Roof repair

One lifted tab or a worn patch? Ask for the repair price first

Close view of gray-black asphalt shingles worn bare in patches with several tabs lifted and curled at their edges

A lifted tab, a torn shingle or one worn patch does not always call for a new roof. Tell us what you see and since when, and we arrange for an independent roofer to come and look. Ask for the repair price in writing before anyone brings up a replacement.

Ask for a repair estimate

(315) 640-3590

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Booking is your choice after you see the price.

What we do

Describe the roof in a few lines, and an independent roofing contractor comes out to look at it, then prices the work for you in writing.

What we promise while you decide

No charge from us, whether you book or not.
The roofer's price comes to you on paper first.
You may ask for a repair price beside the replacement one.
Credit terms are spelled out on our Terms page.

Workmanship and contract terms belong to the roofer you hire.

Signed Roof Replacement Syracuse, (315) 640-3590

Read the full terms

The decision

When does it show?

Only in a thaw
Check firstNote which wall edge stains, and the dates.
AskIs this the eave only, or the whole roof?
Ice Dam Roofing
In every rain
Check firstNote whether it grows only after hard rain.
AskWhat did you find, and where?
You are here
After a wind or storm
Check firstScan from the yard for shingles on the ground.
AskIs this a section repair or a full slope?
Storm Damage Roofing
No leak, old roof
Check firstLook for bare patches and curled tabs from the ground.
AskWhat would tell you this roof has years left?
Roof Replacement

Only in a thaw This points at the eave first, so ask the roofer to look there.
In every rain Tell the roofer this up front, so the repair is priced for the right spot.
After a wind Count what was lost or lifted, and photograph it from the yard.
No leak Wear without a stain is a judgment about how far the wear spreads.

Bare plank roof deck with a roll of black underlayment laid at the eave edge above the gutter, a gray house and trees behind

Questions

Ask these before you pay for a repair

Do a few missing shingles mean a new roof?

Not by themselves. A handful of lost shingles is often a section repair. Ask the roofer to say how far the damage spreads and what lies under it before you hear about replacing everything.

Can lifted tabs be fixed without new shingles?

Some can be sealed back down, and some are creased or torn and need replacing. Ask the roofer which is which, and ask for the count of each in the estimate.

What do I photograph from the ground first?

Each side of the house and any shingles in the yard, taken from the ground in daylight. Add a note of the date and what you saw first. Stay off the roof.

How can I see a repair price beside a replacement price?

Ask for both when you request the visit, and ask the roofer to put them on the same page. You may ask for the repair price beside the replacement one at any point.

Will a repair match the rest of the roof?

Often only partly, since shingles weather. Ask the roofer which product they would use and how the new ones will sit beside the old. Put the answer in the estimate.

What if the roofer finds more once they start?

Agree in advance what happens. The estimate should say how extra shingles or deck wood are priced, so you are not negotiating with the roof open.

Timing

How the timing of the stain changes the repair question

After a wind or storm
A repair fits best when a wind or storm touched one section. Ask the roofer to count the damaged shingles and say what is under them.
No leak, old roof
A worn patch with no stain is a repair question, not a leak question. Ask how far the wear spreads, and whether the shingles around it are sound.
In every rain
If water shows in every rain, tell the roofer that before any repair is priced. A repair in the wrong spot only moves the money.
Only in a thaw
A stain that shows only in a thaw points at the eave first. Ask the roofer to say whether this is a shingle problem or an edge problem.

Basis

Tell-tales

Signs a repair is the right size of job

A shingle in the yard
A loose shingle means the ones beside it may be loose too. Photograph the gap from the ground and ask the roofer to check the neighbors.
Tabs standing up along an edge
A tab that no longer lies flat has lost its seal. Ask whether it can be re-sealed or must be replaced.
A crease across a shingle
A crease is a wind mark. Ask whether the creased shingles are a handful or a whole slope.
A patch worn to the mat
Bare patches show where the surface has gone. Ask the roofer to tell you how much of the roof looks like it.
A cracked or torn shingle
A single cracked shingle is a small job. Ask for it priced alone before you hear about a larger one.

Scope

What a shingle or section repair takes in

Replace damaged shingles
The roofer pulls the bad shingles and fits new ones in their place. Ask how the new ones blend with the old.
Re-seal lifted tabs
Some lifted tabs can be sealed back down. Ask which ones the roofer would seal and which they would replace.
Repair one section
A worn or storm-hit area can be redone without touching the rest. Ask where the section ends and why.
Check the layer below
A good repair looks at what is under the damage. Ask what the roofer found, and put it in the estimate.
Clean up
Loose pieces and nails leave the property. Ask the roofer to say so.

Torn shingle pieces and small chunks of snow scattered across a roof slope with a patch of exposed plywood, a hammer and a blue pry bar on it

Sequence

A repair, step by step

Say what you see
Tell us which shingles, which side of the house and since when.
A roofer looks
An independent roofer looks at the damage and the roof around it.
You read the repair estimate
It should name the area and the work. Read it beside the checks on this page.
You decide
Book the repair, or ask the roofer for a replacement price to compare.

Three questions that keep a repair small

A repair stays a repair when the roofer can answer three things in writing. How many shingles are damaged, and where does the damage stop? What did you find on the layer under them? And what would the repair cost beside a full replacement?

Ask all three at the visit and write down the answers. If the roofer only wants to talk about replacing the roof, ask them to explain why the damage reaches that far. A section that is sound around the edges should not turn into a whole slope without a reason on paper.

When a repair is the wrong answer

Some damage is too widespread for a patch. If most of a slope is bare or curled, if the deck beneath is soft, or if the roof already has two layers, you are paying twice for a short fix. In those cases ask for the replacement price and read our replacement page before you decide.

The honest way to tell is to ask the roofer to show you the damage and what surrounds it. Photograph it yourself from the ground, and keep the photos with the estimate so you can compare later.

Two houses side by side, the nearer one with an aluminum ladder against it and the old shingles stripped from half the roof to the bare light-brown decking

How to tell how big the repair really is

In daylight, look at the damaged spot from the yard. Count the shingles that are torn, lifted or missing, and note whether they sit in one spot or run in a line. A line along the edge often points at the eave, and a scatter across the slope points at wind.

Send us those notes and your photos with the form, or hold them for the visit. Stay on the ground, and ask the roofer to confirm the count and say where the damage stops.

If the roofer finds more than you expected, ask for the added work to be priced as a separate line before you agree to it.

In writing

What a repair estimate should spell out

The area to be repaired
Which slope, how many shingles and where the repair stops.
What is under the damage
What the roofer found on the layer below, in plain words.
The materials
The shingle the roofer would use and how it blends with the old.
What happens if more turns up
The price for more shingles or deck wood, agreed before the work starts.

Cost drivers

What moves the price of a repair

How many shingles are damaged and how far the damage spreads.
How steep the roof is and how easy it is to reach.
Whether the layer under the damage is sound or needs work too.
Whether the new shingle can blend with the roof you have.
How many separate spots the roofer must visit.
Whether your place requires a permit for the work.

Look, estimate, choose

Three steps, and the last one is yours.

01
A roofer looks
An independent roofing contractor visits and looks at the roof.
02
They write it up
You get a written estimate for the work they would do.
03
You weigh it
Set it beside any other estimate you hold. Decide in your own time.

Snow on a shingled roof edge with a row of long icicles hanging from the white gutter along a gray-blue wall

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