Residential Metal Roofing in Wilmington, NC

When the shingles on your roof begin to curl or to buckle, it’ll soon be time to replace them. There are two kinds of curling: cupping, when the edges of the shingle start to curl upward, and clawing, when the edges stay flat, but the middle starts to pop up. If either of these happens to your shingles, they are past their prime and will be ready to be replaced in the near future. On a warm day, bend the shingle; if it cracks or breaks easily, it’s probably time to replace it.

If there are bald spots — very dark spots on the shingle — where the granules (the rough texture of the shingle) are falling off, the shingles are definitely beginning to age. You might start to notice a lot of these granules beginning to collect in the gutter, where they end up after being washed off by heavy rain. If these bald spots continue to increase in size, it’s important to get your shingles checked out and your roof looked at as soon as possible.

Head into your attic. If you can see daylight coming through the roof anywhere, you need to take a look at your roofing. If sunlight can get through, so can rain and snow. This also means your insulation is poor and you’re losing heat – and driving up that heating bill! Check the area around these spots for active leaks the next few times it rains, and try to get it fixed as soon as possible.

Cracked shingles are usually a sign of wind damage. You probably won’t need to replace the whole roof right away; if just a few shingles are cracked, you can quickly and easily replace them just to patch it up. If, however, the cracked shingles are spread out randomly across the roof and not isolated to one or two places, it may mean that wind damage will continue, and the roof may need to be replaced in the near future.

If your roof is beginning to sag, you’ve got problems. This is especially the case for valleys and dips in the roof, where rainwater and snow tend to collect and could cause serious damage. A sagging roof is usually a sign of more serious and structural damage; it could be in the decking in the attic, or even in the supports in the foundation. It’s best to get this looked at right away – your ceiling may not fall on you, but it’s always better to get it taken care of while it’s small and localized and before it spreads. Be sure to call in a professional as soon as possible.