You or your roofer should examine one area when checking your roof for leaks or damage is along the sides of each asphalt shingle tab. When three-tab asphalt shingles are made, there's an open slit between each tab to make them look like individual shingles. This is a vulnerable area and it's one of the first places you may see shingle damage on your roof. Here's why the slit between shingles is subject to damage and the roof repairs that might be needed.
The Sides Of The Slits Can Wear Down
When rain rolls down your roof, it follows the channel made by the tab slits. This can cause erosion that eats away at the sides of the slits. As the slits get larger, more rain can fall through and escalate the damage. When examining the three-tab shingles look for signs of missing granules in the space under the slits, cracks, and crumbled areas on the sides of the tabs.
By looking at the sides of the tabs, you can tell the overall condition of your roof. Worn-down slits let the rain roll along the shingle below, increasing the risk of a roof leak. Most of the shingles on your roof are actually two layers even though they don't look that way.
That's because each three-tab shingle is covered over the top half by the shingle above and the lower half of the shingle covers the shingle below. The area under the slits in the tabs is vulnerable to damage since rain can leak through to the single layer of roofing below.
Roof Repairs That Might Be Needed
The first step is to decide if roof repairs are practical or if you need a new roof. If most of your shingles are worn down, then a new roof is a better approach than trying to repair all the damaged shingles. If only a few areas of the roof look bad due to the way rain rolls or the way sunlight falls, then repairs might be possible.
Your roofer can repair cracks in the shingle if necessary, and they might apply granules in the slit to offer protection to the shingle below. Your roofer might use flashing to cut patches to slide under the eroded shingle tab to protect the bottom shingle from further damage.
Also, the roofer can replace the damaged shingles if necessary. They might need to replace some shingles that have the worst erosion along the tabs, and they might also need to replace the shingles underneath that have damage.
When applying new shingles, the roofer takes care to stagger the slits in three-tab shingles so they don't line up because aligned slits are not as attractive and they also increase the risk of roof leaks.
To learn more information about roof repair, reach out to a roofer near you.
