DIY vs Professional Roof Repair

Everyone dreads the call. A storm rolls through or you wake up one morning and find water leaking into your home. You’re going to have to call a roofer to come stop the leak. Of course, you start thinking about the cost. Isn’t there some way to do DIY roof repair and save some money?  

As a homeowner, it can be very tempting to tackle the problems your house has as DIY or “do it yourself” projects. There are YouTube videos, TV shows, websites, and books all promising that you can replace your own roof.  Unfortunately, despite the temptation, roofing is not one of the things you should try to do yourself.  From safety to sealing - there are just too many things that can go wrong when you don’t have the proper training to work on your roof. Can you replace your own roof?  Maybe, but you’ll be risking your health and safety, and in the end, you’ll probably end up paying more.

Safety First

Before even looking at the DIY roof replacement cost and hassle, the first reason to never try doing it on your own is how dangerous roof work is. Roofers work high up on the top of houses, having to perform hard manual labor on pitched angles and while balancing on ladders.  

Most people don’t realize it, but ladders are the number one cause of tool-related injuries every year.  More people are hurt or killed falling from ladders than are harmed by chainsaws, nail guns, or any other tool. So before you even make it to your roof to begin the repairs, you’ve already taken the biggest risk you can in the tool world.  It may look funny when someone in a movie falls from a tipping ladder, but in real life, those accidents can kill.  There’s just no reason to take that risk if you don’t have to.

Even if you do make it to the roof with no problems, most inexperienced people don’t realize how steep the angle is on most roofs.  Walking around is hard enough, but when you have to carry tools and roofing materials with you, it becomes very difficult to keep your balance.  Then you have to bend over and work in a precarious position for hours, using your muscles to do the hard labor, all while keeping yourself from tumbling down the pitched roof.  And, if you make it through all of that intact, the hardest part is still ahead of you.  

It’s actually pretty easy to get onto the roof, but getting down is the real challenge. That’s when most accidents occur. And if you’re trying to repair your roof, you’re also trying to come down the ladders again with all of the materials and tools that are stuck up there.  

Roofing is a dangerous business. Professionals take that risk and carry special insurance to make sure we’re covered.  We also have years of experience to know exactly how to move and recognize danger before it happens. If you’ve never worked as a roofer, you shouldn’t put yourself in harm's way.  You may think you’re saving money with a DIY roof replacement cost, but a trip to the hospital will cost you way more than hiring a roofer.  

Roof Repairs Are Complicated

Most people realize they have a roofing problem when they see water starting to drip into their home or notice discoloration on their ceiling.  They think that all they need to do is stop that leak and everything will be OK. The reality is, just stopping the obvious leak won’t necessarily fix your problem. We need to stop moisture from getting under the shingles.  And to do that you have to understand what a tight seal looks like from all levels of your home.  

There are also a lot of different ways a roof can be damaged, and just as many techniques needed to fix it correctly. It’s not as simple as pulling out DIY roof repair shingles and nailing them down. Your problem could come from the flashing, or broken gaskets, missing shingles, exposed nails, or even valleys that have been inlaid incorrectly.  There are a lot of reasons your roof could be performing poorly, and they all require different solutions.  

If you aren’t an experienced roofer, the best you can do is guess at what the problem is and hope the YouTube video was right about how to fix it.  In reality, you’re most likely going to just make things worse.  You’re going to loosen more seals and open up a bigger area of your roof, making your leaks worse.  And then guess what you’ll have to do….Call a roofer to fix it!

It can be tempting to try and save a few dollars by attacking your roof as a DIY project.  But the reality is that your roof is just too complicated, dangerous, and important to risk doing it yourself.  You’ll actually spend more money and put yourself in harm's way if you try to DYI a leaky roof.  Save yourself the time, money, and risk by calling a professional to come help you.  We’ll even give you a free quote so you know what you’re getting into.  Just, please, don’t do it yourself!