Roof maintenance is an essential home maintenance activity that other improvement activities shouldn’t overshadow. It keeps your roof stable, strong, and capable of withstanding extreme weather elements. A well-maintained roof keeps your family safe, prevents moisture concerns, and protects your home against hazards like mold growth. With a regular roof maintenance routine, you can identify roof problems as soon as they occur and fix them, prolonging your roof’s life and avoiding costly replacement costs.
When you neglect roof maintenance, holes and cracks may develop, causing air to escape from your home and making your air conditioning system work harder. This increases your energy bills. These cracks and holes may also cause water infiltration, leading to excessive water damage. Moisture issues not detected lead to fungus growth and wood rot. Mold growth may cause respiratory problems and other health concerns. Here are roof maintenance tips for homeowners.
- Regular roof inspection
Regular roof inspection keeps you in the know regarding your roof’s condition. While you can inspect the roof yourself, hiring roof experts such as Landmark Roofing is a safer alternative that assures you of a thorough inspection and sound roofing advice. When inspecting your roof, look for broken, loose, missing, or cracked shingles and replace them if necessary.
Inspect your interior for water damages like ceiling leaks, cracked walls, and peeling wallpaper, then fix the issue before it gets out of control. Look for rust in the flashing and other metal areas and treat it with chemicals like corrosion-resistant paint or replace it if need be. Roof inspection also helps you determine if it’s time to replace your roof.
- Coat your roof with UV protection
If you live in areas with high UV indices or high-altitude states, you can anticipate faster aging of your roofing system. UV degradation impacts all roof types, including metal, asphalt, wood, or tile. As a roof maintenance preventive measure for UV damage, use roof coating, which is a liquid substance applied on your roof to serve as an additional roofing membrane, protecting against heat and UV exposure. A roof coating can also protect against excess moisture and extreme weather conditions.
- Keep your gutters clean
Roof gutter health is essential, mainly because gutters collect rainwater. When they’re clogged by debris, leaves, branches, twigs, and dirt, water may not flow as expected, causing water to pool on the roof and overflow onto the roof sides. This exposes the roof to moisture, leading to shingle damage and fungi growth.
Keeping your gutters clean leads rainwater into the drainage system, protecting your roof and walls from damage, fungi, and mold growth. Gutter cleaning can be a DIY project if your roof isn’t too high. If the roof is too high or you can’t clean the gutter properly, hire expert gutter cleaning services.
- Trim tree branches
If neglected, low-hanging tree branches may scratch your roof’s protective layer, allowing water and moisture to penetrate the underlying membrane. Large branches may constantly push your tiles and shingles, loosening them. In the long run, this may leave the tiles or shingles detached from their positions.
Keep your tree branches trimmed to avoid damage and rodent infestation. Heavy branches hanging over your roof may break due to strong winds or heavy rains and fall over your roof, causing cracks, dents, or complete damage to your roofing system. Rodents may also use the tree branches to hop onto your roof and make holes to access the attic.
- Seal roof flashings
Roof structures like skylights, vents, exhaust fans, or chimneys are susceptible to leaking. Flashing is used to cover crevices, diverting water to the shingles to not seep into them. Seal your roof flashing if you notice corrosion, rust, holes, dried out sealants, missing nails or if it’s loose. If you see roof flashing damage, replace them to keep your roof in good health.
Endnote
Roof maintenance is an essential activity that all homeowners should prioritize for sound roofs and overall home health. Use the above tips to keep your roof healthy, increase your life, and avoid costly repairs and replacements.
