Forget the bathroom. When renovating a home, a good roof is a no-brainer, experts say.

Medora Lee, USA TODAY
Updated ·5 min read

Looking to do some home renovations? Lead with the roof, experts say.

A roof isn’t as pretty and fun to design as a luxury bathroom, but this upgrade provides a high return on investment for homeowners for many reasons, experts say. Not only will a new roof increase the value of your home so you recover 100% of your costs, according to a 2022 National Association of Realtors report, but it can trim insurance costs and protect your home and your belongings from severe weather damage.

When roofs fail, problems and expenses mount. Water floods into the home, roof pieces fly off and cause damage, and rooftop equipment like air conditioners and generators are destroyed.

In most years, roof-related damage is responsible for 70% to 90% of the total amount of insured property damage from a catastrophic weather event, according to the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

“If your roof blows off, you have a ton of rain inside your home,” said Nathan Lippincott, owner of Knockout Inspections in Fairhope, Alabama. With the right roof, “95% of the rain will stay outside your home, which saves you and the insurance company.”

What is the right roof?

Some things to consider when deciding on a roof:

  • Underlayment material: the barrier layer between the roof deck and shingles to keep moisture out.

  • Shingles: Asphalt shingles are the most popular because they’re relatively inexpensive and easy to install, but there are other types including metal, natural slate, terra cotta and solar. When choosing, consider the climate where you live, the pitch of your roof, the weight of the shingles on the home, energy efficiency and your budget.

  • Warranty: The warranty guarantees how long the product will last. The longer the warranty, the better.

  • Installation: Typically, this isn’t a big consideration, but with the Fortified method of installation gaining traction as a more robust way of protecting homes from severe weather, more consumers are giving thought to how a roof is installed, not just the materials used, experts said.

Ringing up the roof: How much does roof replacement cost? 2024 guide

Now is the perfect time to replace your roof.
Now is the perfect time to replace your roof.

What is a Fortified roof?

Fortified roof installation is more secure to “ensure shingles and more importantly, the decking underneath, stay on the roof in high wind events,” said Erin Shields, chief operating officer at Apex Roofing & Restoration in Birmingham, Alabama, and a certified Fortified roofer.

Because Fortified and traditional roof materials are similar, the additional cost for a Fortified roof is to cover the labor, “but it’s not cost-prohibitive,” Shields said. Depending on the type of roof, it can cost $1,000 to $5,000 more, plus certification costs of about $400 to $600, he said. Fortified roofs initially need to be certified by an evaluator and IBHS, and then every five years.

According to IBHS, Fortified roofs have:

  • Stronger edges that decrease the chance strong winds will get underneath the roof to rip it away.

  • Sealed roof decks to protect the home from water if the roof is ripped off.

  • Stronger nails and more of them to better attach the roof deck to the home.

  • Impact-resistant shingles.

Are Fortified roofs worth the extra money?

Fortified roofs are especially beneficial in areas with severe weather, experts said.

When Hurricane Sally hit Alabama in 2020, the state had about 16,000 Fortified roofs, Lippincott said. “Only 400 made any claims, and some of those were trees that fell on the house. Now, there are over 50,000 Fortified roofs in Alabama,” he said.

Many states and insurance companies also offer incentives to help defray costs, IBHS said.

Fannie Mae is piloting Fortified roofs on foreclosed homes it owns, and Freddie Mac includes Fortified roofs as an option for its single-family GreenCHOICE mortgages that help people finance efficiency improvements.

“In the future, I think more states and insurance companies will offer discounts,” said Diane Delaney, executive director of the nonprofit Private Risk Management Association for insurance professionals dealing with high-net-worth consumers. “There’s no downside for homeowners.”

How do you find a roofer?

Certified Fortified roofers and evaluators can be found at the Fortified Home website.

If you just want a traditional roof because severe weather events are rare where you live, beware of scammers. Roof-related projects are the biggest home improvement scam, tallying 15% of all Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports from 2015 to 2022, said home inspection software seller Inspection Support Network.

Roofing scams proliferate after big storms like Hurricane Helene, experts say. Scammers often stroll through affected areas and offer free inspections or on-the-spot roof repairs, BBB warns.

“The person may claim that their company is working on a neighbor’s home and is offering inspections to those living nearby, or they just happened to notice your damaged roof,” the bureau said. “But if you ask questions … you’ll most likely be met with vague answers.”

It’s important to research roofing companies, work with your insurance company and beware of unsolicited offers, the BBB said.

Customers also can buy roofs online at certified companies. For example, Gunner Roofing serves customers nationwide, and MCSquared Roofing is available in North Carolina. Customers enter their address, select their roofs, get a price, pay and schedule installation.

“We guarantee 25 years on the labor and 50 years on the materials,” said Eddie Prchal, Gunner’s chief executive and co-founder. And if you have an insurance claim, Gunner will take care of that for you, he said.

(This story was updated to correct a typo.)

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roof replacements aren't sexy. Why experts say they're a must.

Latest Stories

  • Watch: Orca launches 20 feet high while pursuing prey off San Diego

    Boaters off San Diego on Saturday witnessed a rarely seen spectacle involving killer whales, or orcas, that are more comonly encountered much farther south in Mexico. “Who needs SeaWorld when the greatest Orca show in the world is in the WILD!”

  • Calgary digs out of record-setting snowstorm as bus route detours stay in effect

    There's no need to check the record books to see that a very considerable amount of snow fell on the city of Calgary Saturday. A look out the window will do.But a glance at the records doesn't disappoint.Eric Van Lochem, an operational meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says Saturday's snowfall amounts vary, depending on which side of the city is being measured and who is doing the measuring."We did get some unofficial reports in Calgary that were perhaps as high as 25 or

  • Insider: Tesla Is Breaking Tons of Rules Elon Musk May Slash Under Trump

    Elon Musk, tapped to lead Donald Trump’s efforts to slash government spending and gut regulations, pushed employees to work hastily as Tesla piled up pollution violations, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal obtained emails from Texas regulators to Tesla that allege the MAGA billionaire’s electric carmaker dumped toxic pollutants near Austin, Texas—including untreated wastewater into the city’s sewer. The Journal also obtained a whistleblower memo sent this year to the Environmental P

  • A desert oasis outside of Dubai draws a new caravan: A family of rodents from Argentina

    A desert oasis hidden away in the dunes in the far reaches of skyscraper-studded Dubai has drawn a surprising new set of weary world travelers: A pack of Argentinian rodents. Patagonian mara, a rabbit-like mammal with long legs, big ears and a body like a hooven animal, now roam the grounds of Al Qudra Lakes, typically home to gazelle and other desert creatures of the United Arab Emirates. (AP Video: Jon Gambrell)

  • The 50-cm snowfall lottery: Will an Ontario locale win it before December?

    The first shot of lake-effect snowfall for Ontario this fall comes this week, and it could be a doozy. At least one community stands the chance of seeing 50 cm by the time December rolls in

  • This Whale Died Decades Ago. Its Carcass Is Now the Ocean’s Hottest Housing Complex.

    For more than a decade, a succession of sea creatures have lived off of this whale’s body by stripping it and burrowing into the bones to find nutrients.

  • B.C. river undergoes historic salmon habitat restoration

    A significant milestone for conservation and local communities has been achieved as freshwater flows back into the Red Slough of British Columbia's Upper Pitt River, revitalizing fish habitats and offering renewed hope for salmon spawning. Neetu Garcha has the details.

  • Travel remains treacherous on the Prairies as potent snowstorm rolls on

    'Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve': A widespread swath of the Prairies could see 30-40 cm of snow by the end of the storm, with at least some accumulations expected in every major city in the region

  • Snowstorm leads to closed schools and roads in Sask.

    Much of Saskatchewan was still blanketed in a thick layer of snow Monday morning after a weekend of heavy snowfall, leading several schools across the province to cancel classes for a snow day.

  • When it rains, orders pour in: Local raincoat designer thriving through bouts of wet weather

    Maria Halfyard, the founder of Mernini Coats, says rainy weather means big business. (Heather Barrett/CBC)Nobody wants the amount of consistent rain and fog parts of the Avalon Peninsula have seen over the course of this month — except Maria Halfyard.Halfyard is the founder of Mernini, and says business has been steady as people search for fashionable rain wear."I'm probably the only one in this province that is loving the rain," Halfyard said with a laugh during an interview with CBC Radio's We

  • Orcas family makes  'grocery' trip to downtown Vancouver

    A family of killer whales has made a rare trip into waters off downtown Vancouver for what an expert says was likely a "grocery shopping" hunt for harbour seals. Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia's marine mammal research unit, says it's the first time the 26-year-old mother, known as T35A, has shown up in downtown Vancouver with her children aged six, 11 and 14. (Nov. 25, 2024)

  • PHOTOS: Prairies snowstorm packs a wintry, chilly wallop as totals pile up

    A late-fall, potent snowstorm brought notable accumulations and significant travel problems across the Prairies this weekend

  • Why are the Northern Lights so supercharged lately and how long will this last?

    Canadians can look forward to bright displays of the Aurora Borealis for at least the next year and likely even longer.

  • Out on a limb: Ottawa is falling behind on its promise to plant 2 billion trees

    The federal government did not meet the targets for its program to plant two billion trees during the program's third planting season.Numbers provided by Natural Resources Canada show Ottawa did not meet its annual planting and spending targets for the 2023-24 growing season.Ottawa and its partners were supposed to plant 60 million trees last season but only got 46.6 million saplings in the ground.Despite the program's slow rollout, a spokesperson for Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinso

  • Container full of teddy bears washes up on Montreal-area riverbank

    A shipping container filled with teddy bears washed up on a sandbar in the St. Lawrence River, south of Montreal, over the weekend.The container fell into the water sometime Saturday evening, a spokesperson for the Port of Montreal said. Workers realized it was missing Sunday morning and located it across the river, near the shore of Boucherville, Que., a city on Montreal's South Shore.It had become stuck on the river bottom and lay close to shore. But the port spokesperson said it was not a dan

  • Multiple chances to see snow across Ontario

    As polar air infiltrates Canada, the great lakes are turning on to bring the first snowfall of the season for some. Meteorologist Rhythm Reet from The Weather Network breaks down the details.

  • First right whales of season gorge on critical food off Massachusetts, giving hope for a strong year

    Scientists who study a critically endangered species of whale that lives off New England said encouraging early signs suggest the animals could have a strong season for feeding and breeding. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest whale species in the world and it is thought to number about 370. The giant animals migrate, and usually arrive in Cape Cod Bay off Massachusetts early in the winter and stay until around the middle of May.

  • Snow is headed to southern Ontario: Here's how to prepare

    Winter is just around the corner, according to the latest forecast.

  • Thanksgiving week forecast includes snow, heavy rain for holiday travel across US

    The FOX Forecast Center is continuing to monitor the Thanksgiving week weather forecast and expects there to be some potential travel disruptions. But while a majority of people should reach their destinations unaffected by extreme weather, getting home may be a different story - especially in the East.

  • A disruptive Thanksgiving winter storm is coming with a side of the coldest air in months

    A storm and the first punch of winterlike chill will combine to cause Thanksgiving travel headaches across the eastern half of the United States as Mother Nature serves up a smorgasbord of sloppy weather.