A longtime Bert Roofing customer recently called us back to inspect their home in the Springpark area of Garland, TX 75044. We had worked for the homeowner roughly 20 years earlier, and this time the request was straightforward: inspect the roof and determine whether there was enough hail damage to justify replacement.
There wasn’t.
Plenty of Chalk Circles, but Not Enough Hail Damage
Another roofing company had already inspected the roof and left quite a few chalk circles marking supposed hail impacts. At first glance, the number of circles might make the roof look heavily damaged.
The problem was what was inside the circles.
During our inspection, we did not find enough legitimate hail damage to recommend replacing the roof. Chalk marks are simply marks. The shingle inside each marked area still needs to show actual evidence of a hail impact.
Roof inspections can involve some judgment, and different contractors may reach different conclusions. There is also a practical difference between roofing companies. Some companies concentrate almost entirely on selling full roof replacements. Bert Roofing does both replacements and repairs, so when a roof still has useful service life and a repair is the appropriate solution, we are comfortable recommending the repair.
That was the case here.
What the Roof Actually Needed
Although the roof did not need replacement, it did have several maintenance and repair issuesworth addressing.
We secured raised flashing, repaired a few localized areas of damaged shingles and replaced all eight plumbing vent flashings on the roof. The repair scope also included matching Weathered Wood laminated shingles where needed.
The inspection photographs documented the existing chalk markings, the condition of the shingles and the deteriorated plumbing vent flashings.
Plumbing Vent Boots Usually Don’t Last as Long as the Roof
Replacing plumbing vent flashings — often called 3-in-1s or plumbing boots — is one of the most common roof repairs we perform.
The PVC plumbing pipe itself extends through the roof. Around that pipe is a flashing assembly with a rubber compression collar that seals against the pipe. The problem is that the rubber is constantly exposed to heat and ultraviolet light.
Eventually, it dries out, cracks and loses its seal.
The surrounding shingles may still have years of useful life remaining.
On many roofs, we begin seeing these rubber seals deteriorate somewhere around the 11- to 12-year mark. Because the rubber components often have a shorter service life than the shingles, replacing plumbing vent boots once during the life of an asphalt shingle roof is very common maintenance.
In this case, replacing the eight aging plumbing vent flashings and taking care of several smaller repair items was a much more appropriate solution than replacing an otherwise serviceable roof.
A Five-Star Review After the Repair
The homeowner was pleased with the result and left Bert Roofing a five-star Google review after the work was completed.
They specifically mentioned Juan, who performed the repair, and said they were very satisfied with the job he did.
For us, that is a good ending to this particular project. The customer did not need the most expensive roofing solution. They needed an accurate assessment, some straightforward maintenance and a properly completed repair.
Sometimes the Right Roofing Recommendation Is a Smaller One
Not every storm inspection should end with a roof replacement.
Sometimes a roof has legitimate storm damage and replacement is warranted. Sometimes it simply needs maintenance and a few repairs.
For this Springpark homeowner in Garland, the second answer was the right one. Roughly 20 years after first using Bert Roofing, they called us again. This time we were able to extend the useful life of their existing roof rather than sell them a roof they did not need — and earn another five-star customer review in the process.
