as good as those by the professionals. They may even not completely fix the problem.

Unfortunately, the appearance of your home, including roof, can have a significant impact on the value of your home. Shoddy repairs may drop this value even more than an unrepaired roof might.

You may affect your home insurance

Similar to how certain products must be installed by a roofer, there may be a clause in your home insurance that states that roofing work must be completed by professionals. Otherwise, your insurance may not cover for damage brought about by your roof failing. 

For instance, if there is a severe storm and part of your roof breaks and partially floods your home, you may be covered for this by insurance. However, your insurance provider may reject the claim if they find out you had repaired your roof recently. They may argue that your repair was not structurally as sound as that by a professional and if you hadn’t done the job yourself, your roof would have been unaffected by the storm.

You might save money doing the job yourself in the short term, only for it backfire and cost you a lot more in the long run.

Conclusion

All roofs will need some care and fixing up. However, we strongly recommend that you don’t attempt this work yourself. Put the job in the hands of a professional and know that your money is being well spent.