If it feels like half your street is getting quotes for a new roof, that is not a
coincidence and it is not a sign anything was done badly. It is arithmetic.
Roughly 61% of all housing in ZIP 21117 was built between 1980 and 2009,
with the 1990s the single biggest decade by a wide margin. Architectural asphalt shingle
runs about 25 to 30 years in Maryland. Put those two facts together and you get whole
neighborhoods arriving at their first replacement within a few years of each other.
The good news about a first replacement
A roof that has been replaced twice already is a different job from one that has never
been touched. On the twice-replaced roofs we are usually dealing with whatever two
previous crews did to the flashing and the decking underneath.
On an original builder roof from the 1990s, the deck is normally still sound. That
makes it a straightforward tear-off and replacement rather than a rebuild, and decking
replacement — priced per sheet on our quotes — is usually minimal.
The thing actually worth checking
Ventilation. Builder-era attics were frequently under-ventilated by current standards,
and poor ventilation shortens the next roof more reliably than weather does.
Ridge ventilation sized to the actual roof does more for lifespan than paying up a shingle
grade, and it is far cheaper.
If you are getting quotes, ask each one what they are doing about ventilation. The
answers will tell you a lot about who actually went up there.
And the part nobody enjoys
A neighborhood where everyone needs a roof in the same three years attracts
out-of-town contractors going door to door, particularly after any storm. Some are
perfectly legitimate. The pattern worth being wary of is pressure to sign on the spot, an
offer to cover your deductible, or an assessment that never involved anyone getting on
the roof.
You are entitled to take your time, ask for an MHIC number and an insurance
certificate, and get a second opinion. If someone offers to cover your deductible, that
is not generosity — it tells you something about everything else they will do.
If several houses in a row are doing it
On townhouse rows — and about a quarter of Owings Mills housing is attached
— it is worth comparing what each quote actually covers, particularly the detail at
the party wall, which is shared between you and next door. A failure there is both of
your problem.
We are happy to look at a row rather than a single house. Our
inspection is free either way, and if your roof turns out
to have years left in it, that is what we will tell you — nobody here is paid more
for the bigger job.
More on the local picture: roofing in
Owings Mills.