Author Archives: Eric Wenger

As a homeowner, your roof is one of the essential parts of your home. It protects you and your family from the elements, regulates indoor temperatures, and adds value to your property. But like most other things in your house, even a good-quality roof will wear out. Whether you love DIY projects or work with our professional team, this blog will answer some of the biggest questions about asphalt roofs.

Your roof’s lifespan depends on the effort you put into maintaining your roof. Knowing how long does an asphalt roof last will help you determine if you need a new roof. If you think your roof is nearing the end of its life, use these tips to determine if it’s time for a roof replacement.

Reasons Your Asphalt Roof Will Need Replacement

One of the most common questions homeowners ask is, “How long do asphalt roofs last?” This is not an easy question as several factors play into the answer, including materials used, installation method, climate, and how well the roof is maintained. 

Quality Of The Materials

The quality of the materials used on your roof directly affects how long your roof will last. Cheaper shingles use cheaper organic materials that will not last very long. Organic shingles can degrade and begin to break down in as little as 10 years, while high-quality shingles can last up to 30 years or more. The asphalt layer’s thickness will also affect how long the shingles last. The thicker the layer of asphalt, the better protection your shingles will have against the elements.

Installation Method

The installation method used for your asphalt roof will impact its lifespan. Shingles that need to be installed correctly are more likely to suffer from wind damage or leaks, which will cause them to fail prematurely. Here at Elmers Roofing, our roofing experts are the best of the best, and we can guarantee the job will be done correctly.

Aged Over 20 Years

Asphalt shingles are made up of base materials, such as fiberglass or felt, coated with a layer of asphalt and topped with granules. The shingles’ quality will significantly affect how long they will last. Asphalt shingles have a lifespan of 20-30 years; after this time, they will start to wear out due to natural aging. Over time being exposed to the weather cycle of sun, rain, and temperature change, they can become brittle and lose their protective properties.

Is Your Roof Leaking?

If you have water leaks from the ceiling inside your home, that is a strong indicator that your shingles are compromised by water damage. Have a professional examine your roof soon to prevent further damage from happening.

Sagging Ceiling

If your ceiling is sagging, you may be having significant roofing damage. A leaky roof lets water seep into your insulation, causing your ceiling to sag. Sagging ceilings can also indicate sitting water or snow on the roof that has compromised the integrity of your shingles, which may be close to causing your roof to cave in. Call a professional to look at it immediately. If you don’t act soon, your roof is susceptible to a cave-in from too much water.

What Is Your Climate

Your climate can affect how long your asphalt roof will last. If your home is exposed to harsh winds, heavy rain, or high temperatures, you may need to replace your roof faster than if you live in a temperate climate. In addition, the orientation of your roof can also affect its lifespan. Roofs facing south or west are more likely to be exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods, which can cause shingles to degrade faster.

Visible Curling or Missing Shingles

Curling or missing shingles is an issue you can spot yourself. If you see shingles curling or missing, damage requires a roof replacement or partial repair at the least.

Here Is How To Make Your Roof Last Longer

Maintenance is a crucial factor in how long your roof will last. If you are consistent in taking care of your roof, it can help extend its life and prevent damage. Here are some tips for maintaining your roof. 

• Clean gutters consistently to prevent water buildup under your shingles, as this could cause damage. The best practice is to clean your gutter every spring and fall. 
• Trim any tree branches that could fall on your roof and cause damage in the future. 
• Ensure you inspect your roof regularly for any signs of damage, such as cracked or broken shingles. 
• Repair any damage as quickly as possible to prevent it from getting worse. 
• Have your roof inspected by a professional every few years to catch any problems early. 

Given all the factors, it is hard to judge exactly how long an asphalt roof will last. Generally, you can expect a well-maintained roof to last 15-30 years. However, so roofs may last longer or shorter depending on the factors we’ve discussed above. If you are unsure of the lifespan of your asphalt roof, call us for an inspection, and our roofing professionals can let you know if you need any repairs done. We care about our customers’ homes and will ensure you feel safe and secure with your roof.

