Roof Leak Repair - Cost, Process, & Warning Signs
No one wants to wake up first thing in the morning and discover that the drizzle happening outside has made its way inside. Every homeowner knows the feeling of dread that comes with locating a leak. The good news is that roof leak repair can be handled quickly without taking too much out of your wallet.
How Much Does It Cost to Repair a Roof Leak?
The average cost of a roof leak repair in Evergreen, CO is between $1,500 and $2,000. There are many factors that affect this pricing, such as:
The type of roofing system
What kind of shingles or tiles are on the roof
If the homeowner has extra shingles or tiles leftover from their last re-roof
The age of the roof
The pitch (steepness) of the roof
What kind of penetration is causing the leak
The size of the area that needs to be repaired
If the home is located in a part of the mountains that is difficult to access
Homeowners may balk at roof leak repair estimates, but it’s important to keep in mind that maintaining your roof is an investment in your home’s value and in the safety of your family. A small repair now can go a long way towards preventing costly water damage.
What are the Most Common Reasons a Home in Evergreen, CO Would Require a Roof Repair?
Despite the popular belief, it usually isn’t the nesting habits of the local wildlife that necessitate a mountain home needing the roof repaired. Those sneaky squirrels and raccoons just aren’t big enough to do that much damage to your roof.
The number one reason for roof leak repair in Evergreen, CO is human error.
Homeowners often have contractors - who are not specifically roofers - come out to install or repair things on their roof, such as:
Skylights
Antennae
Satellite dishes
Vents
Chimneys
Contractors who are not experienced in roofing systems may not properly flash the penetrations that they are installing on a roof. Flashing is a material used to create a watertight seal around vulnerable areas on a roof; if you’ve ever been up on your roof, you may have seen it in the spots where your roof meets a vertical wall or forms a valley.
According to Troost Roofing, the key to a successful skylight, antennae, or vent installation is for the flashing to fully wrap around the curb on which the penetration sits. That flashing must be incorporated into the rest of the roof system in order for it to remain water tight. Any breaks in the roof’s protective barrier can allow water to leak into the home, which creates expensive damage to ceilings, walls, floors, and even the home’s foundation.
If you just had a skylight, vent, or satellite dish installed on your home and you notice signs of a leak, give Troost Roofing a call! With over 50 years of experience, the Troost team has all the skills to perform an installation correctly and to fix the mistakes of other contractors.
What is the Process for Performing a Spot Repair on a Roof?
Roof leak repairs can usually be completed in a day; however, some roofing systems that are more complex may take a little longer. The process for repairing a leaking roof is relatively straight forward. When you hire Troost Roofing, this is how our team handles a spot repair:
Leaks are most often caused by an improperly installed skylight, antenna, vent, or satellite dish. Once Troost has identified the source of the leak, the roofing 3 to 4 feet around it must be removed.
If a penetration like a skylight is the cause of the leak, then the skylight will also be removed. The curb that raises the skylight up off the roof is left in place.
The existing flashing and underlayments must also be removed in order to be reinstalled correctly.
Once the underlayments have been removed, the Troost team installs Grace Ice and Water Shield. Grace is the industry standard material used for waterproofing. In places like Evergreen that get lots of snow, a good ice and water shield is a must. This layer of Grace Ice and Water Shield is tied in with the roof system’s existing weatherproofing to create an unbroken seal.
The Troost team will correctly install new flashing around the penetration in the roof. For skylights, the flashing must go all the way around the curb to prevent another leak from developing.
After the flashings have been installed, the roof system can be reassembled around the penetration. If you have extra shingles or tiles leftover from your last re-roof, that can make the repair go a lot faster. In some cases, the Troost may need to head into town and pick up additional shingles/tiles/metal that match your roof to complete the spot repair.
The Troost team will then add weatherstripping to reduce the air migration around the skylight or vent. Although it is not possible to stop all air migration, weatherstripping is an important tool for regulating climate in your home. After all, you pay so much money for heat in the winter and AC in the summer, so you probably don’t want to be heating or cooling the outdoors too.
The final step is for the penetration to be reinstalled. In the case of skylights, this means that the dome or flat glass will be put back onto the curb.
Spot Repair vs Partial Replacement vs Full Replacement: What Does My Roof Need?
If you have noticed a leak or have concerns about the health of your roof, a roofing professional will be able to tell if it can be addressed with a spot repair, a partial replacement, or a full replacement. In general, the type of care your roof needs can be determined by the age of the roof, the extent of the damage, the cause of the leak, and what kind of shape the roofing is in.
Roof leak repairs in Evergreen can be performed if the roof is relatively new and the shingles are in good shape. This is important because part of a repair is taking apart the roof system and then re-assembling it after adding more flashing. If the shingles are too brittle to be safely reassembled, then a spot repair will not be your best option. In that case, you may require a partial re-roof to address the area where the leak is or a full roof replacement to update the roof system.
