Guide
Signs your roof is finished
Most roofs give you two or three years of warning. The trouble is that the warnings are easy to explain away one at a time.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Rolling Hills contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Rolling Hills is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Repeated repairs in different places
When the leaks stop clustering and start appearing anywhere, you are not fixing a fault any more. You are paying for a replacement in instalments, at a worse rate.
Granules in the gutter
The granules are the sunscreen. Losing them in volume means the asphalt beneath is being cooked directly, and from that point the roof ages in years rather than decades.
Daylight or damp in the attic
Go up on a bright day with the lights off. Pinpoints of daylight through the deck, dark staining on the sheathing, damp insulation or rust running down a nail shank all say water is getting in and has been for a while.
Shingles that curl, cup or go brittle
Look along the roof from the ground at a low angle rather than straight on. Edges that lift, corners that curl upward and a surface that no longer lies flat all mean the material has lost its flexibility. Brittle shingles crack when walked on, which is why contractors stop wanting to walk them.
The age on the paperwork
Age alone is not a reason to replace. Age plus any one of the symptoms above usually is.
Sagging along a line
Straight lines going wavy means something underneath has softened. That is no longer a roofing question with a cheap answer.
In short
None of these on their own settles it. Two together usually do. An inspection costs little and removes the guesswork entirely.
Related questions
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Contain the water, photograph everything, and get the request in marked as an emergency. A tarp is the right first job. The permanent repair is a separate conversation and a separate price.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Often you legally can, and it is usually a poor idea. Overlaying hides the condition of the decking, adds weight, shortens the life of the new shingles by trapping heat, and doubles the cost of the next tear-off.
Should I take the cheapest quote?
Not automatically. Put the quotes side by side on layers, not on totals — underlayment, ice-and-water, drip edge, valley treatment, ventilation, decking allowance, warranty. Cheap usually means less of those, not the same roof for less money.
What is it going to cost?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.