It’s not unusual to see a house built 10 years ago whose roof looks like it’s been there for at least 25. 

And it’s not like anyone did this on purpose, because who would knowingly install a bad roof?

When this happens, it’s usually a mix of bad luck and shortcuts. 

At first, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to cut a corner here and there, but then a few years go by, and you see the shingles are curling at the edges, and your bedroom has a weird stain on the ceiling. By the time you see the damage, it’s already serious.

How does this start, and why does it happen?

Think of What the Roof Has to Deal With

The roof is as exposed as it can be, and it reacts to literally everything around it. Sun, moisture, changes in temperature, it all matters, and you have to account for all of it before you’re set on which material you’ll use.

This can be explained best in an example:

A lives in Pennsylvania, and B lives in Arizona.

They both know that roofs don’t exactly come with expiration dates, but they also can’t choose the same types of materials because the climates are simply too different. 

Person A hired a roofing company Carlisle PA residents would hire. And that roofing company focused a lot on ventilation and insulation because of freeze-thaw cycles that open small gaps and keep the moisture trapped. 

B hired a company in Phoenix AZ, which deals with the opposite: no snow, but the sun there is crazy intense, so the shingles bake for most of the year. They thought more about reflective coatings and materials that are lighter in color than those that are moisture-resistant and provide better ventilation.

Both A and B need a roof, but that roof can’t be the same.

Where Things Usually Go Wrong

Unless you’ve installed a roof today and a tornado tears it out tomorrow, then your roof won’t fail at once. 

The real trouble starts before you can even see it, so let’s see what you need to keep an eye on.

Weak Spots Around Edges and Joints

The first places that water will find its way in are flashing and valleys. These are the seams and corners where one surface connects to the other, like along the chimney or a skylight. 

So, if you’ve got a small gap here and a piece of flashing that wasn’t tucked right there, that’s trouble. It doesn’t seem like that yet, but give it a few seasons. Water will keep messing up that same problematic spot every single time it rains, and at some point, it will most definitely get through.

You’ll see a stain on your ceiling once it does, but by the time that’s there, the wood underneath has already been wet for months.

Poor Airflow in the Attic

Your attic has to breathe. If it doesn’t, then it’s a trap for heat and moisture. 

The hot air will get stuck up there in the summer, which will make the shingles age faster from below. Then, once winter comes, warm air from the house will go up into the attic and melt the snow that’s on the roof. That water will run off and refreeze when it gets to the colder edges.

The result? Ice dams and moisture that has nowhere to go. And when humidity stays in one place, you’re looking at mold on the rafters and warped, rotting plywood.

Good airflow is a must.

Uneven or Rushed Installation

It’s normal to want your roof to be installed ASAP, but that shouldn’t be your priority. 

The most important thing is that the roof is installed properly, not quickly. When people rush, they take shortcuts and make mistakes, and the roof is too important to allow mistakes to happen to it.

A rushed job can’t handle a storm. Heck, it can’t handle a strong wind, let alone something more serious.

Skipping Important Layers

When you see them going down, you don’t think much of underlayment or ice and water shields. 

You see some dark sheets and sticky rolls, but all you’re really focused on are your pretty shingles. Sometimes, in order to save a few bucks, people cut out these layers, but that’s always a bad idea, especially if you live in a colder or wetter climate.

That extra layer that doesn’t look too impressive is what keeps the wind-driven rain from getting into tiny gaps, and it’s what seals around nail holes. 

If you skip it, the roof might be okay for a year or two, but when the first big freeze-thaw cycle hits, you’re toast.

Conclusion

Roofs put up with a lot, so as much as you might want to pinch a few pennies, the roof is no place to cut corners. Save on kitchen tiles or fixtures, but don’t compromise the integrity of your home to save money. It’s not worth it.

The silver lining in all this is that roofs don’t fall apart just like that. 

It starts small, and if you catch problems while they’re small, you’ll make your roof last for decades.