Signs pointing to a repair
- A single leak in a defined location, especially near a chimney, skylight, valley or vent — those are flashing details, and flashing fails long before shingles do.
- A patch of missing or lifted shingles after one identifiable storm, with the rest of the roof intact.
- Damage confined to one slope or one elevation.
- A roof under fifteen years old with a discrete problem.
Signs pointing to replacement
- Granules in the gutters and at the downspout outlets. Granules are the shingle's UV protection. Once they are gone the asphalt degrades fast.
- Curling, cupping or clawing across whole slopes, rather than in one patch.
- Bald spots where the mat shows through.
- Multiple leaks in different areas, which means the roof is failing as a system rather than at one detail.
- Visible sagging or a soft deck underfoot, which is a structural issue and needs looking at promptly.
- Age past twenty years combined with any of the above.
What roof age actually means in the DMV
If your shingles were replaced ten to fourteen years ago, you are not automatically due — but you are in the window where a storm event can tip the decision, and where documentation matters.
The question that settles it
Not "is it leaking." A roof can be at the end of its service life and not leaking yet, and a brand-new roof can leak because of one badly flashed penetration. The real question is: is the failure localized or is it everywhere? Localized failure is a repair. Distributed failure is a replacement, and paying for repairs on a distributed failure is throwing money at a roof you are going to replace anyway within a couple of years.
And the one nobody tells you
If a storm caused the damage, this may not be your decision to fund. Wind and hail damage to roofing is a covered peril on most homeowners policies, and the claim is won or lost on documentation. Our inspection is free, the photo report is yours to keep either way, and if there is storm damage we document it in the format adjusters expect and meet the adjuster on site.
Get it looked at, free
We inspect across Maryland — Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties. Free inspection, photo report within 24 hours, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us.