The questions homeowners actually ask, answered without a sales pitch.
Short answers, and a link to the full explanation where there is one.
Cost & timing
What a roof costs here, how long it takes, and when to do it.
Most residential asphalt replacements in the San Antonio area land between roughly $9,000 and $25,000, with the majority in the middle. Size, pitch, layers to tear off, decking condition, and shingle tier account for nearly all of the spread. See the full cost breakdown.
Most single-family asphalt roofs are torn off and dried in the same day, and fully finished within one to three days. Steep pitch, complex rooflines, tile, metal, and unexpected deck repairs extend it. Weather is the variable nobody controls.
Architectural asphalt realistically gives 15 to 25 years here — short of the number on the wrapper, because UV, heat cycling, and hail age a roof faster than the test lab does. Metal and tile last considerably longer. Lifespans by material.
Late fall through early spring is the easiest window in Central Texas: milder temperatures, shorter lead times, and less competition for crews than the weeks after a hail event. That said, an active leak or real storm damage should never wait for a better month.
Yes — fixed monthly terms and short deferred-interest options are both common, and approval is generally same-day. On an insurance-funded replacement, most homeowners only need to finance the deductible. Financing options.
Repair or replace
The decision that costs the most to get wrong in either direction.
Age and the extent of the failure decide it. An isolated flashing or penetration leak on a roof with years left is a repair. Widespread granule loss, brittle shingles, or damage across multiple slopes past year fifteen is a replacement.
Sometimes, but it is a compromise. You get a visible color difference, a tie-in detail at the ridge, and no manufacturer system warranty over the assembly. It is a reasonable answer for isolated storm damage on a newer roof and a poor one on an aging roof.
Not necessarily, but get it inspected and get a remaining service-life number in writing. Roofs do not announce their decline, and knowing whether you have two years or eight lets you budget instead of react. What an inspection covers.
On a tile roof, the tile is carefully removed, the underlayment beneath it — which is the layer actually keeping water out — is replaced, and the original tile goes back down. Tile outlasts underlayment by decades, so this is the normal mid-life tile service. Tile roofing.
If the roof has under about five years left, yes — without hesitation. Panels last 25 to 30 years, asphalt here lasts 15 to 25, and installing over an aging roof guarantees you pay for a detach and reset later. Solar detach & reset.
Storm, hail & insurance
The questions that arrive in the week after a storm, answered quickly.
Functional damage is bruising that fractures the shingle mat — not the cosmetic marks most people look for. Soft metals like vents, gutter aprons, and flashing show it first. Almost none of it is visible from the ground. How hail damage is assessed.
File when documented functional damage clearly exceeds your deductible. Filing on cosmetic marks, or on damage worth less than the deductible, tends to cost more in claim history than it returns. Have the roof inspected before you call the carrier, not after.
In Texas, wind and hail deductibles are usually a percentage of dwelling coverage — commonly 1% to 2% — not a flat amount. On a $400,000 dwelling limit, 2% is $8,000. Your declarations page states it. Texas deductible law.
No. Texas HB 2102 makes it illegal for a contractor to pay, waive, rebate, or absorb your deductible — or to advertise doing it. Anyone offering is telling you exactly how they handle rules they find inconvenient. What the statute says.
Two clocks run at once: your policy's notice requirement, typically within a year of the date of loss and often shorter, and the separate statutory limit on legal action. Delay also makes it harder to tie the damage to a specific storm date, which is the argument carriers use most.
No. You choose the contractor, always. Preferred-vendor programs exist for the carrier's convenience and pricing, not as a requirement on you. How claims actually work.
Contain the water, move what matters, and if a ceiling is bulging, puncture it deliberately at the low point so the load releases in one place. Photograph everything before cleanup. Do not climb a wet roof. Emergency roof repair.
Choosing a contractor
What is checkable in a state with no roofing exam.
There is no statewide roofing license in Texas — no exam and no state board. Many municipalities in the San Antonio metro do require contractor registration at the city level, and permits are pulled under those local rules. How licensure and compliance work here.
Manufacturer certifications — Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, GAF, Malarkey Emerald Pro, Atlas Pro Plus. They involve training, insurance, and audited work, they can be revoked, and the tier decides which warranty you can be issued. What each tier requires.
Out-of-area plates, a door knock days after the storm, pressure to sign before an adjuster has seen the roof, no permanent local address, and any offer involving your deductible. Read what you are signing — some of those forms are assignments of benefits, not estimates.
A walk of the surface where it is safe, photos of every finding, close examination of flashing, valleys and penetrations, an attic check for ventilation and moisture, and a written report with a remaining service-life estimate. What ours includes.
Who is physically on the roof — employees or subs. What the full system spec is, not just a shingle name. What the workmanship warranty covers and for how long. Whether the manufacturer warranty gets registered in your name. And ask for a current certificate of insurance.
Materials & systems
Product choices that change the outcome, and the ones that mostly do not.
At equivalent tiers, the major brands perform comparably. Impact rating, ventilation, and installation quality decide the outcome far more than the wrapper does. Genuine product differences exist — Malarkey's polymer-modified asphalt is one. Brands and warranties.
In a hail market, usually. The shingle resists impact better and most Texas carriers discount for it — State Farm, for example, offers up to a 30% wind and hail discount, though it varies by carrier. The premium savings often cover the upgrade within several years. Hail damage.
Metal costs roughly two to three times more up front and lasts two to three times longer, so cost per year of service is broadly comparable. Metal handles heat and wind better; asphalt is far cheaper to repair. Full material comparison.
An under-ventilated attic cooks the shingles from underneath and traps moisture that reads like a leak on your ceiling. It is also one of the most common grounds for denying a warranty claim. Attic insulation and the ventilation science.
Not always — but the drip edge and gutter apron are being rebuilt anyway, so it is the cheapest moment to do it. Replace them if they sag, if they are undersized for Central Texas rainfall intensity, or if the same storm damaged them. Gutters.
Warranties
The paperwork most homeowners never check until it matters.
A material warranty covers manufacturing defects in the product. Most roofs fail at the details, which is workmanship — and only an enhanced system warranty covers that. It requires the full assembly to be one manufacturer's components and a certified installer. How the tiers work.
Most enhanced warranties allow at least one transfer, usually within a time limit measured from the installation date and sometimes for a fee. Terms vary by manufacturer, so read the document you were issued. If you are selling, transfer it before closing.
Inadequate attic ventilation, unapproved repairs by another contractor, mixing manufacturers' components in a system-warranted assembly, structural problems, and never registering the warranty in the first place. Ventilation is the one that catches people, because it is invisible.
Ask for the manufacturer's registration confirmation issued in your name, and file it with your house documents. It does not attach automatically because a certified contractor did the work — and an unregistered warranty is worth nothing at the moment you need it.
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