As a homeowner, you’ve probably thought of doing your own roof repairs to save money.
Maybe after some contractor quotes, you figured it’d be much cheaper to buy the materials yourself and watch DIY YouTube videos.
It might even be faster to do it yourself before the severe weather kicks in.
While these ideas may sound cost-saving, in truth, they aren’t, and here’s why:
1. Knowing How To Fix It
While a lot of the knowledge on roof repairs is on the internet, what isn’t there is the experience to know if you’re doing a good job or not.
Replacing a few shingles may seem like a quick swap, but in reality shingles become a welded membrane, integrating new with old takes research and time.
2. The Difficulty of Moving and Disposing of Materials
Whether it’s sheathing boards or piles of shingles, you’re bound to make some messes in the process. What you think takes a few hours, generally turns in to a day project easily.
These are reasons why you won’t want to do this yourself:
- Driving an hour plus to and from the waste facility.
- Renting a trailer for the larger roof scraps.
- Hauling the trash yourself after finishing the repair
- Paying to dump your scraps depending on trash weight.
3. Material Prices
Online guides don’t list the prices of the materials needed for a roof repair, only the quantity needed. This means that the costs can easily be double, if not triple compared to what you were expecting. It could even be the same as hiring a contractor instead.
A contractor on the other hand knows the estimates, and also knows it’s much cheaper for them. That’s because hardware stores offer contractor prices that are much lower than average prices.
4. The Risk of DIY Repairs – It’s Dangerous
In the Pacific Northwest, roof repairs always carry a dangerous element.
Roof repairs take serious leg strength and stamina, and unless you’re used to standing at an incline, you’ll quickly find out that it’s exhausting to stand on the roof for more than an hour.
It’s also not safe unless you’re secured to the roof by professional roof climbing equipment.
Don’t risk it!
5. Hiring a Contractor Pays Off In The Long Run
Your roof is an essential part of your home and repairs take just as much time and consideration as any other major home repair. Don’t let the idea of saving on roof repairs with DIY techniques lead you to costly repairs or even personal injury.
Another advantage to hiring a contractor is that they provide a manufacturer and labor warranty in addition to their work. This gives you peace of mind in case a repair didn’t meet your requirements or come up to standards.