What Will Happen If You Don’t Fix Your Asphalt Roof?

As a homeowner, you know your roof is vital to protecting your family from the elements. But you may wonder, “What are the consequences if I don’t replace my roof?” Here are the top things you can expect if you don’t get your roof replaced. 

Energy Inefficiency 

One of the most important roles of your roof is to provide insulation. If your asphalt roof is old or damaged, it won’t provide the same level of protection as a new, or repaired roof. This will lead to a significant heat loss during the winter and become too hot during the summer. As a result, you will be spending a lot of money on your heating and cooling bills.  

Decreased Curb Appeal

Your roof is the most visible component of your home exterior. If it’s old and damaged, it will detract from your home’s curb appeal. A new asphalt roof will add instant curb appeal and increase the value of your home. This will make it hard to sell your home and reduce its value. 

Structural Damage

Water damage can weaken the structure of your home, causing it to shift or even collapse in extreme cases. When your roof is damaged, it can lead to severe structural problems. This can be dangerous for you and your family. 

Heath Risks

Dealing with a leaky roof can create an environment for mold and mildew to grow. These substances can cause serious health risks, especially for people with allergies or respiratory issues. Taking care of any leaks immediately is essential to avoid these health risks. Investing in an asphalt roof repair or replacement will protect your family, home, and investment.  

What To Consider Before You Repair Your Roof

Do You Plan To Sell Your Home Within The Next 5 Years?

It is essential to take your future plans into consideration when contemplating buying a new roof. If you have settled into your dream home and your roof is 20 + years old, you may want to replace your new roof so you can focus on the important things in your life. However, if your roof is close to that 20-year mark and you plan to sell your home within the next 5 years, we strongly recommend you consider replacing your roof. Not only will this investment add curb appeal for prospective buyers, but you will also likely earn back more than you invested when you sell your home.

Professional Roofing Consultation 

You now have the information you need to decide on your next step. At Elmer’s Roofing, we realize not every roof replacement is the same, and neither are our customer’s situations. Our team at Elmers Roofing is experienced in every area of asphalt roofing, and we can help you no matter the situation you are dealing with. Contact us today for a free estimate, or check out the blogs on our website to learn about roofing and other services we offer.

Are Amish Roofers Cheaper?

You already know that when hiring a residential roofer to replace the roof on your home, you should acquire multiple roof quotes to compare pricing. If you have gone through the process, or you have started to think about it, then you may wonder, “Are Amish Roofers cheaper?” We go over this and look into why Amish Roofers are cheaper but also why that shouldn’t alarm you when you go to sign the contract.

Are Amish Roofers cheaper?

Yes, Amish Roofers are cheaper, and while different variables go into a residential roof replacement, an Amish Roofer will normally be cheaper than the average residential roofing contractor. However don’t let a lower price get confused with inferior quality. While Amish roofers are cheaper, they will provide you with a better experience and do significantly better work than the normal residential roofing contractor. Less equipment, trucks, and insurance are reasons why an Amish Roofer is cheaper.

Why Are Amish Roofers Cheaper?

Owner-Operated

Many Amish Roofing businesses are owner-operated. This is of great advantage to you and affects many aspects of the project you want to be done. If you hire an owner-operated residential roofing business, you can enjoy a significantly lower price due to less overhead. With only a few employees, this requires fewer trucks and fewer tools to complete the job.

An owner-operated business with only a few employees means less money that is spent on insurance. All of these savings get passed on to you and that is why Amish Roofers are cheaper to hire.

Hard Working

Amish Roofers were generally raised on the family farm where they were taught how to work hard from morning to dark. With many summers being spent in the fields working through the hot days without modern farm equipment, replacing your house roof on a hot day is just another day as an Amish Roofer.

With that background in mind, it is no wonder an Amish Roofer can replace your residential roof for cheaper than a lot of your normal residential roofing contractors. Being known for your ability to work hard doesn’t mean that you do quality roofing work, so while you are searching for a roofing contractor, don’t automatically fall for the Amish Roofer line. Do your research.

