Your “Ugly” Roof Will Become a Leaky Roof – Sooner Than You Think!

You’ve tried not to notice the extra grit at the bottom of your downspouts. You’ve ignored the curling, cupping, missing, blistering, missing/torn and just plain old shingles and roof areas for as long as possible.

Now you’ve got water spots forming on the ceiling…in a couple rooms and one of them is right above your bed. Mold has likely already started to breed in your attic. Wet and ruined insulation causes attic heat loss, more shingle blistering and it’s costing you a fortune in higher energy bills. It’s now just a matter of time before buckets adorn your floors and you’re rudely awakened in a wet spot.

Hyperbole? Not really, not if you wait until your roof leaks water into your house. So what can you do to prevent that? Inspect your roof at least twice per year, in the spring and fall, from the ground or upstairs windows if at all possible. Use binoculars if appropriate. Only climb onto your roof with proper training, certification and safety equipment. Or contact Hy-Grade for your free, cheerful and convenient, no-obligation roof consultation and quote to the penny.

If you’re inspecting your roof here are the signs to look for:

Increasing amounts of shingle grit accumulating in downspout runoff.
Streak marks on the shingles running down the roof. This is a sign of attic heat loss due to inadequate attic ventilation and/or insulation. It can lead to blistering, shorter shingle life and eventual leaking.
Shingle deterioration: blistering, torn, missing, curled/cupping, (AKA “ugly”) shingles.

If you see your roof deteriorating, don’t wait. Your “ugly” roof will be a leaky roof.

Why Do Shingles Deteriorate And Deteriorate Prematurely?

The content of asphalt in shingles continues to fall and the result is painfully apparent – shingles are failing prematurely. As a matter of fact the quality has gotten so bad that new shingles begin curling, cupping and shedding grit/granules the moment they are exposed to weather and sunlight, so says the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for fiberglass shingles.

From Building Products of Canada, Inc. MSDS for Fiberglass Shingles, Storage section:

Product should be protected from the weather and direct sunlight.

The asphalt shingle product warranties, and the class action lawsuits filed against the shingle companies, are tacit admission that shingle life is shorter than they claim. “25-year” shingles last as few as four years, 30-year last as few as eight, 40-year as few as 12, and “Lifetime” warranties, like shingle warranties in general, have so many “exclusions” they’re almost not worth the paper on which they’re written. Learn more. How shingles are stored by the contractor who sells them to you can void the warranty before you ever buy them. Remember, if they’re stored outside, the warranty can be voided.