ROOF REPAIRS COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Determining when roof repairs are right for your building comes down to a simple cost/benefit analysis, a calculation that you should be able to perform yourself. When problems arise on your roof and you need to make repairs or replace it, simply examine the costs of each option (repair and replacement), and compare that with the benefits of each option. That will give you your answer.
Should You Repair Your Roof?
When you look at repairing your roof, you want to consider a few different factors that will greatly impact your choice. First, how much longer do you expect your roof to last, both before and after the repairs? Will the repair add 20 years to your roof, or 6 months? If it’s closer to the latter, the repair may not be worth your time or effort.
Another factor to consider is the magnitude of the repair. Is it 50% of your overall maintenance budget, or 1%? If you are spending a huge amount of money on this repair, it may be worth considering a replacement, but if it’s a minor cost for a small problem, it may be the right choice.
Finally, look at how much longer you expect to be in the building. Are you selling in 2 years, or is this the national headquarters for your company where you plan to stay for 40+ more years? The longer you’ll be staying, the more permanent of solutions (i.e. replacement) you should consider.
Should You Replace Your Roof?
The same factors from above can be used when evaluating whether or not you should replace your roof. In addition to the above factors, you can also look at how pervasive the problem is. If you are going to be repairing 90% of your roof, it may be time for a replacement. However, if you are repairing <1% of your roof, making a repair seems prudent.
Conclusion
There is a lot of speculation and gray area in this matter. Whether you need to make repairs or replace your roof, we’d be glad to help. We have repair crews and we install millions of square feet of new roof every year. Give us a call if you’re on the fence between repair and replacement and we’ll give you our best answer.
