Q - As I walk around the ground and look at my 15 year old roof I
don't see any issues with it. How can I
be sure it won't leak soon?
Bob - Alpharetta
A - You can't be sure it won't leak soon, especially at that
age. Especially from the ground. Especially with your eye-sight.
However, here are a few things
you can do.
You can have a roofing
professional fly drones and walk on your roof taking pictures of anything bad
or in poor condition. You don't want to
have just anyone doing this so stick with a major roofer. They must have insurance and workman's comp
before they set foot on your roof and must have that paperwork with them that
proves it.
All this work should be done for
free, no obligation, no charge.
You should also stick your head
up in your attic while it is raining and take a look around. That is the best time for leaks and it seems
to rain almost every day this time of year so this should be no problem.
If you find a leak, and you may,
get a plastic container - a large plastic container - and place it under the
drip. I know that sounds obvious, but do
it any way just for me. Rain water can
take a long time before it appears in the living area of your home - so help
stop that flow. Then call a roofer
immediately and get on their list for an inspection, repair, or replacement.
As usual, get quotes from
reliable roofers only. In a good economy
everybody is a roofer. You don't want
everybody to be on your roof. Get
quotes, look at past work, how long have they been in business, do they have
their insurance papers, do they drive nice company vehicles, have you heard of
them - all important to the process.
Good luck. At 15 years your roof is borderline on extra
credit.