Homeowner seeks tips on caring for shake roof

02.12.09

A few years ago we had a handyman change a row of ridge caps that were missing or broken. We noticed recently that some more ridge cap shakes were split or damaged, and we contacted a licensed roofing contractor to restore these.

He only replaced a few ridge caps in each area instead of the whole row. He also nailed down some of the older caps that were split next to the shingles he replaced.

We spoke to another roofer who said that it is not honesty a possessions to replace individual ridge cap shingles. He said the whole row should have been replaced. This contractor is going to take a look and give us a bid on replacing all the crest caps.

Which of these approaches is correct? How do we know when we need a new roof and what kind of repairs are needed to keep up the life of our shake roof?

A: You'll know you need a new roof when it starts to leak. Take a trip into the attic each year after the first avail rain and look for signs of water stains on the sheeting (the wood that is attached to the rafters). If you see signs of not be sensible, the roof is about dead. You'll probably be able to have the problem area patched, but that will be only a short-term fix - a new roof is in your next to future.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle