No one wants to be hit with unexpected repair costs, especially when it comes to something as vital as their roof. While you may be able to handle a few winter days without a functioning heater or temporarily manage a plumbing crisis by turning off the water, there is no good way to patch up a roof once it’s started to leak or collapse. Your best bet is to prevent roof failure before it happens.

So, how can you tell when your roof is in need of replacement? There is no clear-cut answer. Instead, you’ll have to take roofing material, maintenance history and signs of deterioration into account.

Lifespan by Roofing Material

Asphalt Shingles

Asphalt shingles, also called composite shingles, are overwhelmingly the most popular roofing material, with 80 percent of homeowners choosing them for their roofs. 1 This is primarily due to their affordability. An asphalt shingle roof lasts anywhere from 15 to 20 years, but potentially longer with a little periodic maintenance.2

Metal

Metal roofs come in many varieties, including aluminum, copper, steel, tin and zinc. In terms of longevity, they outperform shingle roofs, lasting anywhere from 40 to 70 years with proper care. They also tend to need less maintenance than other roof types. However, you will pay double or triple the price of standard roofing materials if you choose a metal roof.3

Tile

Most tile roofs last from 50 years to an entire lifetime.2 They stand up well against UV damage, insect infestation and rot, although they are fragile and don’t hold up well to foot traffic or sharp impacts from hail or other debris. The deep orange-red hue of clay and terracotta is especially popular throughout the Southwest.

Slate roofs are a particularly timeless subset of tile roofs that can last upwards of 150 years if well maintained, putting them in a different class than most other roofing options. In addition to lasting nearly forever, slate roofs are totally fireproof. The downside? Slate costs anywhere from $1,000 to $8,000 per square! 4

Wood

Wood roofs are somewhat uncommon but can add a historic or rustic look to your home. They are commonly made of cedar because it provides some protection against pests and rot and typically lasts anywhere from 20 to 30 years.2 Since wood is particularly susceptible to mold and fungi growth, especially when exposed to large amounts of water combined with poor ventilation, your roof will need regular upkeep. You may wish to schedule professional cleaning or wood preservation treatments every few years to maximize your roof’s lifespan.

Other Factors That Affect Roof Longevity

Choosing the right roofing material is only half the battle. Another crucial aspect of preserving the longevity of your roof is choosing the most trustworthy and experienced roofing professionals in your area to install it. Even a roof with the best material will fail if the installers are unfamiliar with the material or do a sloppy job of laying and securing the shingles.

You will also need to maintain your roof, just like you do with any other component of your house. This primarily entails scheduling regular roof maintenance with a professional every few years or so. These experts can inspect your roof for signs of damage you may have missed and make repairs. The second part is keeping your roof clean and free of debris. There are several steps you should be taking to ward off plant growth and rot:

• Keep gutters flowing – If water is standing still in your gutters or debris is crowding your roofline, your roof may start to absorb the backed-up water and rot.
• Sweep off sticks, leaves and branches – In general, do not let your roof get bogged down by detritus. It’s much simpler and more affordable to clear your roof of wood and leaves now than it is to repair a leak caused by a fungus down the line.
• Stop moss growth – Moss traps water against your roof and looks unsightly. If moss growth is a problem for your roof, you may want to consider applying a powder or liquid moss killer or installing a zinc sheet on the top of the roof to keep it at bay.

Signs That Your Roof Is Failing

Even if you’ve calculated when your roof needs replacing, you still want to keep your eyes peeled for any signs of roof damage. A strong storm or fallen tree branch can easily damage an otherwise sturdy roof, so don’t rely on your roof’s projected life expectancy alone when making the decision to replace.

Here are just a few signs your roof may need replacement:

• Missing shingles
• Shingles that are curling, buckling or otherwise misshapen
• Worn-looking shingles that are missing granules
• Cracks in the roof material
• Old or rusted flashing
• Daylight streaming into your attic from the roof
• Neighbors replacing their roofs
• Leaks
• Roof sagging

Get a Brand-New Roof From Allied Siding & Windows

At Allied Siding & Windows, we provide our customers with high-quality Duration® Shingles produced by Owens Corning™. These shingles combine the affordability of shingle roofs with the performance of longer-lasting roof materials. By choosing Duration Shingles, you get:

• Resistance to winds up to 130 miles per hour
• SureNail® Technology for strength and quicker application
• Reduced plant growth with StreakGuard™ Algae Resistance Protection
• A wide variety of TruDefinition® colors to choose from
• Coverage under the Preferred Protection Roofing System Limited Warranty
• And much more!

