Installing a new roof is an expensive project. Once installed, it can last for decades depending on the material used. However, if the roofer didn’t perform the installation correctly, problems will appear much sooner which you don’t want. Even though you should find a certified and skilled roofing contractor for roof installation in the first place, if you’re worried your roof is improperly installed, look for these signs.
Uneven Roof Appearance
Perhaps the first thing that will have you begin wondering if the roof is installed correctly is the uneven appearance of the roof. If your roof looks good from one side but appears older from the other side, this is usually due to improper installation.
Roofers who cut corners mismatch shingles to save money, which leads to different rates of deterioration of the shingles. It results in an uneven appearance of the roof only a few months after the installation. This is why it’s critical to use shingles of the same batch for roof installation.
If you suspect mismatched shingles, another sign of this is that some parts of the roof will appear slightly different in color and texture from other parts. As the shingles will be from different batches, they won’t fit as perfectly as they should.
Coming back to uneven appearance, there are other reasons for uneven appearance as well, but all of them will cause problems like pooling of water on some specific parts of the roof, sagging roof, and overall reduced lifespan of the roof.
Use Of Different Roofing Materials
We mentioned above that bad roofers cut corners and use mismatched shingles. Sometimes, they run out of the roofing material they are supposed to use, and then they complete the remaining part of the job with inferior-quality materials.
To detect this, you need to visually inspect the roof. If some shingles appear different in texture or color from others, the roofer has either used shingles of different batches or different materials. This will cause leakage soon or later.
Damaged Or Missing Shingles
Due to exposure to extreme weather conditioners or over time, shingles sustain damage. You may notice cracked or missing shingles after a severe storm or when the shingles are old and your area sees a mild storm.
But if you notice missing shingles a few days or months after installation, the roofer is to blame. In the case of a storm, if the intensity was mild and all or most of your neighbors’ roofs were unharmed, then it’s due to improper installation. But if the intensity was high and some of the neighbors’ roofs also sustained damage, then it may be because of the storm.
Missing shingles don’t go unnoticed and they allow an open space for water to seep into the roof. Therefore, get your inspection immediately.
Improper Gutter Installation
The gutters of a roof may not look like something important but they are solely responsible for directing water out of the roof. So, if gutters are not installed properly, the roof won’t be drained of water which can cause a lot of damage to the roof.
Water can damage the foundation of your house and can even begin to show stains on the exterior or interior walls of your house. Moreover, due to water, mold and mildew will grow in the parts where water will be present.
So, how to spot bad gutter installation? It’s something that’s possible with a visual inspection. Badly installed gutters will be saggy. If you’re still not unsure, the first strong downpour after the roof installation will make it certain that the gutters weren’t installed properly if rainwater doesn’t find its way off the roof easily.
No Drip Edges Or Improperly Installed Drip Edges
The pieces of metal strips you see along the edges of roofs are drip edges. They are installed to protect the roof from water damage. With them, water can’t get beneath the shingles from the edges of the roof.
However, if they are not present at all or improperly installed, water won’t be properly restricted to seeping into the shingles and the roof. This will cause many problems like it will increase the risk of the shingles on the edges blowing off with wind and damage the fascia of the home which is the board that is installed along the roof edges. Eventually, these problems will shorten the lifespan of your roof.
If there are no drip edges or they appear deformed, get your roof inspected by another roofing company.
Flashing Problems
Apart from drip edges that are the flashing used for the edges of the roof, the vents, and chimney require flashing as well.
Here, inexperienced or bad roofers try to save money by reusing the old flashing during a roof replacement. They use it because it’s not a violation of any code to reuse old flashing. However, it can only increase of risk of water leakage through the flashing.
How? Even when the old flashing or the old roof wasn’t leaking, reusing the old flashing for roof replacement is problematic because the nails used for installing the new roof might not fit the holes made in the old flashing. If they don’t, there will be leakage problems. So, experienced roofers always discard the old flashing and install new flashing with a new roof.
Stains On The Roof
Stains appearing on your roof are a clear sign that there is water leakage somewhere on the roof. If you see dark-colored stains only a few months after the roof installation, it means a bad roofing job.
However, you should check the severity of the problem. If the stains are few and only in one region, they may be fixed easily. However, if most of the roof appears stained, repair may cost more or the roofer may suggest a roof replacement.
Sagging Rooflines
A visual inspection of a roof can tell a lot about how well it was installed. Check out the roof from the ground. If the rooflines are curved and not straight, you may need to get someone to inspect the roof thoroughly because the roofer who installed it, did a bad job.
What curved rooflines mean? The roofline must be straight. If it’s curved, the roofer wasn’t experienced enough to properly install the roof decking and framing. Have the roof decking inspected because problems with roof decking cause sagging rooflines and this won’t be fixed even if you solely install new shingles again.
Wrong Nails Used
This is a bit difficult to notice by homeowners, but using the wrong nails can lead to water infiltration as well. The nails used for installing different roofing materials should be taken care of properly as one nail type doesn’t work for all roofing materials. The size, grade, and type of the nail should work with the roofing materials being installed.
Moreover, wrong nailing techniques lead to problems also. If the roofer underdrives the nail, it won’t reach the roof decking. This will cause leakage and missing shingles. On the other hand, overdriven nails also pose a risk of leakage due to the minor hole formed on the shingles.
Conclusion
After spotting a bad roofing job, you can claim the workmanship warranty of the roofer. However, if there isn’t any warranty or the warranty has passed, get the roof inspected and repaired by expert roofers Tallmadge who stand behind their work.
