Repair or replace? Sort your questions before the quote

Chosen when: Is it leaking: More than one, or spreading

With more than one leak, or a stain that grows, the first job is stopping water, before any choice between repair and replacement. DIFS says most policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, such as covering the roof with a tarp, and to keep the receipts. Stay off the roof: OSHA says not to work on a damaged roof until its structural integrity has been determined. Then ask for a written inspection that says where the water enters and whether it is a repair or a replacement, with photographs.

Try first: Photograph the damage first, then ask a roofing company for temporary tarping. Do not climb up yourself.

Stop and call someone if: A ceiling is sagging or water is near wiring. Treat it as an emergency.

Emergency roof repair · Is a leaking roof covered by your Michigan homeowners policy

Chosen when: How many layers of roofing are on the house: Two or more · or · What is the roof covering: Slate or tile

Michigan's 2015 residential code, R908.3, says roof replacement includes removing the existing layers of covering down to the roof deck. Re-covering over an existing roof is not allowed under R908.3.1.1 where the roof already has two or more applications of any covering, where it is water soaked or deteriorated, or where the existing covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. So on your roof as described, ask each company to quote removal of everything to the deck and to say what happens to the old material. Ask also for the permit and the contractor's license number.

Try first: Ask each roofing company, in writing, whether the quote includes removal to the deck.

Stop and call someone if: A quote proposes laying new roofing over the existing layers. Ask which code section allows it.

Roof replacement · How many layers of shingles a Michigan roof can have

Chosen when: What is the roof covering: Flat membrane

Flat roofs come in several membrane types and the right questions depend on which one you have, so ask a roofing company to name it and to say where it is failing. The only lifespan table we found is InterNACHI's, a trade body of home inspectors, read through a summary and national rather than Michigan-specific: it prints 15 to 25 years for EPDM, 20 for modified bitumen, 30 for built-up roofing and 7 to 20 for TPO. Use it as a reference only. As we read the 2015 code text, its ice barrier list covers shingle, slate and wood coverings and not low-slope membranes.

Try first: Ask for the membrane type, the seams and the flashing at walls and penetrations to be named in the written inspection.

Stop and call someone if: Water appears inside after every rain or thaw. Treat it as active leaks.

Flat roof · How long a roof lasts in Michigan, and what we can and cannot source

Chosen when: What is the roof covering: Metal

Do not assume a code-required ice barrier on a metal roof: the code text lists ice barrier for shingles, slate, wood and mineral-surfaced roll roofing, and metal panels are not on that list as we read it. R908.3.1 does allow some separate roof systems, such as standing-seam, without a tear-off when installed to the manufacturer's instructions, so a proposal that skips tear-off is not automatically wrong. Ask the roofer to say which approach is proposed and why. InterNACHI's chart prints 40 to 80 years for metal, a national trade-body figure read through a summary.

Try first: Ask which code section the proposal relies on and what the panel manufacturer's instructions require.

Stop and call someone if: The quote does not name the panel system or its fastening. Ask for it in writing.

Metal roof · How long a roof lasts in Michigan, and what we can and cannot source

Chosen when: Roof age band: Over 20 years; What is the roof covering: Asphalt shingle

No Michigan rule or government table sets a replacement age. InterNACHI, a home inspectors' trade body, prints 20 years for 3-tab asphalt and 30 for architectural asphalt, national figures that we read through a summary and that are not adjusted for Michigan winters. Use that chart only as a reference and ask for an inspection that states the condition, with photographs, before you accept a repair or a replacement. If you replace, ask about the ice barrier along the eaves and for tear-off to the deck.

Try first: Ask for a written inspection that says what is wrong, where, and what repair would cost versus replacement.

Stop and call someone if: A roofer says the age alone means you must replace. Ask what the inspection found.

Roof replacement · How long a roof lasts in Michigan, and what we can and cannot source

Chosen when: How many layers of roofing are on the house: Not sure · or · Any other answers

With one layer or an unknown number and no spreading leaks, the next step is an inspection with photographs, and a written statement of whether it is a repair or a replacement. Ask the inspector to count the layers. If the answer is replacement, Michigan's code asks for tear-off to the deck and, where an ice barrier applies, a membrane along the eaves reaching at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and at least 36 inches measured along the slope on slopes of 8:12 or steeper. We did not find a Michigan amendment to that text, and it covers the eaves only. Ask whether a permit applies in your city and check the license number on LARA.

Try first: Ask the roofing company to count layers and name the covering before it names a price.

Stop and call someone if: The inspection finds soft decking or water damage. Ask what repairs the deck needs before new roofing goes on.

Roof inspection · How to check a Michigan roofer's license on LARA, and what to do if the work goes wrong