Replacing an old roof

• Admin
• February 9, 2024

"Our home is our fortress". This statement is absolutely true for each of us, but for our fortress to be effective and protected we need a faithful ally.The roof the protection of our home and if there are problems with it, then there will be bad consequences for our house. It protects us from moisture and cold. It protects us from bad weather. Damage to a roof is easy to detect, but... sometimes. The most obvious symptoms of damage are leaks and moisture on the ceiling and walls of the top floor I say the walls, because sometimes there can be moisture where the chimney of the building passes, but this does not always mean that we have problems with the roof, only with the chimney. However, how do we know that we need roof repair or a complete replacement with another .Let's see.

As we have already said, the most obvious sign of structural changes in the roof are moisture and leaks.Of course, there are individual cases in which there are just one or two cracked tiles that let water in, but they can be quickly and easily replaced. The bad thing is, however, that these are too late signs and in most cases, when we notice moisture, it is already too late to make repairs and the replacement is needed completely with a new roof. To avoid this, we need to periodically go up to the attic and revise every meter of our roof. If we find dark spots on the sheathing or notice that the boards are damp and there is mold on them, we must take immediate measures. If you notice problems on the facade of the house or any discoloration on the new insulation, then this may be a sign that there are problems with the roof.Under normal conditions, the lifespan of the roof is about 50-60 years, but of course it is not eternal and at some point, even if all the wooden elements are properly protected, they will depreciate and wear out. Then a partial repair will not do the job and it is necessary to lay a whole new roof.Before starting the repair, make sure that you have secured the perimeter around the roof, because very often tiles fall and someone can get hurt.After you have ensured security for the people who pass by the house and your workers, we can start.

Before starting the construction of the new roof, you must have provided all the necessary materials, as well as their dimensions. If you are going to build identical to the old roof, then you can take the dimensions of every single element of the old structure. However, if there will be changes in the appearance of your roof, then get an engineer to calculate the new columns and beam dimensions for you. And then you're all set... The first thing is to get every single shingle off the roof. When we're done we can start hammering all the wood planks out of the the cladding. When we are ready and with that, we proceed to remove all the columns and beams.Of course, it looks elementary, but only in private cases, when no one lives in the attic. If you have additional insulation layers under the roof, prepare for a lot more work. Separately, you have to move all the furniture from the construction site, which makes the preparation for the repair very complicated.After you remove all the old items, the reverse process comes. The sequence is as follows - the installation of the columns, beams, wooden cladding and finally the tiles. It is very important to choose high-quality products, because the cheaper tiles, for example, do not differ in appearance from the expensive ones in any way, but they have one important feature. Cheap tiles are made to withstand fewer freeze and thaw cycles and if you live in a place where temperatures frequently drop below 0 degrees you will have a problem or at least very soon, but we will discuss that in another article, because you risk cutting the life of your new roof in half. It is good to add a waterproofing layer to protect the insulation and building structures from moisture that condenses on the underside of the roofing material during temperature changes.

What about the price?The value of the whole project is really very relative. My house is about 90 square meters and the replacement of the roof cost me about 10 thousand dollars, but that was in 2020. If you only use the attic as storage, you might consider not putting a new roof and to make a wonderful terrace in the veranda at the top of your house, but we will also discuss this in another article.