Without a roof, there is no home. Roofs come in all shapes, sizes, and types. The most common in the Pacific Northwest is a composition shingle roof. Let’s talk about it.
A composition shingle is made up of a number of layers, at the base you have an adhesive layer that helps secure the shingle down (along with nails of course), then a weather-resistant asphalt coating, a layer of fiberglass, another asphalt coat, and finally it’s topped with the granules - what gives the roof it’s color but also serves as the top protective layer of your roof. And that is just the shingle itself! Roofs are complex systems, they not only protect your home, but they help it breathe.
Any roof with an attic underneath requires ventilation, both air intake and exhaust. You’ll see this in a home in a number of ways. Air intake may be under the eaves, bird block vents, or soffit vents for example, it may also be found at the lower end of the roof built into the shingles, with newer roofs this may be a low-profile static vent. For attic exhaust, the most well-known and widely visible ventilation would be the box-style vent seen near the ridge of any roof (generally facing the backyard for purposes of visual aesthetics). Newer to the scene is the ridge vent, placed as you’d expect, on the ridge. This exhaust vent looks like a very thick layer of composition shingle but has a dually-sided vent allowing for air exhaust at the peak of the roof along the full length of the ridge.
When it comes to composition shingles, you’ll often see an expected useful life associated with it, most commonly 25 or 30 years, while a presidential shingle has 50. But it is important to know this useful life is worthless if a homeowner doesn’t maintain their roof. Maintenance will depend drastically on the location, surrounding exterior conditions and overall shape of the roof, ventilation too. If your attic is too hot (lacking proper ventilation) and maybe you’re in an area with a ton of sun, your roof could literally fry from the inside out taking years off its useful life. If the land your home sits on has a lot of tree coverage, leading to debris on your roof, failing to clean this off-seasonally could lead to increased moisture and moss growth, slowly eating at the shingles over time. My personal favorite is the power wash... pressure washing a composition shingle is a death sentence. These roofs are never meant to be pressure washed; you’ll see the years falling off by the number of granules now filling your gutter.
In a real estate transaction, a roof can be a touchy subject. For both the homeowner and the buyer, it is a major cost and well... no one wants to cover it should the roof need to be replaced. For sellers they often feel like they won’t be getting any ‘use’ out of the new roof, so why would they cover the cost? For buyers, the feeling tends to be the inverse, why should they cover it if the seller should have done it in the first place? The truth is, that most sellers don’t realize their roof needs to be replaced until a buyer tells them. At that point they’re already counting their dollars, ready for closing, and the buyer is now doing the same – wondering ‘How are we going to cover this massive expense’?
Every transaction is different. Each buyer and seller individually are in a different phase of life, with different financial obligations. Both parties have their own unique goals in mind. I have successfully negotiated many new roof installations within a transaction for my buyers, two in the last 6 months. I have also successfully avoided the installation of a roof, be it necessary or not, for my sellers. For me personally, my client’s goals are what matters and I am always looking after their best interests.
If you have a roof-related question, let’s chat! Construction is a passion of mine and I can certainly put you in contact with a trusted contractor should you need assistance.
Best,
Amanda
