It’s never nice to hear that you are going to need to spend potentially thousands of dollars on repairs for your home, but that’s sometimes a necessary action, especially if you have encountered problems with your roof. All roofs need to replaced every now and again, and the material of yours will determine how long it lasts, alongside a host of other factors — weather, how much you maintain and repair it, wild critters, tree growth, etc. In some cases, however, you might not need a full roof replacement, and if you do, there are ways that you can save some money in the process.



1 - Make sure that you shop around.
It won’t take you long to realise that different companies will offer different quotes, and by asking around different companies, you can be sure that you're getting the best quote for you and your problem. One company might give you an estimate of $7,000 for a brand new roof. Another roofing contractor might give you an estimate of $2,000, because you don’t ned a new roof at all, just a few modifications and repairs here and there. If you hire the first company or contractor you come across, and the first price you are quoted, you won’t know whether or not you're being taken for a ride. If three companies say that you need minor repairs, but one company says that you need a full and expensive roof replacement, there’s a chance that one company is not being entirely honest with you. Either that or they’ve picked up on something that all the other roofing contractors haven’t.

2 - Do some research.
Do you know what the problem is on the roof? Or do you think you know? Certain jobs, such as guttering problems, the odd one or two broken shingles, and other simple damages don’t need a full roof replacement in order to resolve them. It’s easy to get taken advantage of when you don’t really know what the problem is, but asking around and getting more than one quote from more than one company will definitely help. You can get a good idea of what is actually wrong with the roof, and not just what one company thinks is wrong with the roof. You can save money by doing some roof tasks on your own, provided that you do your research first. Plastic guttering, for example, is relatively easy to install (although can still go wrong), and doesn’t always require a professional if you’re confident doing it yourself.

3 - Ask about insurance.
In some cases, damage caused to roof, particular by bad weather, will be covered by your homeowners insurance, meaning that your repair or replacement job could be cheaper than you thought. You can ask your roofing contractor to perform an inspection on the property that looks like it could have been caused by bad weather or other natural forces. In some cases, roofing contractors have many years of experience working with [difficult] insurance companies and will know just what to do. The best way to find this out is to ask your roofer before you agree for them to start work. If you're going to go through the insurance for certain parts of the job, or the entire job, it makes sense to hire someone that knows how the process works.

4 - Don't be afraid to ask questions.
And we’re talking about the really difficult questions too, such as —
Do I really need replacement of the entire roof? Why do I need this?
Can the damage be repaired through other means, such as targeted repairs?
What benefits will I reap from replacing the entire roof?
You should ask the questions you REALLY want to ask — the ones that make you feel better about paying out such a large amount of money for a roofing contractor. You should know exactly what that roofer or roofing team is going to do to your property, and how they plan to execute it, and also how long they are going to be hanging around for. If you encounter questions during the process, again, please ask. If they are wary, vague or cautious when answering your questions, you should really ask yourself why. Sometimes, the only way to get the answers you really want, is to just ask for them!

5 - Ask your roofer whether or not a replacement is REALLY necessary.
We've been building up to this point, but you should really ask your team whether or not it is VITAL that you replace the roof. If you still have a few more years of life to go with it, there's no point in replacing it early unless you want to change the way it looks or the material of the roof cladding. An asphalt roof will usually last for around twenty years, with metal and slate ones lasting considerably longer than that. If your roof has been on the building for less time than expected, it could mean that the roofer before didn’t do a great job, it wasn’t installed correctly, there has been a lot of damage, or there have been some ‘bodged’ repairs. Either that or minor areas of damage have been entirely ignored and not repaired.

6 - Discuss your requirements with roofing contractors.
If you know that you want to change the material of your roof to something else than what you already have, tell your roofing company. Let them know what YOUR desired outcome is, what your budget is, and how long you can give them for the work, and see what kind of resolution they can come up with. Most roofing contractors know that people have busy lives and tight budgets, so many of them will be more than willing to create a bespoke plan that works for your roof and your bank balance. You won’t know until you pick up the phone, give them a call, and find out more!

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