Professional Tampa Residential Roof Repairs

When your home’s roof is damaged or fatigued to the point of leaking, the decision must be made between repairing or replacing it. Call on the expert Tampa Bay roofers from Arry’s Roofing Services to help you make this critical choice. We’ll conduct a free inspection to determine the true condition of your roof so that you can make a well-informed decision based on facts, not speculation.

You may be surprised to learn that many of the roofs we are called up to replace can, with proper repairs, be restored to provide many years of additional service.

In choosing between repair and replacement we consider how old the roof is and the type of roof (some roofing materials last longer than others). Having been in the Tampa roofing business for more than 25 years, we know exactly what to look for so we can generally track down a roof leak pretty quickly. Remember, water is persistent and it can travel quite a distance before you see it showing up on your ceiling. By the time you notice it in the interior, the actual roof could have started leaking weeks before that (or longer). It is important to call as soon as you notice a problem – the earlier we catch the problem and take care of it, the smaller and less expensive the problem is.

Before we can do any roof repair, we must first locate where the damage is. Many times, we can do that simply by walking the roof and looking closely at some of the more likely “trouble spots.” In other cases we need to check the attic for signs of water entry, and track the leak backwards.

Here are a few of the common locations where we find problems:

Chimney: Your chimney has several potential locations that may require a roof repair. The likelihood of a problem here really depends on how well the original roofing installation was done. Your chimney has four sides, and each side has flashing, which is what protects the line where the side of the chimney meets the roof. In addition, each of those four sides could have a different type of flashing, depending on where the chimney is located. Even the tiniest crack that allows water to get in behind the flashing can turn into a serious roof leak. This is why the chimney is one of the first places we check.

Plumbing Vents: This is another likely possible location for a roof repair, since the vent has to actually come out through a hole in the roof. Whenever a hole is made in the roof, it has to be sealed up properly. In some cases, such as a plumbing vent, the hole could be sealed fine at the time of installation, but then the rubber boot around the vent pipe can become hardened or cracked and become compromised.

Wind-Blown Rain Leak: This is not actually a problem caused by a faulty roof or a bad installation. Here in Florida we can have strong winds and rain, and the rain can literally be blowing sideways. This happens most often in the summer. Your roofing material is designed to divert water that comes from above, not from the side. When rain is blowing strongly, it can be driven up and under your shingles. At that point, the only thing between the rain and your house is a layer of tar paper. This type of roof repair usually just means replacing any shingles that were compromised. If part of your roof normally faces the wind, we would also fasten down the shingles on the edge with some roofing cement. This minimizes the chances of the same thing happening again.

Missing/Damaged Shingles: We can spot this pretty quickly once we are up on the roof. Every shingle that is missing – or damaged enough that it is not doing its job properly – is one less layer of protection between your house and the rain. Every shingle is important, so if one or several are missing it is definitely time for a roof repair.

Shingles Loose, Cracked or Rotting: This is one of the most common roof leak occurrences, and is most likely to happen if your asphalt shingle roof is more than 15 or 20 years old. That’s getting up in years for asphalt shingles, especially under our strong Florida sun. We can look at the roof and see if it makes sense to repair the location of the leak, or if it would be more cost effective to replace the roof.

A Nail That Has Backed Out: In a shingle roof, you might find that a shingle nail has somehow backed itself out and cut through the top shingle. You would be surprised at how much water can enter in through that one little nail hole. Over time this can mean quite a bit of water damage; catching it early is a cheap fix.

Bad Flashing Installation – Flashing is the metal piece that seals up the area where the roof meets a vertical surface, such as a chimney or a wall. If this is not installed properly, water will find a way in eventually. Nails can also work themselves out of flashing.

Quality Tampa Commercial Roof Repairs

Commercial roof repairs require specialized knowledge and skills. There are several different types of roofs that can be in use in a commercial or industrial setting, and each requires a particular approach. At Arry’s Roofing we are experts in handling Tampa Bay commercial roof repairs.

Commercial roof repairs include several different options, because there are different types of roofs in a commercial or industrial setting:

Built-up roofing – This is a very common type of roofing used commercially, and it has been around for decades. Built-up is used on buildings with flat roofs, or roofs with a very low slope. This type of roof utilizes a material called bitumen, which is a thick black substance that resembles tar. The bitumen is used to laminate several layers of roofing material together (these layers are called felts). On top of that is a coat of asphalt or other surface materials. Commercial roof repairs on built-up roofing is comprised of cutting out the damaged felt area, replacing it with a section of uncompromised felt, then adding another layer on top of that. Roofing cement is used in between each layer as a sealant.

Metal roofing – Many businesses have discovered metal roofing to be a nice option. In fact, of all newly constructed institutional and commercial buildings, approximately half are built to include metal roofing. Metal lasts a long time, requires little to no maintenance, and it looks quite professional. When we do commercial roof repairs on metal roofing, it’s a different procedure than other types of roofing because there is no asphalt to deal with. It’s still a multi-step process: we cut out the damaged metal area, then clean repair spot thoroughly. A matching color metal “patch”, cut to be larger than the original spot, is sealed into place and weighted down with a brick. Then, each edge is soldered into place. We follow that same procedure with another metal patch that is larger than the one we just used, and the entire area receives a coating of roofing cement.

Asphalt shingles – The biggest advantage of using asphalt shingles, whether for residential or commercial use, is affordability. The relative low cost makes it attractive for companies, especially when combined with the durability of shingles and a big variety of colors and styles. Generally, you know that commercial roof repairs are needed for an asphalt shingle roof when you start noticing some leaking inside the building (or watermarks at the top of some of the walls). Ideally, it’s a good idea to inspect your roof yearly for any problems, so that the repairs can be done before any leaking problems begin. If the problem is just with a torn or curled shingle or two, we can repair or just replace those damaged shingles fairly easily. If the roof shows signs of cracked or severely damaged shingles, or shingles missing in some spots, the roof is nearing the end of its useful life and you should consider replacing it completely. We can advise you on these options.

While roof repairs sound fairly simple and straightforward, they can become complicated when you get on the roof and look more closely at the true condition of the roof. We recommend that you – as the building owner – not attempt to handle these repairs on your own. Some commercial roof repairs require special tools and knowledge, and Arry’s has the skills and experience to take care of the job professionally.

Get a FREE Roofing Inspection & Estimate

Call Arry’s Roofing today at (727) 362-2230 to schedule a FREE roof inspection and estimate.