Roof damage can be frightening because damage to the roofing material often means you have to replace the roof. But in many cases, you can fix the roof's damage without replacing the entire roof on your home.
Roof Leaks
Dealing with leaks in the roof of your home may not be as big a job as you think it is going to be. The first step in fixing the leak in your roof is to hire a roofing contractor to come in and assess the damage for you. The roof repair may involve removing some of the shingles from the roof and replacing some of the underlayment. Still, if the damage is isolated to a small area, the roofer can often do that without removing the entire roof.
Sometimes the leak is a result of a few shingles that are loose or have damage, and replacing them is a quick and easy job that will resolve the leak for you. The roofer may suggest making the roof repair now and consider replacing the roof in six months or a year it there is damage to the roof that is not causing a leak but in time could be problematic.
You can get several opinions about the roof, but make sure you do not wait too long. If the roof starts leaking again, you may repeatedly make small roof repairs to try and stop the leaks.
Missing Edging
Storms sometimes damage the flashing or edging around the edge of your roof or cause it to come loose. Replacing the flashing on the roof is an easy roof repair job that you can hire a roofer to take care of, or you can make the repair yourself. The edging slides up under the shingles along the edge of the roof. It is held in place with a few roofing nails.
You can get new edging at most home centers, and the associate can help you select the right material and the nails to go with it. You may need to cut the flashing to make it fit properly, but a simple pair of tin snips will cut right through the flashing.
Slide the flashing up under the shingles and pull the shingles up just far enough to put the mails in the edging. Pulling the shingles up to far can break them, and then you will need to replace the shingles as well.
You can hire a contractor to come and make this roof repair for you if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, and they will most likely not charge a lot for replacing the edging for you.