Allied Siding & Windows has been serving Texas for more than 30 years. If you’re looking for roof replacement, installation or repair, you can trust our specially trained contractors to get the job done right. Visit our site for your free estimate or call us at (713) 946-3697 today to get started!

1 https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/asphalt-shingle-roofing/
2 https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/making-roofs-last/
3 https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/smart-ideas/wondering-about-metal-roofs-here-are-the-pros-and-cons
4 https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/benefits-of-slate-roofing-tiles/

Cleaning and maintaining your window screens is just as important as maintaining the rest of your home because it:

• Boosts curb appeal
• Keeps windows clean
• Improves your indoor air quality when you open the window
• Prevents loss of heat
• Deflects rainwater

Window cleaning should be a part of your regular home cleaning routine, especially after dust storms or rainstorms.

How to Maintain Your Window Screens

Window screen cleaning can extend the window screen’s longevity, makes your home’s exterior look better and gives you a better view of the outdoors from inside. A hose down or a pressure washer cleaning isn’t always adequate to keep screens clean, and can even damage your window screen beyond repair if you’re careless. Here are a few steps to help you clean your window screens efficiently without damaging them.

• • Remove your screens – Start by removing your screens from their fastenings. Modern window constructions make it easy to pop out the screens, but for older fastenings, use a plastic putty knife to pop them out.
  • Lay the screens on a flat surface – The best way to clean window screens is by placing them face down on your driveway or lawn. You can clean smaller screens in your bathtub.
  • Use gentle detergents when washing – Your screens are sensitive, so use a mild detergent like baby or dish soap and combine it with water. Gently scrub using brushes with soft bristles to avoid tearing your screen. Use clear water to rinse any remaining film off. Avoid using high pressure washers or nozzles to avoid damage. Let your screens air dry by laying them in the grass or propping them against the outside of your house.

Before putting your screens back in place, it’s best to clean you windows on the screen-facing side, as any lodged debris can dirty your screens when you put them back on. Put your screens back in place once they have dried.

Have Your Windows and Screens Professionally Replaced with Allied Siding and Windows

Make cleaning your windows easier and update to a modern window frame with Allied Siding and Windows! We provide affordable, quality window replacements from Andersen, Simonton and Don Young, all of which offer the latest in energy saving technology and functionality. All the windows we install are custom-made and fitted specifically for each customer’s home.

At Allied we don’t charge extra to remove and dispose of old windows. Our 100/100/100 window replacement is one of the best packages on the market, providing 100 percent financing, a 100-year warranty and an affordable fee of just $100 a month, based on a 13-window average per home, with our Easy Payment Plan.

Contact us today to have your windows replaced and enroll in our 100/100/100 program!

At Allied Siding & Windows, we’re proud to have served the Houston area for nearly 30 years, and are truly grateful for our wonderful customers and the community in which we work and reside. That’s why the unprecedented destruction dealt by Hurricane Harvey hit us so hard – not just because our company and employees were affected as well, but also because of the destruction and pain inflicted upon our customers and neighbors, all of whom we consider part of our greater Houston family.

We Are In This Together

In the wake of Harvey, we’ve temporarily refocused our company’s efforts toward helping our community rebuild and recover. We’re doing so by offering an array of in-demand services, including dry outs, demolition and home repairs.

If you’re a long-time Houston homeowner or resident you’re likely familiar with mold. You may have even had it in your home in the past. In addition to all the structural and safety issues that accompany flooding, the risk of mold is especially high during times like these when everything is soaked through. Getting everything in your home to thoroughly dry can be nearly impossible without professional help.

We are rushing our dry out services to as many customers as possible to not only address the many sanitation and safety risks inherent with water damage but also the high risk for mold.

