How much it will cost you to repair your roof is likely something you’re dreading finding out about. Roof repairs can sometimes be very costly, but most of what a roofing contractor charges for is labor. That means that, if you can do the work yourself, it will probably cost you a lot less. You can also use a handyman service for simple roof repairs if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself. As long as your handyman is licensed and insured, and as long as he or she is doing small and simple repairs, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Just make sure that you get someone who you feel comfortable with and who you feel can do the job properly. Where you might pay around $350 for a roofing contractor to repair to ten by ten area of shingles you’ll likely pay a handyman around $100 to do the same thing. You can see from that comparison that it’s much cheaper to hire a handyman, and if you do the repair yourself all you have to pay for is the shingles and any tools or other materials that you might need. For anyone who does a roof repair job for you, you’ll want to make sure that new shingles, sealing with a roofing cement product, and cleanup of the old shingles are all included.
You might also have to have some of the flashing replaced if it has become damaged, is leaking, or has other problems. If you pay someone to put new flashing around your chimney, for example, you can figure around $400. If you do it yourself, you’ll only pay the cost of the flashing and any other materials that you need such as screws or roofing cement.
The biggest reason why people don’t do their own repairs is because they aren’t certain that they can perform them correctly. The best thing to do if you want to do your own repairs, is to make sure that you learn about the cost of them versus the time that they take and how involved they are. For some repairs you really might want to hire someone else, but for very minor things you can save yourself a lot of money by doing it yourself. Just make sure you read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully for any products that you buy and be careful about walking around on your roof to avoid falling and other dangers like power lines.