Understandably, people often want to know how much it is going to cost to repair a roof. It's hard to assign a specific cost to roof repairs since every home and every repair is different. What is useful, however, is taking a look at the following factors, all of which play a role in determining the cost of a roof repair.
Materials That Need Replacement
It typically costs less to repair a shingle roof than a roof made from tile or metal. This is simply because the materials are cheaper — shingles cost less than tile or metal. The cost of the repair will also depend on whether your roofer only has to replace the surface-level roofing, or whether they have to replace other components, like the roof deck or flashing.
Roof damage often starts off with damage to the surface layer, but progresses over time and starts to affect the roof deck. So, the sooner you have repairs made, the less extensive the damage will be and the less those repairs will cost.
Pitch of Your Roof
The steeper the roof, the more your repairs will typically cost. This is because roofers need to take more precautions when working on steep roofs. They have to wear harnesses and sometimes install temporary boards to step on when working on the roof. This means the repairs take longer than they would on a low-pitch roof, and roofers usually bill per hour for labor.
Skills Involved
The more skill the repairs involve, the more the roofing company will charge. For example, you'll typically pay more to have specialized tiles removed and replaced than to have a couple of new shingles laid down. Roofing companies have to pay their more highly skilled employees more, so they charge more for skilled work.
Extent of Repairs
Does a 1-foot square patch of your roof need work, or is a whole side of the roof looking worse for wear? The larger the area that needs repair, the more you'll pay. Repairing a larger part of the roof not only requires more materials but also more labor.
If your roof requires repairs, it's a good idea to have them made sooner rather than later. Fewer materials will be required, the size of the repair area will be smaller, and the repairs may not need to be made with as much skill. For an exact repair estimate, contact a residential roofing company in your area.
