Roof repair
And when a repair is worth it. Most leaks are one small failure, not a dying roof. Here's what the common ones cost, and how to tell when patching stops making sense.
The short version. Repairs are priced by what failed rather than by the size of the roof, and the single most common leak we find is a cracked pipe boot around a plumbing vent, which is usually a few hundred dollars. A repair is the right call when the damage is in one spot and the rest of the roof still has life in it. If someone tells you a leak means a whole new roof without getting on it first, get another opinion.
Cost
Repairs price by what failed, not by the square, so the honest answer comes after somebody has been on the roof.
Material prices have been moving month to month, so a published range would be out of date before it was useful. What you get instead is a free inspection, photographs of whatever is found, and a written number for the repair the roof needs. A pipe boot is a different job to a valley, and both are different to decking that has been wet for two winters.
The honest bit
This is the question worth getting right, because the wrong answer costs you either way. Patch a roof that's finished and you'll pay twice. Replace a roof with ten years left and you've spent twenty thousand dollars early.
The three things that decide it are age, how spread out the damage is, and how many layers are already up there.
The damage is in one area, the roof is under about 15 years old, and the shingles elsewhere are still flexible and holding granules.
A single failed pipe boot on a twelve-year-old roof is a few hundred dollars and buys you another decade. Anyone quoting a full replacement for that is selling, not diagnosing.
The roof is past about 20 years, there's damage on more than one slope, or granules are washing into the gutters across the whole roof.
Two layers already up there also pushes it, because a third isn't allowed and tearing off two costs more than tearing off one. At that point repairs stop being repairs and start being instalments on a roof you're going to buy anyway.
If a storm caused it, this may not be a repair conversation.
Hail and wind damage is usually covered by your homeowners policy, and you'd pay your deductible rather than the repair cost. It's worth ruling that in or out before you spend anything. Here's how a roof claim works.
Leaking right now
Get a bucket under it and move anything that matters. Then call. After hours you'll get voicemail, and it gets seen. The tarp goes on as soon as someone can reach you, and the real repair happens in daylight.
Don't let anyone talk you into a full roof at 9pm in the rain. Emergency work is about stopping water, not signing contracts.
Straight answers
Usually close, rarely perfect.
Shingles fade with sun exposure, so new ones next to fifteen-year-old ones will show for a while before they weather in. On a visible slope that's worth knowing before you decide. On a back slope nobody sees, it's a non-issue.
Most are a few hours, same day.
Flashing and boot work is usually a morning. Anything involving decking takes longer because the rot has to be cut back to something solid.
Not if it's done with matching materials by a certified installer.
Poor repairs by whoever was cheapest are a common way manufacturer coverage gets denied later. Being GAF Master Elite means repairs get done to the standard the warranty expects.
That's normal, and it's why the inspection matters.
Water travels. A stain on a bedroom ceiling is often a long way from where the water got in, and the entry point is frequently a flashing detail or a boot rather than anything visible from the ground.
No.
Someone gets on the roof, photographs what they find, and tells you what it needs. If that turns out to be nothing, you've lost twenty minutes and we've lost nothing worth counting.
Free inspection, photographed, with a straight answer on repair or replace. If a few hundred dollars fixes it, that's what we'll tell you.