Ask the Remodeler: Is it time to replace your roof?

Plus, which wood-type flooring stands up best to pets and high traffic? Send your home improvement questions to [email protected].

Roof issues aren't always evident from the ground. Adobe Stock

By Mark Philben, The Boston Globe

October 30, 2024

2 minutes to read

Q. When should you replace your roof? Mine is about 25 years old but has no visible sign of wear. I replaced both layers last time.

M.C.

A. M.C., that’s a difficult question. We have seen plenty of roofs go longer than that and hold up just fine. Roofs often fail on the margins, the flashing details and roof penetrations for vents, etc. Rarely do the shingles themselves just start to fail and let in water. For that reason, if you are concerned, find a professional roofing company and have them put a ladder on the house for a quick checkup. The flashing and penetration issues are hard to see from the ground, so it’s best to get somebody up there who knows what to look for. There were companies 25 years ago that manufactured shingles with 30- to 40-year warranties; the products were that good even then. It sounds as if you have a quality shingle up there since you are not seeing any visible signs of failure. But at 25 years old, it is time for a checkup.

Q. We live in a 1964 center entrance Colonial. We need to replace all of the wood floors on the first level; they can’t handle another refinishing. The number of flooring options out there is overwhelming. We have two dogs and a busy household. We are not opposed to installing fake wood flooring, but it always seems noisier than hardwood. What would you recommend?

C.S.

A. I’m sorry that you have to replace your wood floors, C.S. Wood flooring is always our first choice, but we have installed newer laminate or prefinished wood floors. There are pros and cons to both.

Laminate wood floors are incredibly durable and put up with an amazing amount of abuse. They clean up well and hold their color. The biggest con is that most are not ¾-of-an-inch thick, which can cause problems at doorways and baseboards when wood flooring of that size is removed. You also typically have to add a “base shoe” or small piece of trim along all of the edges because laminates need to be installed with a quarter-inch gap.

Another option is three-quarter-inch prefinished hardwood flooring. This flooring has a superior finish compared to site-installed hardwood floors. They have a far more durable, machine-applied finish that cannot be replicated in the field. This will hold up better to foot and pet traffic. It will also integrate better where the existing wood flooring was removed. One drawback could be if the floor is uneven from the house settling over the years. The prefinished floors cannot be sanded to take the curves out of the floor. This could create visible, uneven seams.

With those issues in mind, I think a high-quality wood laminate floor will give you the best of both worlds. The ones we have installed have the padded underlayment backing on each piece, so when the floor is installed, it helps deaden the sound and give it a somewhat softer feel underfoot.

Mark Philben is the project development manager at Charlie Allen Renovations in Cambridge. Send your questions to [email protected]. Questions are subject to editing.