Missing or cracked shingles in Manlius: patch a section, or is it time for more?

The typical Manlius house dates from 1968 in the village and from 1972 in the town, by Census estimates. Housing of those years is only a guide: it suggests roofs that have been through a covering or two, not roofs that are all failing.

A roofer can replace a section without redoing the house. That is a smaller decision than a tear-off, and you are allowed to ask for a repair price beside the replacement one.

Ask three questions. First, how much of the roof is affected: one slope, or all of them? Second, when does it leak: after a wind, in every rain, or only in a thaw? Third, what is the deck like where the shingles are gone? A patch over wet or soft boards does not last.

March has more freeze and thaw crossings than any other month in Syracuse, about 17.8 to January's 11.9. A stain that comes in March and goes away again is a reason to ask about the eave. A roofer who prices a full roof for a thaw stain has skipped that question.

A federal planning table gives an asphalt shingle roof a useful life of 20 years. That is an average, not a date. Use it as a prompt to ask how old your roof is, and weigh it against the condition the roofer actually sees.

Ask what the estimate repairs and what it leaves alone. Ask whether the repaired area gets the same shingle, and how it is tied into the old ones. Ask for the price in writing, with the repair and a replacement side by side.

Also ask which Manlius office, the village or the town, would need to hear about it. Whether a small repair needs a permit is for the office to say. We do not state that rule for either one, so call yours.