Homeowners who insist on a spot repair when what their home really needs is a full re-roof run the risk of simply moving the leak around. A roof leak repair company can make the area around a skylight or vent watertight, but if the roofing system is old and fragile, then a new leak may develop at the seam where the repair was tied into the existing aging roofing system.
At th end of the day, no homeowner wants to pay for a roof repair then need to fork over more money when it comes time for a full roof replacement. Sometimes the most effective, efficient option is to replace an old roof rather than paying for spot repairs at the problem areas.
Is a spot repair, a partial replacement, or a complete re-roof right for you? The best way to find out is to give Troost Roofing a call. Troost’s owner lives locally and understands the needs of mountain homeowners. He can be trusted to give it to you straight about what your home needs to stay safe, weather proof, and to retain high property values.
Roof Leak Repair Estimates: What Factors Influence the Cost of a Spot Repair?
You can Google variations on the question “how much does it cost to repair a roof leak?” but what other people paid may not be applicable to your home.
For homeowners in Evergreen, Golden, and Idaho Springs, it’s normal to pay between $1,500 and $2,000 for a roof spot repair. There are many factors that go into that price which can land your job towards the higher or lower end of that spectrum. These are the 5 factors that have the biggest impact on the price of a roof repair:
What type of roofing system is on your home
Some roofing systems, like metal roofs, are installed in a directional pattern. This means that if the leak is in the middle, then the roof will have to be disassembled starting at the finishing end, all the way back to the leak. This necessary process is time consuming, which means that the job can cost more than it would for other roofing systems.
What kind of shingles are on your roof and do you have extras
The standard roofing shingle is asphalt, which can efficiently be taken on and off with the need for special handling. However, some shingles and tiles must be assembled and disassembled in a certain way. This makes metal roof leak repair take longer, thus it can cost more. If your home has specialty materials like concrete tile, then a spot repair will be more involved and thus come with a higher price tag.
If you have extra shingles or tiles from when you had your roof done, that can speed up the repair process and potentially affect the cost of the job. Roofers may need extra shingles to complete a repair if some of the shingles around the leak aren’t in the best shape. If you don’t have any extras, then the roofer will need to make a run into town to match the type, color, and shape to complete the job.
The age of the roof
Spot repairs aren’t always the best option for an older roof. However, when an older roof is being repaired, it is often a more labor-intensive process. When roofing materials age, they can become frail when handled. This means that the roofers will have to be extra gentle when they disassemble and reassemble your roof after sealing the leak.
What is causing the leak?
Roof leaks are mostly commonly caused by a penetration being improperly installed. The size of the penetration determines how much of the roof must be taken apart in order to flash the leak and tie in the new roofing materials. If a larger portion of the roof needs to be addressed, that will take longer to repair and use more materials, which informs the price.
The home’s accessibility
Homeowners in Evergreen, CO enjoy quiet lives away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, being so far away from businesses and other houses may make it more difficult for roofers to complete repairs on your home. Complete re-roofs and even roof leak repairs require a lot of materials to be transported and loaded onto your roof. When the crew can’t get a truck up against the side of your house to transfer materials, that can slightly extend the time it takes to do the job.
Emergency Roof Leak Repair Needed: Signs To Look For
Most homeowners don’t find themselves up on their roofs very often. This can be for the best because most roofing shingles are built to handle rain, snow, sun, and the occasional woodland animal, not consistent wear and tear from human weight.
The good news is that you don’t need to climb up onto your roof to know how it’s doing; if you have a leak, you’ll be able to tell if you look for these indoor signs:
Discoloration, usually the color of tea or coffee, on ceilings, walls, or floors.
Distortions in the texture of the paint, such as wrinkles, bubbles, or signs of peeling.
The smell of mold or mildew that does not have any other clear cause.
Suddenly increased energy bill - this is due to air migration that occurs when a roof is not properly and thoroughly weatherstripped.
Puddles of water on the floor in the same spot that have no other cause.
Rotting wood beams in the attic.
Roof leaks most commonly occur after something is installed on the roof. If you have recently had a skylight, vent, satellite dish, or chimney installed, there is a chance that the contractor did not properly install flashing around the new feature. Be extra vigilant for signs of leaks after any new installation in order to catch them as early as possible. The key to protecting the value of your home is to notice damage-causing situations and have them addressed as soon as possible.
Got a Leak?
If you’ve noticed a leak in your home or if your roof is getting up there in age, give Troost a call! Our team lives and operates locally, so we understand the needs of homeowners in mountain communities. Troost offers spot repairs, partial roof replacement, and complete re-roofs, plus we install skylights. If you want the job done correctly the first time, choose Troost!
