When something goes wrong with your home it’s always encouraging to be able to head to Google for the best and cost-effective solutions, however, when it comes to roof work is this something we should be looking to carry out ourselves?
If your gas boiler breaks down people understand the seriousness of getting a professional to take a look at the job to ensure maximum safety and of course there are many jobs that can be carried out by homeowners, repairing a roof is not one of them.
Not convinced? Here’s just a few reasons why:
Identifying Damage Correctly.
When assessing damage on a roof, some damages may be completely obvious, for example a missing or dislodged tile. Other damages, the standard homeowner would have no idea even exist. Don’t forget roofers and roofing companies are trained to understand potential damages and the associated risks when it comes to roofing and as they say, you cannot put a price on experience.
With this said when hiring a professional ask them to explain the work they are doing and the reasons behind it, remember always check their reviews and get multiple quotes.
Risk Assessments & Selecting the Right Equipment
As with any project, especially projects including working at height a risk assessment should always be carried out. Although homeowners could assess most risks these decisions are usually not from experience. For example, how do you know where you can safely stand when working on a roof and where you cannot.
Another consideration when contemplating fixing your roof yourself is the equipment you may need to carry out this task is also very costly. As well as roof ladders, nail guns, tiles and shingles you would also need to ensure fall and edge protection is in place to limit the risk of injury. Roofers will already have this equipment ready to use and most importantly know how to use it safely. This equipment will also be taken note of in the risk assessment.
Mistakes Can Be Costly
Although you will not have to fork out for labour, material and tools would still need to be purchased, and making incorrect purchasing decisions is the first way money can be thrown down the drain. Any mistakes you make on the roof could also cause more money to rectify than the initial problem, for example, one badly installed shingle could let the water in damaging the roof layer and potentially causing a leak.
Not only from a money point of view it is common for injuries to take place when working at height, a misjudged step can cost major injuries and even lives.
When carrying out work on your own home some DIY mistakes may go un-noticed to the average Joe, however, should you ever put your home on the market, a surveyor will notice these mistakes taking value from the overall sale price.
Liability, Insurance & Warranty
Firstly, let us talk about the product used when replacing or repairing a roof. Some manufacturers have it written in their warranties that for warranties to stand the products must be installed by proper application, and by applying these products yourself you could invalidate this. When the work is carried out by a roofing professional you may also get a warranty from this company or individual on the work they have carried out.
The next two points are potentially the biggest considerations when deciding if it’s worth calling in the professionals or not, liability, and insurance. Should you be working on your roof and a major damage to the property is caused, such as the roof collapses, as you’ve completed the work yourself and you are not trained; your home insurance provider will not pay out. Now let’s also add into the mix that as well as your roof collapsing it has caused injury to another person, you are now liable for this and could be taken to court.
Summary
In summary the decision is completely yours to take however working on your own roof is not something that we would recommend. We’ve outlined the main risks and considerations and hopefully we have helped you make your decision.
