How early is too early?
We encounter a lot of customers that would rather forget that they need a new roof all together, especially considering how cold out it is. Unfortunately, the problem is not just going to fix itself. A roof is not like a bone, it won’t heal itself in time. The best advice we can give you is to get your shopping out of the way now. Many roofers will give you a better deal in the winter because business is slower, even if you do not want to get it done until spring lock that price in now. Often, by the time a homeowner decides they need their roof replaced immediately it is well into the season and they can be left a few months.
Everyone seems to have their own opinion regarding the coldest temperature you can safely install a roof in. In our professional experience, for the shingles to seal properly it is important for it to consistently be above 30 degree fahrenheit for a few days. As te winter comes to an end, getting your new roof installed will allow it time to settle and seal during the coming spring. In this perspective it is even better then installing in late fall even though intuitively it doesn’t seem so.
If you have not squirrelled away enough money over the winter, it may be a good idea to check into financing options. Lots of lenders currently offer home improvement loans at low interest rates or with no prepayment penalties. This way, you can get your new roof installed ASAP and pay it off at your earliest convenience. It is much better to pay a little bit of interest instead of risking having your roof leak and cause all sorts of interior damage.
If you are not sure if you need a full replacement or just a repair, it is better to wait until the weather breaks. Although a good estimator is more than capable of giving you an exact quote regardless of the circumstances, for a repair technician to properly diagnose your roof requires clear conditions. Only move forward with a roofing contractor in the winter if you are certain that you need to get the entire roof replaced. Otherwise, you may suffer a little more interior damage in the meantime but long term you can save yourself thousands of dollars.
