If you’re buying a home, one question often comes up: “When was the roof replaced?” Knowing how to find out when a roof was replaced is important because, while the condition of your roof is ultimately more important than its age, understanding when it was installed can help you plan maintenance, prepare for potential repairs, and even qualify for better homeowner’s insurance rates.
Why Do You Need to Know Your Roof’s Age?
There are a few reasons homeowners want to know how to find out when a roof was replaced:
- Insurance purposes: Some insurance companies offer discounts if your roof is newer.
- Budgeting for future replacement: Even if the roof looks fine, knowing its age can help you plan for eventual replacement.
- Maintenance planning: Older roofs may require more frequent inspections and preventive maintenance, especially in areas like Dallas, where wind and hailstorms are common.
How to Find Out When a Roof Was Replaced Without an Invoice
Without an invoice, it may seem impossible to find out exactly when a roof was replaced. Still, there are a couple of ways. If you were given warranty information on your roof, you could check the paperwork for the installation date, but some people don’t keep all their warranty paperwork. If you know the roofing company the warranty is through or even the manufacturer of the roofing material, you could contact those companies to inquire about your roof’s age.
How to Find Out When a Roof was Replaced Using Public Records
Assuming your roof was not an uninspected DIY project or the municipality had no permit requirements when the roof was installed, you can use public records to find the age of your home’s roof. To do this, you will need the parcel number for your property, which can be found on your property tax bill or the tax map.
If you don’t know the parcel number, you can always contact your county clerk and ask them for the parcel number. They can look it up if you give them your home address. First, though, you could try searching for your property on the Dallas Central Appraisal District property map.
Once you’ve found your parcel number, you can ask the code enforcement office or tax assessor to search files for previous building permits issued to your parcel. For example, if you live inside the Dallas city limits, you could submit an open records request online. Roof replacements almost always require building permits, so they will have a record of the building permit.
Why Roof Condition Matters More Than Age
Although we understand how important it can be to know your roof’s age, the more important metric to look at for planning maintenance and budgeting for a new roof is actually your roof’s condition. The date shown on the building permit can’t tell you that, but a free roof inspection from Elevated Roofing can.
Your mortgage company may have required a roof inspection before closing on your home, but they may not have had a thorough inspection done. So, even if you already had an inspection during the home purchasing process, you’ll still benefit from a free roof inspection from our expert roofing contractors.
A detailed condition assessment tells you much more than a roof’s age ever could. Two roofs installed in the same year can have completely different lifespans depending on the material quality, weather exposure, ventilation, prior repairs, and overall workmanship. A well-maintained 15-year-old roof may outperform a poorly installed or storm-damaged 5-year-old roof. That’s why an on-site inspection is the most reliable way to understand how long your current roofing system will last.
Get a Free Roof Inspection from Elevated Roofing
During a free roof inspection, your Dallas-area roofing contractor will thoroughly inspect the entire roof including:
- Visually inspecting the roof from the ground
- Inspecting the downspouts and gutters
- Checking out the flashing
- Examining the condition of the roofing materials from on top of the roof
- Checking for proper ventilation
- Checking structural integrity
- Searching for signs of mold or mildew on the roof, in the attic and in the home
- Checking for signs of old water damage or new water damage
Once we’ve looked at everything there is to see related to your roofing system, we will provide you with a detailed report. This report can be used to document the health of your roof for the insurance company, plan repairs and maintenance, budget for a new roof down the road and more.
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