As a homeowner, you might like doing your own home improvements when you can. Repaint the kitchen cabinets? Yes! Stain the deck? Yes! Pull yourself up onto the roof to repair or replace it yourself? No! That is, unless you happen to be a certified and trained roofing professional.
Still thinking you might be able to take on a roofing project on your own? Here are some reasons why roofing services in Central Florida do not recommend DIY roofing.
It’s dangerous
Do-it-yourself roofing projects can end in disaster. It’s risky, potentially dangerous to you and others and unsafe to handle tools you do not know how to use. Consider the statistics related to roofing accidents when the work is done by someone without the required skills. According to the National Safety Council, over 6,000 Americans are killed each year due to falls from roofs or ladders while trying to fix roofing materials or clean out rain gutters.
Roofing jobs are even dangerous for professional roofers and their clients. No wonder it’s listed as one of the top 10 most dangerous professions in America! For this reason, reputable roofing companies are safety trained and certified, use lifesaving fall safety equipment and perform numerous safety checks before and during their work.
It’s potentially costly
Professional roofing companies have the appropriate insurance to protect their employees should they get injured on the job: worker’s compensation and liability insurance. Who will cover you if you attempt your own roof repairs and take a tumble off the roof or slip off the top rung of a ladder? Medical bills and time off work could cost you big-time.
DIY roofing might put you in a financially risky situation. This move could void the current roof warranty, as most warranties don’t allow for unauthorized repairs. And if you still have a roofing warranty, you should use it! To get a good warranty, make sure the company you hire properly installs your roof in the first place.
It could ruin your curb appeal
Maybe you’ve seen roofers working on a house in your neighborhood and you thought, “That doesn’t look hard. I can do that.” Well, roofing installations and repairs are not as easy as they might look. It only takes installing a few shingles improperly to ruin the aesthetics of your home and the curb appeal of your property. Mismatched, crooked or misaligned shingles are not pretty to look at, and your neighbors probably won’t like your patchwork quilt of a roof.
Why hire professional roofers?
Some DIY home improvement projects make sense, but roofing improvements are not among them. When you hire a pro with a stellar reputation, you’ll end up with a quality roof system (shingles, wood roofing panels and hardware), a good warranty and a beautiful roof to enjoy for years to come. Before hiring a company for roof installation or repairs, be sure to ask questions, see sample work, get references and secure a few bids.
You can count on Winter Springs Roofing & Repair for roof repairs, restoration and remodeling all year round. Call us anytime to schedule one of our professional roofing services in Central Florida!