A new roof installation is the process of removing the old roof entirely, whatever type it is, and installing a new roof. Re-roofing is specific to asphalt shingles, one of the most common roofing types and is a layer of shingles installed on top of the extant shingles on your roof — no tearing out required.

When to Get Re-Roofing

Re-roofing is the more budget-friendly option. Re-roofing is excellent when you are concerned about cosmetic damage to a relatively young roof (less than 10 years old). If you've had a storm that dumped some tree limbs on your house and tore a bunch of your shingles up, that's a perfect reason for re-roofing. Perhaps you simply want to change the color of your roof. Maybe everybody in the neighborhood has started shifting to a new roof color, or maybe you repainted the house and decided that it just doesn't go with the roof. There's no sense in ripping up perfectly good roof for that.

Additionally, re-roofing might be really good for when you're starting to see your shingles come apart a little bit. If you're starting to get some grit and such in your gutters but your shingles don't look too bad when you're on the ground, you may be a really excellent candidate for re-roofing.

When to Get a New Roof

On the other hand, you may need a new roof installation. And there's plenty of reasons that people choose to do this. Sometimes your hand is forced a little bit because some rule or regulation applies to that roof and requires that it be installed new rather than re-roofed. There's a variety of reasons this might be true and that can vary by county and state.

Also, sometimes people don't want to install the same roof type the next time around, and so a new roof installation would be necessary. If you're wanting to upgrade to a metal roof or a tile roof, you're going to have to have the old roof torn off and a new one installed. Another reason why people may install a new roof is that they want to install a more eco-friendly, energy-efficient roof. If that wasn't part of the roofing structure in the first place, you'll have to have a new roof installed in order to get down to the sheathing where some of the energy-efficient barriers are applied.

Whether you need re-roofing or a new roof installation, reach out to a roofing professional near you.