Three Roofing Add-Ons That You Might Not Need

It’s the end of December. The new year is coming, and with it comes the icy storms of winter. Is your roof up to the challenge of blizzards, feet of snow, and constant cold?

Oh, who are we kidding? Here in San Diego, our winters can have high temperatures upwards of eighty degrees, and snow is practically unheard of within city limits. Even our coldest temperatures rarely get below freezing, and there have only been a handful of days in the past fifty years that it’s been cold enough to have ice on the ground.

Considering all of that, what kind of precautions do you have to take to prevent ice and snow damage to your roof? Well…none. Unless you live at a high elevation, your chance of having snow or ice damage your roof is so low that it’s practically zero, and as such you probably don’t need to spend extra money to beef up your roof’s structure to take the extra weight of a couple feet of show.

It's obvious to anyone who’s lived in Southern California for a while that most people don’t need to worry about snow. But what are some other, less obvious areas where you might be able to save some money by cutting unnecessary add-ons from your roofing project?

Tile Replacements

One such area is in tile roofs. Tiles are an extremely popular choice in Southern California due to the large Spanish influence over the early architecture in the area. Tiles such as these are extremely durable and can last an incredibly long time. Long enough, in fact, that they are not usually the first part of a roof that will fail—the layer beneath them, called underlayment, will usually fail first.

This is the reason that when the time comes to replace a tile roof, we do something called a tile relay. In this type of project, we will remove all of the tiles from the roof in order to service the underlayment, decking, and wooden structure of the roof beneath them. These are the layers that you don’t see but have shorter lifespans than the tiles. During a tile relay, we will replace the underlayment as well as perform any necessary wood replacements. The key here is that the tiles can usually be reused. Tiles in good condition can last a lifetime – provided, that is, that they’re well-maintained and cared for. Chances are, if your tiles were still in good condition, that they can be reused. This can potentially save you thousands of dollars in material costs by not getting a much more expensive set of new tiles.

Extended Warranties

Another area for potential savings is a warranty. At Resilient Roofing, our recommendation is typically to go for an extended warranty, providing the greatest amount of coverage possible – that way, you can have peace of mind, knowing that if anything goes wrong with your roof, we’ve got you covered. Our warranties extend out as far as fifty years, and while this is an excellent choice for a long-term home or rental property, it might not be ideal if you’re planning on moving to a different house in the next few years.

Rather than spending the extra money to cover your roof for up to five decades, most roofers have warranty options that cover shorter periods of time. This allows you to keep your roof under warranty for as long as you’re living under it – but not overpay for an extended warranty that might go to waste if you move to another home before the warranty ends. Make sure not to go too overboard cutting costs by dropping warranty coverage! You don’t want to get caught in a situation where you still live under a roof that isn’t covered because you went with a 10-year warranty instead of a 20-year one.

Gutter Guards

Gutters are an excellent addition to any home because they help water easily escape the roof, preventing moisture build-up and the problems that come with it. Many of our customers want gutter guards – attachments for gutters which prevent debris like leaves from lodging themselves in your gutters and backing them up. These are incredibly important if you (or your neighbors) have trees that like to drop leaves on your house. However, San Diego lies in a biome that doesn’t naturally support many tall trees.

In fact, the vast majority of tall trees are imported from other parts of the world. Much of our natural vegetation comes in the form of short bushes and grasses, no more than six to eight feet tall – which have little chance of depositing debris on your roof. If you live in an area with no tall trees, you probably don’t need to install gutter guards – normal gutters without guards will do just fine.

Like all things in life, you need to find a balance of what your home’s needs are when you’re considering roof repairs or replacements. It’s no surprise that roofing is a complex project, and it’s common to be overwhelmed by the variety of options available to you. Our roofing consultants are here to help you—we offer free consultations with a licensed, insured roofing professional to discuss what your roof needs, what it doesn’t, and how we can best help you keep your home safe and dry.