The roof is one of the costliest home improvement projects you'll have over the course of your home's lifetime. An inexpensive roofing option averages five or six thousand dollars. A more high-end roof, such as natural slate or traditional tile, is going to run more in the area of ten to more than fifteen thousand. With costs like these, it's easy to justify a couple hundred dollars to have your roof inspected every year. Roof inspections will prolong the lifetime of your roof and reduce the costs of roof repair by catching damage early. Early detection save you a thousand dollars or more when it comes time to have your roof repaired.

Roof inspections may sound like something you only need to do when you're buying a home, but the National Roofing Contractor's Association recommends you have your roof inspected twice a year. This might sound like a lot, but with Houston's heavy annual rainfall, it doesn't take long for your roof and subroofing to incur extensive water damage. Maybe it's already happened to you or maybe it's happened to a neighbor or friend, but it isn't hard to see that homes in Houston are particularly susceptible to roof damage.

The Importance of Roof Inspections in Houston
It's not every year that a hurricane comes into the Gulf and hits Houston, but it's also rare for Houston not to see periods of heavy rain and strong winds every tropical storm season. Other than snow and harsh winters, rain and wind are the biggest causes of roof damage. A hurricane or strong tropical storm that decides to come inland and beeline for Houston can cause visible roof failure, but a roof can be damaged without visible or immediate signs. That's why it's critical to have your roof inspected on a regular basis and sometimes necessary immediately following a severe storm.

While you may have a roof leak for a year or more before you notice any signs of damage, Houstonians usually don't have to wait that long. There's not a single month of the year that Houston doesn't average 3 inches of precipitation. This may actually be a blessing in some cases, allowing detection of roof damage before the situation gets out of hand. Still, water can infiltrate your roof and sit there long enough to allow serious rot and mold and mildew problems that will exponentially increase the cost of your repair.

The Cost and Length of Roof Inspection in Houston
The average cost of a roof inspection in Houston is $300 and may take, more or less, about a week to set up a time both you and the inspector have free. You may get lucky and find an inspector who can look at your house right away, but you shouldn't necessarily take immediate availability as any indication of the quality of the inspector. Although a roof inspector should provide you with a detailed, written result of the inspection, you should plan on being there so you can ask questions about anything you don't understand. Without being able to talk to the inspector, you may not get as much as useful information as you could from your inspection.

Roof Inspections, Repairs, and Scams
If you look around, you can probably find a contractor who will perform a roof inspection for a lot cheaper. Some may even offer free inspections to help drum up business. As great as these deals sound, you need to be careful. Roofing work is notoriously ripe for scandals, and people who offer to do free inspections may not be entirely reliable for the work they suggest. Because roofing work is so common in Houston, finding a contractor isn't difficult. You shouldn't have too much trouble, either, finding someone you can trust. The problem becomes that because roofing work is in so much demand you may be a while before this contractor can find time in his or her schedule.

We can almost surely find multiple contractors for a roof inspection in Houston. Besides the fact that we prescreen all our contractors, this will help you find someone you can trust, will work for a reasonable rate, and can make it to your home in a reasonable amount of time. Just remember when hiring a roofing contractor for an inspection, repair, or installation, you may not necessarily want to hire the contractor with the cheapest quote. A major issue with your roof will cost you more than any minor differences in roofing estimates. Plus, finding a contractor you can work with in the future is incredibly valuable in itself.