Well Trained

Still wondering why Amish Roofers tend to be cheaper than other residential roofing contractors?

As we mentioned earlier, many Amish grow up working on farms. This gives them a great advantage when it comes to working. Oftentimes, by the age of 15 or 16, they have built odd things around the farm and are used to working with construction tools. They have also become acquainted with the ability to problem-solve and fix different issues they encounter throughout the day. This is extremely helpful and will potentially save you a lot of money because roofers encounter different things on each roof.

Amish Roofers are easy to train and are usually well-trained because of their background on the farm. This means you are getting a better quality roof while also getting it for cheaper. Well-trained roofers mean they will be able to work more efficiently while still giving you the quality you deserve.

Why Hire an Amish Roofer

When looking for a residential roofing contractor to replace the roof of your home, it is very important that you hire a residential roofer that is known for their quality work. When you hire an Amish Roofer there is a very good chance that there are known to do quality roofing work. This doesn’t excuse you from doing your own research. Look at their Google reviews or their reviews page on their website to see what everyone else is saying about these Amish Roofers. You should also look them up on Angie’s List to see if they have a profile there.

While being known for high-quality workmanship, Amish Roofer’s are also able to do a lot of roofing projects for cheaper than most roofing contractors.

Honest Workmanship

Hiring an Amish Roofer to do your residential roof, gives you the peace of mind that you are partnering with a roofing contractor that is founded on honest workmanship. It is a part of the Amish lifestyle to operate their businesses and lives with honesty at the forefront.

For us at Elmer’s Roofing, this means that our “New Roof No Mess Guarantee” is truly a guarantee and when we say we don’t consider the job complete until you are 100% satisfied, we are committed to it.

While we do understand that in the world we live in, false promises are made by people and businesses each and every day, you need to find a business you feel you can trust. We hope that what our past customers have said about us will help you to be able to trust us as a business.

Less Hassle

When you hire an owner-operated Amish Roofer to do your residential roof, you get the opportunity to work directly with the owner of the business. This is considerably less hassle for you. When the owner of the business comes to your home to check on the job, orders the materials for the job, and communicates directly with or even works alongside his crew that puts a new roof on your home, this can save you a lot of money and hassle. After the job is completed you also will get a bill that the owner of the business compiled specifically for you and your project instead of someone that sits in the office and only knows you as a name on a paper.

So are Amish Roofers cheaper? Yes, they are but don’t sound the alarm because you get the chance to work with an honest roofing crew that cares about your home and your property. Like we have said before, do your research before you sign any contracts.

What Are The Pros Of Hiring An Amish Roofer? 

Small Crew

When you partner with an Amish roofing crew, you get a smaller crew working on your project. This means that many times, the owner or project manager is working alongside the rest of the crew. By having a small crew, you get the benefits of a dedicated team with years of experience. 

Reliable

Amish companies like ours take our commitment to our customers very seriously. When we give you a date, we promise to be there. We know that sometimes roofing companies get a bad reputation for not doing the job the whole way through. To take it a step further, we promise the reliability of our work by giving all of our clients a 7-year workmanship warranty.

Cleanliness

When an Amish roofing company comes to your home, we focus on making your property look like we were never even there—other than the new roof, of course. We make sure that we take caution with our tools and equipment to not damage your property. In addition, we take a final inspection each day to ensure that all of your property is just how we found it.

Ethical Pricing

We know that pricing is at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to pricing. Amish roofing companies prioritize offering our clients a top-quality product for a reasonable price. We always offer a price that is fair and affordable for the job. 

Can Do Attitude

Amish roofing companies have a can-do attitude. We love a good challenge and figuring out how to put the pieces together for your roof. No challenge is too great, and no job is too small.

Are There Any Cons To Hiring An Amish Roofer?

