How To Know When You Should Get Your Roof Repaired

Two times stand prominent in deciding when to get your Minnesota roof repaired: when it is damaged, and when it is accessible. 

Damage Done

When a Minnesota roof is damaged, you cannot delay roof repairs. Whether an insurance claim or a repair small enough not to exceed your deductible, roof damage must be fixed. 

Think of what your roof does: it protects your single biggest investment. It protects your family, pets, and furnishings. It shields just about everything you own from the worst Mother Nature has to offer. 

Even small damage — dented shingles from hail, lifted or shifted shingles from ice dams, or peeled away flashing from high winds — can allow water infiltration. As soon as water enters your home’s envelope (the other layer), you can be facing unpleasant and unhealthy conditions:

  • Mold
  • Mildew
  • Dripping water from ceilings
  • Insects and pests setting up residence
  • Ruined carpets, walls, light fixtures, and furniture
  • Potential electrical fire hazards from water in outlets, fixtures, or switches

The first category of “the right time for roof repair” is when you know your roof is damaged. Yet you may not always be able to tell. The solution: yearly inspection, cleaning and maintenance from your local, reliable roofer. 

A yearly visit allows your roofer to stay on top of small repairs, preventing them from worsening. A small flashing repair now could prevent a major, emergency repair job later. 

Leaving a little damage until it is “bad enough” to justify a roofer’s time is penny wise and pound foolish, as they say. You save neither time nor money by delaying a call for repair work to a damaged roof. 

Year-Round?

We have to accept that mid-winter roof repair is a dicey proposition in Minnesota. If absolutely necessary, emergency roof repair can happen, even when temperatures plummet. Yet, obviously, the ideal time of year for roof repair is summer. 

Summer temperatures and relatively clear skies allow roofers to do their best work. Shingles have adhesive strips on them that allow them to settle onto each other, sealing themselves to provide the greatest water resistance. Summer means sealants, caulk, and cement can cure promptly. Summer means long workdays with plenty of daylight to see the work progress. 

Spring is a great time for roof repair, too, as is early fall. As temperatures cool, however, strategies change. Fiberglass-asphalt shingles become more brittle, their adhesives do not stick as well, and granules do not sink into the surfaces as well. Most professional residential roofers prefer summer, late spring, and early fall for roofing. 

Winter Leak!

You may appreciate that winter is no time for roof repair, but the next ice storm doesn’t care. You can get roof leaks in winter. You can get roof damage in winter. 

Truly professional, experienced roofers like the excellent crews at  Midwest Roofing, Siding & Windows can deal with the challenges of winter roof repair, though it is neither easy nor inexpensive. 

A wintertime roof leak cannot be delayed. Freeze and thaw cycles demand attention to even the smallest water infiltration. Without plugging up the hole, your home’s attic insulation could be ruined. Without stopping the leak, interior walls can become saturated, soggy, and smelly. 

Roofing crews can alter the adhesives used to hold down shingles, such as elasticized polymers or roof cement. They can apply hot tar temporarily to seal holes and soften shingles with gas-fired torches (carefully!). 

Safety First

The wrong time to repair a Minnesota roof is when either the homeowner or the roofing crew is at risk. Do not expect an emergency repair to mean roofers put themselves in danger. You should not attempt rooftop repairs at all, but most especially if your roof is slippery from ice, snow or water. 

Professional roofers use fall arrest equipment and practice safety procedures to keep themselves and their crew members safe at all times. With winter roof repair, that safety awareness increases sharply.

We know you may be anxious about the water leak coming into your living room in winter, but our crews can work no faster than safety requires. 

Customer Satisfaction, Always

Whatever time you deem the right time for roof repair, the professionals of Midwest Roofing, Siding & Windows, Inc. are available to provide the right answers at the right price. Your roof repair may be small, but we feel that a satisfied customer is a future customer. A small amount of damage expertly repaired now can lead to a call to us for a new roof in a year or two. 

If you sense the time is right to get your roof repaired, please contact us at Midwest Roofing, Siding & Windows, Inc. We have the experience needed to deal with leaky roofs in winter, worn-out roofs in summer, and every kind of roofing repair problem year-round.

Scroll to Top