So, you own a home and it’s come time to replace your roof. How do you decide when to do it though? There are many options when it comes to replacing your roof. The season of the year is among the most important choices you will make.
There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing the best time of year for your home to get a new roof.
Location
When you decide the best time of year for your home to get a new roof, the first thing you need to take into consideration is where your home is located. When we talk about location, we’re talking about both geographical location and topographical location. If you’re unsure about how this impacts your specific location, you’ll want to consult a roofing company like Colony Roofers.
Geographic location, which means your location in the world or within the country, matters because it will determine the impact of the other factors in this article. If you are located in a geographic location that is closer to the equator, you may be looking at one time of year. However, if you are in a location that is closer to the north or south poles, you will have a completely different view on the best time of year to replace your roof.
When we talk about topographic location, we’re talking about where your home and roof sit within your general geographic location. That is, is your home high on a hill or down in a valley. Is there heavy tree cover or anything else in nature that impacts the roof that you might need to be aware of?
Think about it this way…
Would you go buy a brand new car and then drive it under a bunch of trees where you new birds often sit? Of course not, because you don’t want tree debris and bird poop on your brand new car. The same holds true for your roof. The longer you can keep your roof from getting damaged by debris the better. Overhanging trees are one of the most common causes of debris on roofs.
In order to mitigate this possibility, you’ll want to choose your season for your new roof based on when the trees typically shed their leaves and when the stormy season is in your geographical area. You don’t want to go installing a brand new roof right before the leaves fall and the storms come rolling through.
While this might seem like an unusual thing to think about when replacing a roof, location is the most important place to start. It will be a large determinant when it comes to determining the weather and market conditions, which we’ll discuss below.
Weather
Now that we understand the importance of location in determining the best time of year to replace a roof, we can move onto weather. Obviously, the location of your home will determine a lot of the impact that weather will have on the season that you choose to replace your roof.
Generally speaking, roofing shingles should be installed in relatively moderate weather. Shingles are made of asphalt and when the asphalt gets too warm, it can start to bleed and lose it’s integrity. Similarly, when an asphalt shingle is too cold, it can become brittle and be more susceptible to cracking during installation.
When you install a shingle in extreme weather, the shingle will lose much of it’s expected life because of the stress it puts on the asphalt and the granule covering. Think about trying to walk on a hot asphalt road immediately after the construction crew has poured the asphalt. This is very similar to what a shingle is like during the hottest months. Temperatures in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit can cause this effect. What will happen is that the asphalt will heat up and then the crew will walk around on the shingles while continuing to install the remainder of the shingles. While they are walking around, the pressure of their footfall will create indentations and shifting of the asphalt and granules on the shingles.
On the flip-side, installing a shingle in extremely cold temperatures is similar to trying to drive a nail through a piece of ice. When a shingle becomes excessively cold, it becomes brittle. The brittleness means that every time a crew member tries to drive a nail into the shingle, it can create small cracks in the shingles. This may not show immediately, but it will most likely shorten the life of the shingles and make them more susceptible to damage from rain and wind down the road.
Market Conditions
The last thing that you really have to pay attention to when you’re deciding on the best time of year to get your Atlanta roof replacement is the current market conditions. This didn’t used to be such a big factor, but lately the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has made it a critical thing to keep in mind.
Depending on your location and the weather in your area, you may be able to save some serious money by timing your roof replacement based on the current market conditions. When we talk about market conditions, we’re talking about the supply and demand of materials and labor in the roofing industry. As supply gets squeezed, there may be large price increases. In the Atlanta area, this is typical in the spring and fall months.
While your weather and location will definitely affect the market conditions you are dealing with, there are also many larger macro economic things going on that may be out of your control. The best thing to do is consistently reach out to your local roofing companies and local roofing supply companies to determine what their current pricing is so you are sure to get the best deal.
Conclusion
This article outlined the various things you should consider when deciding on the best season of the year for your roof replacement. Whether it’s Location, Weather, or Market Conditions, you’ll want to make sure that you really think hard about this before pulling the trigger, because it can really make a big difference.