There are not really any “cons” to hiring any Amish roofing company. However, there are some differences between how the Amish community and people outside the Amish community operate. So, let’s take a look at how some of these differences may affect having a company like ours complete your roofing.  

Different Communication Style

It is commonly known that the Amish communities do not use as much technology as those outside of their community. At Elmer’s Roofing, we use a wide range of communication options to communicate directly with our clients so that you receive timely communication. On the other hand, some Amish roofing companies may not use the same communication avenues that we use. 

Different Holiday Schedule 

Amish roofing companies oftentimes observe different holidays in comparison to those outside of their community. Many times this means that they will observe holidays that they believe have significance due to their religious beliefs. This also relates to the observation of government holidays. Many times Amish companies do not observe government holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day. This is great if you are okay with them working on that day and can lead to your project being completed sooner. 

Limited Payment Options

Some Amish Roofing companies may not have multiple payment methods. This means that your options may be limited to cash, or check. Yet, this is not true of all companies, and we suggest that you talk specifically with your Amish roofing company to see which forms of payment they are willing to accept. 

What’s the top complaint about roofers? Well, it’s not the price. It’s not even the quality of work (even though there should be more complaints about that!).

No, it’s about the mess left behind when the roofing job is done.

All too many roofers seem to forget that what they leave behind says a lot about what they put on their customer’s house.  Tar paper in bushes, nails in the yard or driveway, pieces of shingles and metal in garden beds or ponds… these all add up to an unhappy customer.  They also mean that the roofer could not possibly have been as careful as he should have been on the installation of the roof itself.  After all, if he doesn’t care about what you CAN see, how much do you think he cares about what you can’t see under the shingles.

We learned a long time ago that cleanup is every bit as important as the work we do on the roof.  We train our teams to do the best possible job installing. Naturally, we also train them to do the best possible job of clean up.

We don’t want to ever get that phone call that says a child or pet got a nail in his foot. With that in mind, we go over your property the same as we would at our own homes.

Here’s a tip for how you can find out how good a job a roofer does: Ask for references, and then ask that customer what they found in their bushes, plants, and gardens after the job was done. If you’re really serious, find out where they are about to do some work, and go by when the job is done and ask that customer the same question.  (That way the roofer is not filtering out the problem jobs.)

Sure, everyone makes a mistake once in a while. It is impossible to guarantee that every nail, every scrap of paper, and every tiny piece of metal is cleaned up, but it is possible to guarantee that in the rare event of a mistake you will get back within 24 hours and make sure it is done right.

If you already have chosen a roofer, be sure to do this: Before they leave at the end of the job, make them go around your property with you and carefully inspect every bush, every garden, and every pond for any sign of left trash. Don’t let them leave until they have taken care of everything and if you find more later, make them come back to take care of it. Many will resist coming back because that’s a costly trip, but don’t give up. It’s your yard and your safety. Make them care as much as you do.

Old man winter can become too “oh man” winter when an old or damaged roof can’t compete with the cold, wet seasonal climate. While a new roof can be a significant investment, being proactive about replacing or fixing your roof can save you from expensive home repairs due to leaks and mold, especially when paired with the cost of the roof itself.

Why are the winter months so hard on your roof you might ask? Snow and ice, that is the problem! When these heavy elements accumulate on your roof, it can lead to water leaks because of the added weight each brings with it.

How to Evaluate Your Roof

Instead of waiting for a problem to develop, evaluate the condition of your roof and replace or repair it before it gets worse than it is.

Look for cracked, broken, or curled shingles as these are warning signs of an aging roof. Be sure you are ready because we are!

When cleaning the leaves out of your gutters, watch for granular (small stones that adhere to the surface of roof shingles to protect them from weather) because they indicate a wearing roof. Clear gutters can not only prevent heavy fall debris from damaging your gutter and your roof but help reduce the formation of icicles and ice dams.

Proper insulation and ventilation in your attic can also minimize the damaging effects of winter weather.

While we provided a few of the telltale indicators above, only an expert can spot all the signs of an aging or deteriorating roof. Don’t let the winter get the best of your roof this year! 