There are many homes in our area that no amount of drying will be able to fix. Even in homes that are salvageable there is likely a lot of drywall and structural damage that simply can’t be fixed without total replacement. That’s why we are also offering demolition and haul-away services for clients whose homes need to be either partially or fully demolished.

One of the most painful things to see in our community are the number of people whose struggles are compounded by a lack of insurance coverage for flood damage and an inability to pay for these costly rebuilds out of pocket. At Allied Siding & Windows we are doing our best to make these services as affordable as possible. We’re offering low monthly payment financing options and even 18-month no-interest financing to customers in need.

Work With a Reliable Neighbor – Not an Out-of-State Storm Chaser

There are, unfortunately, a lot of people out there willing to take advantage of Houston’s tragedy. Whenever a major disaster strikes an area there are always a slew of out-of-state storm chasing contractors who descend on the area to charge exorbitant prices, provide substandard work then leave with no way to contact them or hold them accountable for poor results.

When you hire a contractor to perform your Harvey-related repairs, make sure you’re working with a local company with a history in Houston. This ensures you can adequately gauge their reputation, and, if work is performed incorrectly, you can hold them accountable and have them fix the issues.

We want to ensure none of our neighbors fall victim to price gouging, disreputable contractors or bad customer service. When you call Allied Siding & Windows to help with your Harvey-related damage, you can expect to be treated with kindness, respect and urgency. We are all in this together, and your needs and the needs of your neighbors are paramount for our entire company.

Call us at (713) 946-3697 to get started and let us work together toward recovery.

There’s no better time to perform some much-needed maintenance on your home than during the beginning of spring. Although we’re fortunate to experience incredibly mild winters in Southern Texas when compared with our fellow Americans in much of the nation, there are still an array of exterior and interior maintenance items worth checking every year. Here is a spring maintenance checklist to keep in mind while preparing your home for the next, significantly more intense season – summer.

Spring Home Maintenance Checklist

• Trim tree branches, shrubs and bushes

Keep in line with the blooming beauty of spring by cutting excess branches and trimming shrubs and bushes to elevate your home’s curb appeal and keep your lawn and yard looking neat and tidy.

• Clear gutters of debris

April showers are coming, so it’s important that gutters, downspouts and downspout extensions work properly. Clear them free of debris and test them by running water through them to see how much water they filter out.

• Inspect your water softener system and add salt, if need be

Over time, salt in your water softener system naturally dissipates and leaves you with hard water. Skip the unpleasantness of showering in hard water by taking the time to add salt to your water softener system. It’s a short, five-second task that’s well worth taking the time to do.

• Run water through unused pipes

Running water through pipes you generally don’t use, such as isolated outdoor nozzles, helps prevent grime and blockages from building up within them. Rinse and drain all of your pipes, including toilets and faucets in guest bedrooms or spaces you don’t regularly use.

• Change or clean your HVAC air filters

With the arrival of spring comes a seasonal pest – allergies. Allergy-causing pollen and dust can cling to your clothing and end up being circulated throughout your home. Your HVAC air filters may catch them, but they’ll remain caught in your filter and your home until you change it out for a fresh one. Make sure to either clean or replace your air filters to purge them of pollen and dust, ensuring you can breathe easy within your own home.

• Clean and weatherproof porches, decks and patios

As the temperature begins to rise, there’s no better time to apply a fresh coat of paint and weatherproof your patio, deck or porch. Look for rotted supports or sagging roofs and replace them to prepare for April showers and the intense heat of summer.

Update Your Home for Spring with Allied Siding and Windows

Welcome the arrival of spring by updating your home with Allied Siding and Windows. Allied sells products from the best, most reliable manufacturers of roofing materials, doors, windows, gutters and siding and installs them throughout the Houston and Austin areas. Our portfolio includes affordable window replacements from Andersen, Simonton and Don Young, high-quality shingles, ultimate performance gutters and industry-leading siding.

Allied refuses to sell a nameless or unknown brand. Instead, we provide our customers with the best possible features and products from the most trusted brands. We follow a 14-point production checklist and employ highly trained factory crews to ensure quality windows and installation.

We’ve been a member of the Better Business Bureau since 1988 providing quality products, expert, factory-trained crews and affordable prices. Contact us today to purchase our products or schedule maintenance.

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