Repair or Replace? How to Decide

Usually not, unless the damage is isolated and the rest of the roof still passes a hands-on check. A 20-year-old three-tab in a wet climate is often at the end of its mat life, and a repair on brittle shingles damages the courses around it as you work. If the roof is 20 years old but the shingles are still pliable and the deck is sound, a repair is defensible.

Close, rarely exact. Shingle lines get discontinued and the colour blend on your roof has faded for years under UV, so a new bundle sits brighter than its surroundings for a season or two before it weathers in. Where matching matters, some people keep the patch to a slope that is not visible from the street and accept the difference elsewhere.

It depends on what failed. A replaced pipe boot, a re-flashed chimney step and counter flashing, or a rebuilt valley should last as long as the surrounding roof. Sealant over a crack is not a repair, it is a delay, and it typically gives you one season before it shrinks and opens again. Ask which of the two you are being sold.

Sometimes, and it makes sense when one slope faces the weather and has aged much faster than the others. The catch is the ridge and any shared valley, both of which have to be tied back into old shingles. It also leaves you with two roofs of different ages and a visible line. On a small detached garage slope it works well, on a main house it usually just delays the rest.

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