Contact Elmer’s Roofing for a free estimate. We’ll help you evaluate the quality of your roof, identify problem areas, tell you when it should be replaced, and offer an affordable solution. We will answer your question, is my roof ready for winter?

When you plan ahead and replace or repair your roof before winter, you can avoid the headache of fixing leaks this year and for many seasons to come.

Hey friends,

Yes, it is safe to say a vast majority of us are ready to say goodbye to old man winter and hello to the spring weather. We understand that with the excitement of warmer weather and bright sunshine in the air, your roof, and its condition is the furthest thing from your mind. That is, of course, until your roof starts leaking.

As the warmer temperatures arrive, rain usually comes with it. Rain means a significant increase in the chances that your roof will leak.

During the winter, high winds and cold weather can greatly affect the integrity of your roof. Lifted shingles, broken “flashings”, and poorly sealed vents are just the beginning of how water can start to leak into your home.

The Good News – Roof leaks, if caught right away, can usually be fixed easily and at an affordable cost. They do need to be recognized and taken care of right away because you don’t need to give water much time to cause a big mess.

The Bad News – If you wait to do anything about a leak in your roof you are pretty much asking for a big mess. The water you could have to replace water-damaged wood, walls, or ceilings. Trust us, this is no fun for you or for anyone involved. It can also put quite a hurting on your wallet.

We didn’t mean to scare you or make you paranoid about your roof leaking, we just want to inform you that it is a serious problem and should not be taken lightly. If you aren’t sure about what to look for to see if your roof is leaking then you are in luck because we compiled a list below to give you the information you need to identify a leak before it gets out of hand and costs you thousands of dollars.

Here are some common roof leak signs to look for:

• Discoloration on your ceiling or walls (that’s where water has already started to soak into the ceiling material, so there’s more damage than you think) – especially watch bathrooms where special vent pipes go through the roof and can be a source of leaking
• Light fixtures that mysteriously blow out periodically (that’s where water is leaking in and causing a short – NOT GOOD!)
• Lifting shingles on the roof (we can fix them relatively easily if you catch them early)
• Sagging parts of the roof, especially along the leading edge above the gutters or in “valleys” (the places where two roof lines meet to channel water down to the gutter)
• Missing shingles (that’s an easy one)
• Metal flashing around the outside base of chimneys that is bent or pulled away from the chimney, allowing water to get behind it (this is typically caused by ice expanding outward)

If you see any of these signs, don’t wait to give us a call. Any of these can be signs of growing damage that will increase in cost to repair. Like a bad disease, catch them early and fix them, and you can save yourself a lot of heartache and money!

Enjoy your spring but keep your eyes open for potential roof problems. That way you won’t ruin your spring with expensive roof leak repairs.

Have Elmer’s Roofing give you free roof inspection when you notice wear or leaks, before more damage occurs.

As spring arrives, you may notice that the extreme winter took a toll on your roof. All winters are hard on roofs and the evidence will show up in the spring this year as the snow and ice begin to thaw. You may notice cracked shingles or even leaks.

At the first sign of damage, it is in your best interest to consult an honest, professional roofer to assess your roof. Waiting to repair or replace a damaged roof can be more costly and could result in damage to your home’s interior. When it comes to your roof, an ounce of prevention could save you both money and headaches.

If you notice any of these issues with your roof, please schedule your free roof inspection right away!

Dark, “Dirty-Looking” Areas on Roof

Missing, Cracked, or Curled Shingles

Leakage in Attic After Ice Build-Up

Elmer’s Roofing offers free roof inspection, so if you have questions about your roof, this is a risk-free way to get the answers you need. And it isn’t all doom and gloom if you do need to repair or replace your roof. First, you are in great hands with Elmer’s Roofing. From the communication of options to the quality of workmanship, you will be pleased. If you do need a new roof installed, Elmer’s offers a great selection of roofing shingles styles and colors as well as start to finish service including the cleanest roof installation you have ever seen!