There is always a certain pride and satisfaction that comes with maintaining your home using your own two hands. Whether it’s repairing a leaky faucet or starting a garden in your backyard, improving your home can be a very fulfilling process for everyone, regardless of experience.
That being said, there are certain aspects of home improvement that are better left to professionals. A lot of tasks can be dangerous, complicated, or require specific tools that a typical homeowner probably wouldn’t have.
Repairing your roof is one of these projects. Unless you have the experience already, it is always better to contact a roofing company to do the job. Even if you just have a one-story house, being up on the roof for extended periods of time is asking for trouble.
Professional roofers have the experience and skill to mitigate the dangers of falling. They also have the proper tools for installations and repairs. There are other reasons why it is preferable to leave this job to professionals, and they will be outlined here.
Voiding Your Roof’s Warranty
When your roof is first installed, most roof manufacturers will include a warranty with the installation. But this warranty only holds up if you use licensed roofers for repairs.
Even if you attempt a simple fix, like replacing a few shingles, you run the risk of voiding your warranty. This means that if something more serious happens—a bad storm or a fallen tree, for example—you will end up paying full price for these costly repairs.
There is no reason to make your life more difficult, not to mention more expensive, just because you want to attempt the job yourself. If you call a licensed company to get the job done, you will save time and money, and ensure that your warranty stays intact.
Avoiding Accidents
No matter how confident you are in your balance or caution, it’s almost never a good idea to go up on your roof. Hundreds of fatal falls happen every year, and most of these are the result of people attempting roofing repairs on their own.
When fixing a roof, it’s hardly ever as simple as going up one time, doing the job, and coming back down. Most jobs require going up and down multiple times. This is where the real danger is and where most falls occur.
Professional roofing companies are very aware of the dangers of working high above the ground and train their employees in all the safety standards and procedures that can prevent injuries. They will use safety harnesses and properly secured ladders, toolbelts to keep their hands free as they climb up and down, and accountability with each other to make sure no one slips while they are on the job.
Doing It Wrong and Costing Yourself More
Roofing repair often requires very specific tools and know-how. If you are not trained in proper procedures, you could go into it replacing a few shingles and end up putting a big hole in your roof.
Calling a company to patch that hole is going to end up being a lot more expensive than just getting a professional to replace those shingles in the first place.
Even if you do manage to watch enough YouTube videos on DIY roofing repair to get the job done yourself, when you step down from your roof and look at your work, chances are that your amateur work will stand out and make your roof look a lot less uniform. No offense.
The worst part is, you don’t want your roof looking sloppy, so you’ll probably end up calling a roofer to go back over your own repairs. So, if you’re thinking about attempting roofing repairs because it might save you money, consider all of this before making your decision.
Replacing a few roof tiles is one thing, but for anything more complicated, you’ll save yourself time, money, and a maybe an injury two in the process by trusting roofing professionals to do the job.
