To spend or not to spend

[Naila T.]

Hi everyone, I bought this house a month ago and I have had to spend so much on repairs ever since. In preparation for winter here in CT I had someone inspect the roof and they found missing shingles. As I understand it the roof is very old but it also has at least 2 layers. I'm hoping you guys can give me an idea on whether its worth fixing or waiting another year or two.  

[JD Martin]

You can add replacement shingles to that if you need to get another year or two or three or five out of it. It just depends how ambitious you are. If you can do it yourself, replacing shingles is pathetically easy. You bring a narrow pry bar/putty knife up there, loosen the shingle tabs from the tack strip on the shingle above it, pull the nails out of the bad shingle and nail a new one in. You don't even have to use the same color, though you should use the same style (you have 3 tab there). Doesn't make any difference if there's a roof below it or not if you're just replacing tabs. 

I once had a roof I laughingly called the "Technicolor Dreamcoat" roof because of how many different colored shingles I had used fixing busted tabs on the windward side over time. I got 20 years out of the roof, but the original roof was a pinkish 3-tab asphalt roof and I couldn't come close to matching it as the color was discontinued. Since no one but helicopters and Google drones could see it (2nd floor, on a hillside), I didn't particularly care that the roof didn't match. When the roof was done in for good in a particularly nasty hail storm, the insurance inspector got a good laugh out of it. In your case, that color is easy to find. 

[Naila T.]

I really appreciate the insight. I'm hoping it can last another 5 years at least. I do not have the money to replace. I've heard that its hard to get insurance companies to help with replacements. Has that been your experience?

[Spencer Abeyta]

You should complete the repair. If you do not want to complete it yourself you will have to pay a roofer. A couple hundred bucks to extend the life of a roof is worth it. Why risk not having it repaired and then having a potential water leak from the roof into the house?