Most asphalt shingle roofs in Warman last somewhere between twenty and thirty years. That is the range we give for asphalt in this climate, and metal roofing runs longer, forty to sixty years or more. Where a particular roof lands has less to do with the label on the shingle bundle than with how it was installed, how well the attic breathes and how many hailstorms it has taken. In a city that has grown as fast as Warman, plenty of roofs are reaching the same point at the same time.
Why so many Warman roofs come due together
Warman went from 7,084 people in 2011 to 12,419 in 2021, and it was the fastest growing municipality in Saskatchewan at the 2021 census (Statistics Canada figures, as summarised on Wikipedia). It only became a city on 27 October 2012. Most of its houses went up inside one generation, so many of them share a build date, and with it a roof age.
A house from the early years of that boom now has a roof that has been through more than a decade of prairie winters. That isn't old for asphalt. It is the point where it makes sense to know what you have, especially if nobody has looked at the roof since the house was built.
What shortens a roof's life on the prairies
Hail is the big one. The climate section of Wikipedia's Saskatchewan article lists hail, strong winds and isolated tornadoes as common. Hail can bruise the mat under the granules without leaving anything you'd see from the ground, and a bruised shingle wears out faster.
Wind comes next. It lifts and creases shingles, and once a shingle's seal lets go it keeps moving in every storm after that.
Then there's the attic. A poorly vented attic traps moisture under the roof deck over the winter and lets the shingles run hot in summer. Getting the venting right is half of why a roof lasts. Ice building up along the eaves adds one more stress every winter, and our guide to stopping ice dams explains where that comes from.
The warranty is not the lifespan
Shingle bundles carry a manufacturer warranty, and some of them run for decades. That number tells you what the manufacturer covers, on its terms. It is not a forecast of how long the roof on your house will last, so read the terms rather than the headline figure.
We install GAF systems, with the GAF Timberline HDZ shingle as our workhorse, and every roof we install carries our 10-year workmanship warranty on top of the GAF manufacturer warranty on materials.
Signs your roof is close to the end
- Shingles that are curling, cracked or missing.
- Granules collecting in the eavestroughs or at the bottom of the downspouts.
- Bald or dark patches where the granules have worn off.
- Leaks in more than one spot, or a leak that comes back after a repair.
- Daylight, damp or frost in the attic.
- A roof that came through a hailstorm and was never inspected.
Our post on signs a roof needs repair before winter goes through these in more detail, and should you repair or replace your roof covers the decision once you've found one.
A rough guide by roof age
| Roof age (asphalt) | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Under about 15 years | Plenty of life left in most cases | Check from the ground each spring and fall, and get an inspection after any hailstorm |
| 15 to 20 years | Wear starts to show | Have a roofer look at it and start thinking about timing |
| 20 years and up | Near or past the end of the usual range | Plan the replacement before the roof starts leaking |
Age is only part of it. A twelve-year-old roof that took a bad hailstorm can be in worse shape than a twenty-year-old one that never did, so an inspection tells you more than the year the house was built.
Planning a roof replacement in Warman
Knowing roughly how old your roof is means you get to choose when it is replaced. A few things to sort out ahead of time:
- The permit. A re-roof in Warman usually needs a City of Warman permit first. We pull what the job needs.
- The material. If you plan to stay a long time, price metal roofing next to asphalt. Our metal versus asphalt comparison covers how each one handles a prairie winter.
- The roof edge. Eavestroughs, soffit and fascia are easier to deal with during a re-roof than after it.
- Insurance. If the roof took hail, the replacement may belong in an insurance claim, so have it inspected before you pay for it yourself.
- Financing. We offer financing through Financeit if you'd rather spread the cost.
Most roofs are a single day once the job is booked and materials are staged, and larger or steeper roofs can run into a second day. Our guide to roof replacement day covers what to clear before the crew arrives.
Getting an honest read on your roof
Our roof replacement service in Warman starts with a free, no-obligation inspection. We get on the roof, document it with photos and video, and tell you straight how much life is left, including when the answer is plenty. If it is time, you get a written quote with the scope spelled out. There's more on how we work across the city on our Warman roofing page.