Tips to Save Money on Roof Replacement

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After 15-20 years of keeping snow, rain and hail out of your house, your roof is dog-tired. Unfortunately, repairs won’t help. The best course of action is replacing your roof. But that’s where the problem lies. For starters, roof replacement is top dollar and steals time. Anyway, this home improvement project is affordable if you prepare for it and cut a few corners.

Is Roof Replacement Really Expensive?

Costs can surge or drop depending on your choices:

  • Materials – Shingles, flashing, underlayment, drip edge, protective coating, etc.
  • Labour – Skilled workers who remove the old roof and install a new one.
  • Disposal – Trashing or recycling of old roofing materials.

Asphalt shingles are cheaper than metal, tile and slate. They’re cheap to buy, install and maintain. Roofing materials are costly, especially if you have a complex or large roof.  Professional installation raises the cost.

Labour amounts to 40-50% of the total cost. The more complex your roof, the more labour it takes and the higher the bills. Roof maintenance is cost-effective and eco-friendly because the existing roof isn’t torn off and thrown away.

Signs It’s Time for Roof Replacement

Though expensive, roof replacement saves the day when your roof is badly damaged. Replace your roof as soon as these issues come to light:

  • Curling shingles
  • “Bald spots” or loss of granules
  • Cracked or brittle shingles
  • Visible mat or missing shingles
  • Water leaking into house or attic

Ways to Reduce Roof Replacement Costs

  1. Do Your Homework

Understand your roof – its size and complexity. Before you talk to roofers, know the materials you need installed. These details encourage competitive pricing and keep estimates consistent. Contractors will swindle you if you don’t know roofing jargons. For instance, the term “roofing square” means 100m2 of roofing material. Installation and disposal fees should feature in the quote.

  1. Shop Around

Get quotes from 2-3 roofers in Sunshine Coast. Extremely low bids mean subpar materials and work. Ask for recommendations and check online reviews before hiring anyone. Make sure the contractor offers a warranty on installation and materials.

  1. Time It Right

Roofers are very busy in fall and late summer. Replacing your roof in spring or late winter may yield off-season discounts or lower prices.

  1. Use Your Insurance

Homeowner’s insurance covers roof damage caused by bad weather – not neglect. If a storm damages your shingles, an insurer may pay the replacement cost fully or partly.

  1. Do It Yourself

Consider doing some of the work yourself. You’re good to go if you have sufficient time, the right tools and a stomach for heights. Remove old materials before the roofer arrives. This cuts costs. It’s dirty, exhausting and sometimes risky work. But, at the end of the day, you save big bucks.

  1. Consider an Overlay

Install new shingles over the existing ones. Since the old roof is left intact, overlays cost less and require little labour. However, overlays may shorten or void the warranty on roofing materials. Still, overlays increase future replacement costs because, the next time around, multiple layers have to be removed.

Clay Tile Roofing

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The derivation of clay tile roofing can be traced back from China and the Middle East. These two regions influenced and spread the use of the material throughout Asia and Europe. Even up to this time, Europeans have been using clay tiles for their roof and they also introduced this roofing material to the United States around the 17th century. Clay tile roofing became famous in the US because of its durability, almost maintenance-free, and heat resistance.

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Clay tile is mainly characterized by its shape and composition. Its other attributes are resistance to breakage, absorption, resistance to freeze-thaw cycles, fireproof, and long-lasting. It can last up to an average of 50 to 70 years, but if the quality of clay tile is good, it can even survive beyond that. This type of material is well-known for its traditional and architectural features from centuries ago that is evidently seen in historical remnants of famous structural towers and buildings.

The clay tiles used for clay tile roofing are generally produced in two common shapes, profile and flat. Profile type may be classified into pan and cover, S-tile, and interlocking. Flat tile type can either be just interlocking or non-interlocking.

Clay tile manufacturers produce tiles of different quality. Some have superior and durable tile features; others are made of even unacceptable quality at a very cheap price. The tendency of the latter is that it may corrode and wear down after some time. Unlike wood shakes and other roofing materials, this type doesn’t undergo curing like kiln drying or chemical treatment to add up to its durability. Since clay tile eventually erodes, this is best applied for dry climates where rainy seasons are not constant. Considering that clay tiles readily absorb water, the location should be highly taken into account.

Clay tile roofing definitely needs strong roofing support because it is massive and is a very heavy material. If in cases of leakage or cracking, clay tiles need not be replaced but can just be repaired. Clay tiles are not only expensive and labor-intensive, installation is also a bit costly. But the use of the material conveys a distinctive look to your home or to a building that cannot be matched by any other roof.

When choosing clay tile roofing, seek the professional advice of expert roofers or roofing consultants. It’s better to pay a higher price rather than end up replacing clay tile roofs every 5 or 6 years because you, unfortunately, ended up with a poor quality clay tile roofing material.