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Shingles perfectly exemplify things of beauty that can (in real life) give you forever joy. But they are more.
Shingles line the structure of your roof from water, dust, debris, snow, winds, heat, and cold, all the while enhancing your home’s aesthetics too.
If damaged, the layer of shingles can compromise the structure and beauty of the building. So in this regard, it needs to be well taken care of, regardless of the material they are made from.
But how do you know it’s time to hire credible professionals that offer roof shingle repair near you? Just look out for these distinctive tell-tale signs!
A Shingle is Missing
And that is a ‘singular’ noun – “a shingle”. Shingle sizes vary from ten to fifteen inches, typically.
So, a single shingle missing from your roof gives anywhere between 100 to 200 square inches of minimum area for water to seep in and damage the roofing structure.
Cracked, Chipped, or Broken Shingles
High-velocity winds, hail, heavy downpours, debris, and tree branches can physically damage the shingles.
Cracked or broken, a weakened shingle lets moisture soak the concrete, metal, wood, asphalt, and other materials used in the crown of your house.
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Age
Even if you have no clear signs of water damage, leakage, or shingle damage, it’s still best to have it checked.
You may have taken good care of your roof throughout these years and we commend you for that. However, if your roof shingles have not been looked at by an expert in more than 12 years, you need to hire a service today!
Faded Shingles
Over the years, the sun and rainwater will take a toll on your roof shingles. While rain is more impartial to the tiles and how it fades them, sunlight will decolorize shingles leaving different shades.
Other Kinds of Discoloration – Dark Streaks, Marks, and Patches
These defects occur when water gets lodged in specific areas of the roof. This can lead to algae growth, moss, debris, and such other factors.
If you are not worried about such markings damaging the aesthetics of your structure, remember that they can do more.
Algae, moss, and ferns have fine roots that can easily infiltrate the roof, damage it, and let more water in. Some kinds of algae even soak up water and form a jelly-like coating on the concrete. This makes it more difficult to dry.
Curling and Clawing
Shingles are usually asphalt – a material that can get damaged from being exposed to too much heat for years. Curled or clawed shingles represent this damage.
Such shingles also tell you that the rest of the shingles will soon face the same fate. The best thing to do would be to replace at least the pieces that are most exposed to the sun.
Sagging, Cupping, Buckling, Crowning, and Peaking
These are all the signs that show that different shingles are expanding and deforming at different rates. The shingles, therefore, cannot stay interlocked and relatively in place anymore.
All these signs also tell you that water, snow, heat, debris, and other elements are making their way to the insides of your roof.
Flashing Damage and Distortion
Flashings are installed to prevent water damage. They also do their best in holding the shingles at the edges and key positions in place.
But factors like shingle expansion and disarray, the elemental forces, and bad installation can result in damaged flashing.
When the waterproof flashings are compromised, water damage increases exponentially. At the same time, more tiles can get damaged and misplaced as they are no longer protected by the flashing. Another consequence of damaged flashing is obviously distorted flashing looks bad on your roof.
Shingles have Lost Granules
Shingles can lose granules due to rain, hail, tree branches, and bad installation. Lost granules can appear as darker or lighter patches or bare spots.
The granules that are set loose also prevent water from draining off. These signs of wearing call for immediate attention so that the damage does not spread.
Stains
Last but not the least, stains!
So, why is a water stain such an important sign that you need to repair the shingles of your roof? Why do we need to mention water stains at all? Is that not a given? If there are stains, there must be a leak and it should be fixed, right?
The reason why we need to discuss leaks is that they are either unnoticeable or at least unnoticed.
Water stains in and around washrooms and kitchens are the hardest to identify because these are places where there are many pipes and taps.
There’s no denying that plumbing is inherently prone to leaks. So, wherever you look for a problem, there might be one. And even if a house owner looks into the situation, the leak from the roof can go unnoticed.
One Bad Shingle = One Bad Roof
There are many ways to put this. When a shingle is thwarted, it is a hole in the ship. And if a shingle is in bad shape, your roof is too.
Keep these 10 signs in mind and don’t wait until it’s too late to have your shingles repaired to avoid spending more money than you anticipated.
