Think Twice About Tackling a Roof on Your Own

There is a lot that goes into tearing off a roof from start to finish. Replacing a roof is a tall order. It’s more than ripping off shingles, scraping tar and pulling sub roofing off a building frame…much more.

The Challenges of DIY Roofing

When you have a leaky old roof, you will need to replace more than just the shingles. Because when it gets to this point, this is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole. When dealing with a leaky roof, you’re dealing with wet, saturated wood under the shingles, which will need replacement. But before you can even begin this project, if you choose to tackle it yourself, you will need to check local building codes, not to mention the weather forecast.

If you’re a do-it-yourself-er, you may want to contact a friend with experience in roofing. Replacing a roof is more than clawing off a few wooden boards and slapping down some tar paper. Even if you ‘just’ need to maintain your roof and replace the shingles, this is no walk in the park. Once you have managed to remove the old shingles, you have to get the new ones up there. Hauling anywhere from 10-20 50 pound bundles up a latter, depending of course on how large your roof is, is dangerous, labor intensive work.

Regardless, once you determined you need a new roof and got approval from your town to work on the project, you are ready to prep the site. This includes protecting everything below from falling debris, including doors, windows and shrubs. There should also be in place a demolition dumpster within throwing distance to your roof.

Before diving headlong into a project of this magnitude, remember 30,000 people are hurt falling off ladders each year of which 6,000 die. An experienced roofer is as comfortable and nimble on a ladder as they are on the ground. Not to mention professional roofing companies equip their employees with safety equipment and are fully insured.

So much goes into replacing your roof. Cutting the right sub-roof angles to make the sheets properly fit on your frame takes a lot of experience, depending of course on how many peaks valleys you have. Not to mention the risk you are putting in your own hands for the sake of your own safety. So when you’ve figured out your roof needs to go, either consult an expert or just hire one.