DIY Roofing

Why Choose DIY Roofing? Advantages and Disadvantages

The home improvement market has exploded over the last ten years or so, mainly due to more availability of equipment and the amount of information available. In addition to home improvement books, which have been around for years, there are now hundreds or even thousands of home improvement websites and many, many home improvement shows on TV. DIY roofing is one project that many people attempt for the reasons discussed below.

Benefits of DIY roofing

As with most DIY projects, the main reason people opt for this route is the amount of money they can save. DIY roofing will definitely save you a significant amount of money. Labor costs of a roofing crew are sometimes outrageous and by doing it yourself, you eliminate this cost. Sure they can do in a matter of hours what will take you a couple of days, but you will pay quite a bit more for this convenience, which is just not worth it (or even possible) for some owners.

Negative aspects of DIY roofing

The amount of money saved by choosing DIY roofing may not be enough of a reason to justify some of the risks of this choice. The biggest risk is safety…roofs are high in the air, so anything that goes wrong could go horribly wrong. Even dropping a hammer could have disastrous results if you reach to get it and take a nose-dive of the roof. To most people, risking their life is not worth any amount of money saved!

Another factor that keeps people from attempting this project is the amount of time it takes. An experienced roofer with their own crew can complete all but the biggest projects in one or two days; an average homeowner will take at least two times as long.