What to Know before Buying a House with 20 Year Old Roof

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By Sofia K.

When you buy a house, you try to find out absolutely everything about it. Having chosen the area, you look closely at the house, its size, and rooms. Sometimes, having chosen a house that suits you, you are faced with the fact that its roof was installed a very long time ago.

Reasons for buying a house with 20 year old roof:

Reduced house price due to the old roof
The roof is in excellent condition
The average service life of the roof material is 50 years or more
Possibility to choose a covering for a new roof

Should you immediately give up the idea of buying a house with 20 year old roof? The correct answer depends on the condition of the roof, on the coating material, and how this affects the value of the house. If the roof doesn’t last 10 years and there is no purchase discount, then this is a bad idea.

How long the roof will last is greatly influenced by the coating material used. Knowing the information about when the roof was installed and what is the average life of this coating, you will have a partial idea of how long the roof will last.

Coating Material	Lifespan	Cost of New Roof
Asphalt Roof	20 – 25 years	$10000 – $12000
Metal Roof	20 – 25 years	$18000 – $20000
Ceramic Tile roof	20 – 25 years	$13000 – $15000
Сlay tile roof	20 – 25 years	$14000 – $16000

The table uses averaged data for the country. More detailed information should be checked with local construction companies.

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Roof Inspection

The roof is a very important part of the house. It protects the house from any impact, be it weather precipitation, solar ultraviolet light, or air temperature. If the roof is in poor condition, it can leak, which will cause dampness in the house and damage to other elements in the house. Also, if the roof is not complete, there will be a problem with the temperature in the house, for example, in winter, you will have to heat the house much more.

No matter how durable the coating material is, the quality of the roof also depends on the experience of those who installed it. For this reason, first of all, when deciding to buy a house with 20 year old roof, it is necessary to inspect it thoroughly.

An inspection can reveal all problematic areas of the roof that are not visible at first glance. In addition, you will have an understanding of whether the roof needs repair now and how long it will last. You will also have an idea of how much the annual maintenance of this particular roof will cost you.

Since this is very individual, never neglect a roof inspection before buying a home. Even a roof installed 5-10 years ago can have problems, and a high-quality inspection will reveal them. This will allow you to avoid rash purchases and additional waste.

The Old Roof May be in Excellent Condition

When the roof of the house is new, it undoubtedly speaks of its quality. Nevertheless, it is very rare on the real estate market to find houses built a long time ago but with a new roof. Do not be upset, because the age of the roof does not always indicate its quality.

Several factors affect the quality of the roof:

Used coating material
Installation quality
Proper roof maintenance

These factors are essential in how long the roof of the house will last. There are cases when the roof was installed 20 or more years ago, in much better condition than the roof installed just 5 years ago. For understanding, let’s analyze this situation with examples.

In the first case, the roof was installed 5 years ago, but it was not looked after. It is overgrown with moss and part of the cover is missing (torn tiles or sheets of asphalt roof). In this case, the inside of the roof will deteriorate because moisture and bacteria penetrate it. Most likely in another 5 years, it will completely become unusable and a complete replacement of the roof will be necessary.

In the second case, the roof was installed 20 years ago. The stop was carried out by a professional company at a suitable time of the year. All work was done according to standards and without haste. During the entire period of operation, the roof was inspected, cleaned and minor repairs were carried out, the roof is intact and without damage. This roof option, with continued proper care, can last for at least another 10 – 15 years, or even more, depending on the material.

The Service Life of the Coating Materials

At the beginning of the article, we have already visually examined the average performance of roof coatings and the approximate operating time. All other things being equal, the choice of material for the roof matters.

For example, for a metal roof, 20 years can be only half of the warranty period, and for an asphalt roof, this is the average period of operation. If you have a poor understanding of roof coverings, find a professional contractor or ask questions to the roof inspector.

The professional opinion they can provide essential information that you can use later in choosing to buy a home.

An Old Roof Helps Save Money on Buying a Home

If you’re on a budget, buying a house with 20 year old roof can be a great way to keep your price down. Very often, the owners of such a house reduce the price in advance due to the age of the roof. In addition, depending on the condition of the roof, you can also ask for an additional discount.

For example, after an inspection, it turned out that the roof is in poor condition and requires major repairs or complete replacement. In this case, you can negotiate with the landlord to reduce the price of the house by an amount comparable to the estimated cost. In most cases, the owner of the house will agree to this and thus you will be in the black. After replacing the roof, the cost of the house will immediately increase.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to choose the roof covering that suits you. This is a very positive factor because, over the past decades, many good options have appeared, for example, many varieties of metal roofs.

Wrong Buying a House with 20 Year Old Roof

No matter how many positive aspects, in which buying a house with 20 year old roof would be a good idea, there are also cases when it is not worth doing it.

Reasons not to buy a home with a 20 year old roof:

New roof gives more confidence
You don’t want to do repairs
The high price of a house with an old roof

In most cases, the reason people don’t want to buy these houses is that they don’t want to do renovations right after they buy them. Many would like to immediately drop into a beautiful house and just enjoy life. In a house with a new roof, you will not worry about its condition for at least 5 years, and many homeowners like this prospect.

It also sometimes happens that it is very difficult to agree on the price for the house with the previous owner. Even the provided roof inspection reports do not help to reduce the price in case of its poor condition. This happens very often because people estimate the value of their home poorly and want to get more money for it.

In this case, it is not recommended to buy such houses, because all subsequent responsibility will be on you. If it becomes necessary to repair or replace the roof, then it will fall on you, in terms of responsibility and cost. Why burden yourself with additional problems when you can find a much better option.

Professional Opinion

There are many opinions about whether to buy a house with an old roof. If you are interested in this purchase, then first of all you must understand why you are doing this. Determine for yourself the exact criteria that the house must meet and how much you will benefit from buying a house with 20 year old roof.

The second important piece of advice will be – “Do not rush to buy!” Thoroughly review the real estate market and evaluate each of the options provided. Also, listen to the opinion of your realtor. Because of his experience, he will be able to give you good advice on whether to buy the chosen house and what possible disadvantages it has.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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