The average cost of an asphalt roof replacement is about $7,100, so you should definitely take a moment to get your bearings.

A residential roofing service doesn’t have to be scary though. In fact, the average kitchen remodel will cost between 5 to 10% of a home’s value, which is more than the shingle roof!

What’s involved in basic residential roofing services? How do you know you’re getting what you need? We’re going to answer that and more, so keep scrolling.

What Can You Expect With a Residential Roofing Service?

Part of servicing a roof comes down to what kind of roof system you have.

Most residential roofs are not flat but rather, have a slope or pitch to it of about 30 degrees. In this roofing system, the foundation of your roof is your trusses. Atop the trusses goes your roof deck.

Here’s how a basic roof system works. You have underlayment material on the roof deck and above that, you have roofing shingles or tiles. Where different faces or sides of your roof meet, you have a hip or ridge.

This fairly simple roof system has a lot of parts that work together to keep your roof waterproof and your home dry.

Underlayment Material

There are three kinds of underlayment materials to choose from. These do the heavy lifting of your roof system, so to speak:

• Felt paper
• Synthetic
• Rubberized

Synthetic underlayment systems started to come on the scene about 2005 and gradually gained in popularity and use as more roofers became familiar with it. Until that time, felt paper injected with asphalt was the primary underlayment material, nailed to the wooden roof deck with tabs.

Felt paper is a simple, easy, and quick installation process. There are issues, however.

Its ease of use is also the biggest drawback of the material. It’s very easy to damage before, during, and after installation, until you apply the final roofing material.

Non-bitumen synthetic underlayment (as it is officially called) is often a fabric woven of polyethylene or polypropylene. It’s more walkable than felt and easier to work with without getting dirty. It also is more expensive but comes in longer rolls, meaning you theoretically require less to cover the same amount of roof.

Rubberized roofing underlayment is an asphalt product usually with adhesive on one side. It provides a significant barrier against leaks and often has self-healing properties.

All have their drawbacks and advantages. The synthetic underlayment system may very well take over the market in the coming years.

Financing

Financing a roof is a difficult task. While it isn’t so expensive that it is out of the realm of possibility, coming up with an average of $7,100 isn’t something that all homeowners have at hand.

First of all, check with your insurance company to see if the roof replacement is covered by them. Unless it was damaged in a storm and reported promptly afterward, likely it won’t. When the roof is done, be sure to update them, however, as it could be considered upkeep on the home and help save a little afterward.

A home warranty (which is similar to home insurance) is worth a mention, although it is unlikely your roof will be covered by it. It’s worth taking a look, at the very least.

Taking out a Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC is going to be the most-used option by most homeowners without cash on hand. The interest rates tend to be lower, as there’s less risk for the bank and if you can’t pay it, they get the house. It’s basically a second mortgage, in a manner of speaking.

A personal loan is not ideal, but the interest rates are still low enough that it is within the realm of possibility.

The last resort would be emergency-only, and that is to use a credit card. The interest rates on cards, especially when shelling out over $7,000, will cost you about $2,100 more by the end of it. A $7,000 roof becomes a nearly $10,000 roof.

Short Work Duration

The good news is that a new roof doesn’t take long. Depending on the weather, location, size of the roofing crew, and roof system, the job may last 2 to 3 days. However, a very skilled roofing crew could do the work in a single day, depending on the size of your home’s roof.

Of course, every roof is different and requires an estimate from a professional contractor.

The Roof Will Have a Long Lifetime

More good news: roofs last a long time. Even if there are some trouble spots that pop up over the years, you can generally manage to keep a well-maintained shingle roof in service for at least 25 years.

Again, this depends on many factors, including location. If you live in Florida and have storms back-to-back every year, it’ll eat into the lifetime of your roof, especially if something blows into it or a tree falls on it.

Long story short, the lifetime of a roof depends on outside factors, despite a long theoretical lifetime.

The Last Nail

So how does it all work? You should have an idea when you pick the residential roofing service contractor.

Residential roofing services aren’t as scary or as expensive as you probably thought. It can be home maintenance and improvement all in one. Not only that, but it can also add to the value of your home.

There are a lot of parts to a roof, and it’s important to know why they’re there and how they work. Your contractor will always know more about roofing than you, but you don’t have to be enemies.

At Innovative Roofing, we work with you, not against you. Don’t wait until there’s a problem. Contact us now to have a partner in your roofing services!