What to Expect as Your New Roof Ages

You have more in common with your roofing shingles than you realize. Your roof will change its appearance and age over the years, just like we do. Even a one-year old roof looks different than a roof installed last month. Normal weathering and appearance changes are par for the course. Even if your roof is just a few years old, you may notice signs of aging roof shingles like cracks or blistering. Rest assured that these are common occurrences and do not indicate your roof will fail or was installed improperly.

More often than not, the roofing shingles are simply aging or curing and are still providing excellent protection for your home from weather and other elements. Even though there’s no magic formula or coating that can stop your roof from normal wear, you can keep an eye out of potential problems before they turn severe. You just have to know what to expect and what to look for as your roof ages.

 Bay Area roofs don’t suffer the extreme environmental fluctuations that impact roofs in other parts of the country. But we do have weather, and any type of climate change affects your roof. For San Mateo and Santa Clara county roofs, sun is a factor. Its rays contain ultraviolet radiation, which is shown to accelerate the degradation of the shingles’ asphalt layers. Also moisture and tree limbs can speed up the aging process.

In addition to all of the climatic and external variables that impact the roof performance, studies confirm that improper ventilation inhibits air circulation and can increase moisture more quickly than a properly ventilated roof.

When your new roof shingles were installed, they looked beautiful and brand new. Within months, the newness begins to wear off. In fact, the initial curing period is a time of rapid aging. Asphalt granule loss, minor blistering and slight curling are possible in the early aging phase. Colder weather may make curling shingles more noticeable, but they lay flat again as the temperature rises. In the majority of cases, unless the roofing products were installed improperly, signs of curing are not signs of failure.

After the initial curing, the aging process slows down dramatically and the roof enters its mid-life cycle. Luckily, this phase lasts the majority of your roof’s lifespan. Cracking and asphalt granules loss can still happen, but it doesn’t become more pronounced and is far less worrisome.

After three or four decades, roofing shingles enter their declining years. At this stage, they’ve served their purpose of protecting your home and it gets close to replacement time. However, that being said, most asphalt roofing shingles come with lifetime warranties today, which extend a roof’s life cycle well beyond expectations.