If your roof has recently been installed, any damage that it incurs may be due either to environmental factors or a deficiency in the roof installation process. If the roof is installed incorrectly or with the wrong materials, the roof won’t last as long. If your roof frequently faces harsh weather, the roof can also sustain damage.
Here are some basics to help you determine whether your roof damage is likely to be from installation problems or from weather damage.
Symptoms of Damage Caused by Weather
Weather can be one of the most dramatic causes of roof failure. Both summer storms and winter weather, as well as strong winds at any time of year, can violently damage a roof. While some roof damage from weather is subtle, other instances involve obvious problems such as leaks.
Missing shingles, downed branches dropped onto your roof by wind or snow, or a roof that’s suddenly pockmarked after a hailstorm are classic symptoms. Some other common signs of weather damage to the roof include:
- Wet spots inside your attic
- Missing or damaged pieces of flashing
- Torn shingles
Weather damage to your roof should never be taken lightly and could be more serious than it appears. If you notice any of these signs after a weather event, call the insurance adjuster and a roof repair company as soon as possible.
Symptoms of Damage Caused by Poor Installation
Often, damage caused by poor installation or defective materials will be easy to distinguish from weather damage. For instance, if your roof starts to show wavy lines shortly after installation, this can be due to installation mistakes such as placing shingles over wet underlayment or simply not installing underlayment correctly.
However, you can also have a situation where weather damage occurred simply because of poor roof installation. If your roof leaks around the flashing after rainstorms, you technically have damage from weather, but it may have occurred because your roofer didn’t install the flashing correctly. And if shingles aren’t nailed well, they can more easily suffer wind damage.
Just because a leak appears after a storm, that doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that poor quality materials or workmanship were involved. If you hired an inexperienced contractor for your last roof job or hired the company with the cheapest price quote, you may want to have a more experienced, reputable contractor come out to inspect the damage.
Symptoms of Damage That Could Be From Either Cause
One type of damage that could be caused or affected by either the roof installation or the weather is blistering of the roof shingles. This type of damage can occur because of defective roof, but it’s more likely to be caused by more foundational problems with the roof itself. Ventilation problems, for instance, are one possible cause.
If the roof was installed in such a way that it overheats easily in the sun, this can cause new roofing to lose granules in spots where the tar mixture bubbles up due to extreme heat. The roof could be extra vulnerable to heat if roof ventilation is poor or if your roof was installed over your previous roof, rather than over a bare roof deck, creating a multi-layer roof that traps heat.
Both poor installation practices and hostile weather situations can pose a direct threat to roof integrity. In some cases, the two can be easy to tell apart. Other times, they could work together, and you may need an expert diagnosis to figure out what’s going on.
Whether you need a diagnosis for a mysterious roof ailment, a major roof repair or replacement, or even simple maintenance for your roof, contact us today to learn how we can help. Amenity Roofing, Siding & Gutters LLC provides a variety of roofing services for any residential customer and can work with a number of different roofing materials.
