Annual service · 6 NE states
A roof is the only major capital asset on a house that most homeowners never maintain. Cars get serviced annually. Furnaces get tuned. Roofs get a 30-year warranty and zero scheduled maintenance — until they fail at year 18 and everyone acts surprised. Annual maintenance moves that failure 8–12 years later for under $400 a year.
GAF Master Elite · CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster · Owens Corning Platinum · Lifetime Workmanship Warranty
Maintenance is the cheapest roofing you’ll ever buy
The single most preventable cause of premature roof failure in NE is unmaintained sealant at chimney and skylight penetrations. The next is moss and algae growth on north-facing slopes. The next is gutters that overflow because nobody cleaned them. Each of these issues has a 30-minute fix that, if done annually, extends the roof’s overall life by years. The annual maintenance visit costs less than a single sheet of drywall ceiling repair from a leak that could have been prevented.
Our annual maintenance is a 60–90 minute scheduled visit. We refresh exposed sealant at every penetration, clean the valleys and gutter tops, photograph the roof’s current condition (added to your file for year-over-year comparison), identify any developing issues with at least 6 months of lead time before they become emergencies. It’s the cheapest roofing work you’ll ever buy.
Every exposed roof sealant has a 5–10 year service life — chimney pipe boots, skylight caulk, exposed nail heads, antenna mounts, satellite dish penetrations. We refresh each one with proper roof sealant (not silicone, not house caulk — these are not equivalent).
Leaves, pine needles, and lichen accumulate in valleys and along gutter tops. Wet debris traps moisture against the shingles and accelerates wear. We clear these as part of every visit. (Full gutter cleaning is a separate task we typically recommend a dedicated gutter service for.)
Identify any north-facing growth before it lifts shingle tabs. Recommend zinc strip installation or chemical treatment if conditions warrant. Untreated moss reduces shingle life by 5–10 years.
Step flashing, counter flashing, chimney flashing, valley flashing. Check for movement, lifting, corrosion, or sealant breakdown. Flag for repair before they become leaks.
Same camera angles every year. Year-over-year comparison shows degradation rate accurately — much more useful than a single inspection. After 3–5 annual visits, we can predict end-of-life within 18 months with high confidence.
Each visit ends with a written summary: what we did, what we noticed, what we recommend monitoring, what (if anything) we recommend addressing within the next 12 months.
Annual service
STEP 01
First year includes a full condition inspection (same as our standalone inspection service) to establish a baseline. Annual fee covers the inspection in year 1, maintenance visit in subsequent years.
STEP 02
Typically scheduled spring (post-winter assessment + cleanup) or fall (pre-winter prep). You pick the slot. We confirm 1 week ahead.
STEP 03
60–90 minutes typical, longer for larger or more complex homes. Photo documentation. Written summary.
STEP 04
After year 3, you have predictive data on your roof’s degradation. We can give you a credible window for replacement timing instead of guessing.
About annual maintenance
Question 01
Roughly half the cost of one ceiling drywall repair from an unmanaged leak. Annual visit catches sealant failures, valley debris, moss growth, and developing issues 1-3 years before they cause interior damage. The math is the cheapest roofing work you’ll ever buy.
Question 02
You’ll see problems AFTER they cause interior damage — that’s when most homeowners notice. Maintenance catches them 1-3 years earlier. The DIY version (climbing your own roof twice a year with proper sealant on hand) only works if you can do it safely.
Question 03
Years 1-5: skip with minimal risk. Most early failures are install defects covered by workmanship warranty. Starting year 5, annual maintenance starts paying for itself. Year 10 onward, it’s the single best roofing investment you can make.
Question 04
Some of it — gutter clearing, ladder-based visual inspection, basic sealant refresh. The thermal imaging, flashing assessment, and year-over-year photo documentation generally aren’t part of a handyman’s toolkit. We can do the technical items every 2-3 years if that’s the model that works for you.
After annual visits
“Eight years on the program now. They caught a vent boot failure on year 4 and replaced it for $180. Without that visit, it would have been a soaked ceiling and $4K of repairs. The math is simple — keep doing it.”
B. & N. Yamamoto · Newton, MA
Annual maintenance · 2017-present
“Sealant refresh + valley clearing + photo update every spring. Six years of year-over-year condition photos. Our 2008-installed roof is on track for another 8-10 years just from staying ahead of the wear.”
R. Sjöberg · Stowe, VT
Maintenance program · 6 years
“The annual visit is what makes the lifetime workmanship warranty actually meaningful. They document the install + every year after. If something fails, they know what they\’re looking at.”
K. Devereaux · Cape Elizabeth, ME
Annual + warranty · 5 years
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Maintenance-program results
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Next step
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.
No high-pressure pitch · Walk-away friendly
Frequently asked
For a typical single-family home: $295–$425/year depending on roof size and access. For larger or complex multi-section homes: $425–$650. We also offer a 3-year prepaid program at a 10% discount. The cost is roughly equivalent to half of one sheet of replaced ceiling drywall after an unmanaged leak.
You’ll see problems after they cause interior damage — that’s the order events usually happen for most homeowners. Maintenance catches them 1–3 years before that. The economics of “do it yourself by watching the ceiling” only work if you can climb on your own roof safely twice a year, know what to look for, have the right sealant on hand, and don’t mind being on a wet roof in October. Most homeowners don’t qualify on at least one of those.
The first 5 years, you can skip annual maintenance with minimal risk — most failures in years 1–5 are install defects (covered by workmanship warranty) rather than wear or sealant deterioration. Starting year 5, annual maintenance starts paying for itself. Starting year 10, it’s the single best roofing investment you can make.
Some of it, yes — gutter clearing, visual inspection from a ladder, basic sealant refresh. The thermal imaging, flashing assessment, and photo-documented year-over-year condition tracking generally aren’t part of a handyman’s toolkit. If your handyman is honest about what they can and can’t do, by all means use them for the basic items. We can do the technical items every 2–3 years if that’s the model that works for you.
We tell you. We give you a written quote if you ask for one. We never do unauthorized work — even if something looks serious. The maintenance visit fee is for maintenance; any repair work is separate, written, and explicitly approved by you.
Next step
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.