Why are so many Medina roofs the same age?
The census tells the story in three numbers. Medina had 19,231 residents in 1990, 25,139 in 2000 and 26,678 in 2010. Nearly 6,000 people arrived in ten years, and then the pace dropped to about 1,500 in the ten years after. Families need houses, so most of the new homes were built in that one busy decade, street after street of two-story colonials on what had been fields at the edge of town.
A house finished in 1994 is 32 years old. If it still wears its first roof, that roof is well past the usual life of a builder shingle. If it was reroofed around 2012, the second roof is in its teens. Either way, the 1990s colonial is the house most likely to need a roof replacement in Medina over the next several years.
What did builders put on these houses?
Builders buy by the truckload and choose what sells the house, and in the 1990s that often meant a 3-tab asphalt shingle over felt paper, with a handful of box vents near the ridge. A 3-tab shingle is a single flat layer. In the Midwest it typically lasts 15 to 20 years, and its common wind rating is 60 to 70 mph.
Some builders offered an upgrade to an architectural shingle, the thicker laminated type, which typically runs 25 to 30 years. So two houses on the same court, built the same month, can have very different roofs today. You cannot tell from the listing sheet. You can tell from the roof edge, where the shingle profile and the number of layers are both visible.
What fails first on a Medina colonial?
1. Pipe boots
The rubber collars around the plumbing vents crack long before the shingles go. A thirty-year-old boot that has never been changed is almost certainly split. This is the usual cause of a small ceiling stain near an upstairs bathroom.
2. The garage valley
The valley where the garage roof joins the main roof carries more water than any other line on the house, and snow sits in it longest. Shingles there lose their granules first. Run a hand along the downspout outlet below it and you will find the grit.
3. The sidewall above the garage
Where the second story rises out of the garage roof, the joint depends on step flashing. If it was skimped, water gets behind the siding and shows up as a stain on the garage ceiling or the wall of the room beside it.
4. South and west slopes
Sun does more damage than snow. The slopes that face south and west bake every afternoon, and their shingles curl, crack and go bald years before the north side. A roof can look fine from the street and worn out from the back yard.
5. Nail pops
Decking that has cycled through thirty Medina winters pushes some nails back out. Each one lifts a shingle. A few are normal. Dozens are a sign the deck fastening needs attention when the roof comes off.
6. North slopes under trees
The street trees planted with these neighborhoods have grown up. Medina's Forestry Department looks after them under a yearly work plan, advised by the Shade Tree Commission. Shade keeps a north slope damp, and damp shingles grow moss and dark algae streaks.
Own a Medina colonial from the 1990s?
A free inspection will tell you which roof you have and how long it has left.
How do you read your own roof from the ground?
You do not need a ladder for a first look. Use binoculars from the yard and check these.
- Edges of the tabs. Flat is good. Curled up or clawed down is wear.
- Color. Dark, shiny patches are places where granules are gone and bare asphalt shows.
- Lines. Shingle courses should run straight. Waves or dips suggest a deck problem underneath.
- The ridge. Cap shingles crack first because they are bent. Look for splits along the peak.
- The downspouts. A pile of coarse grit at the splash block after rain means granules are leaving the roof.
- The attic. On a bright day, switch the light off and look for pinpoints of daylight around the vents.
Two or more of these together is reason enough to have someone look properly.
Repair or replace?
It depends on the shingles, not the leak. If the field of the roof is still flexible and holding its granules, a new set of boots and a rebuilt flashing joint can buy years. That is a roof repair, quoted at a fixed price. If the shingles crack when lifted, there is nothing sound to tie a repair into. The City of Medina's guidelines reflect the same logic: where existing shingles are curled, a tear-off is required before new roofing goes down.
What does a new roof change on these houses?
A replacement is a chance to correct what the builder economized on.
- Architectural shingles in place of 3-tab, with roughly double the wind rating.
- Synthetic underlayment in place of felt.
- Ice and water shield at the eaves and down the full length of the garage valley.
- A continuous ridge vent in place of scattered box vents.
- New step flashing at the sidewall, with the siding held off the shingles.
- New boots on every pipe.
The gutters on these houses are usually the original spike-hung ones and can be changed in the same week, as the roof and gutter page explains. Everything in the standard scope is listed on the Medina roof replacement page, and the subdivision area page covers permits and association rules for these neighborhoods.