Everyone more than likely knows that the roof is one of the most expensive elements of a given home. This makes it important to take the best care of yours so that it can last for a long time. This way, you may not have a number of expensive fixes and repairs to work on, neither will you be likely to do a roof replacement in a short time. Here’s a helpful outline of roofing tips for homeowners that you can make use of to take care of your roof and get the best service out of it.
Get Inspections Done Regularly
This first tip is an important one to keep in mind because it can help lengthen the lifespan of your roof. When you get a roof inspection done as often as is recommended, you can catch damage early on. This will give you the chance to remedy the issue and give your roof more years of service, getting the best value out of it. An experienced local roofer will be in the best position to let you know if there are any issues that need immediate attention. This is because they’re going to be well aware of the possible roofing issues that roofing in your area tends to face, so they’ll know exactly what they need to look out for.
A good roofer can also tell you how often you should get the roof inspected, which is twice a year or at the end of each season. This is important because the variation of conditions as the weather changes can cause a number of issues with the roof. You should also have the roof inspected after a particularly harsh or windy storm, and this is because such weather does a lot of damage to structures. That said, this is one of the roofing tips for homeowners that you ought to take seriously and find the right person to help you with.
Prune Your Trees
Another one of the roofing tips for homeowners that you should keep in mind is to prune any mature trees around your home on a regular basis. It’s especially important to prune any branches that overhang the roof as they could cause serious damage to it. Driven by strong winds, these branches can destroy your roof to the extent that you need to get a residential roofing replacement done. Call a professional tree removal expert in your area to remove any trees that are either old, diseased, or damaged to the extent of being at risk of falling unexpectedly. The typical roof cannot survive the weight of a mature tree, and that’s something you need to keep in mind.
While mature trees add a lot of value and appeal to the average home, you should know that they come with risks. This means that not just the roof is at risk of damage from a tree swaying in the wind. The siding and windows can also be damaged by driving winds and leave you with a lot of repair expenses. Leaving a tree’s branches overhanging your home also means that there will be a lot of leaves and branches deposited on your roof over time. Their sheer weight alone is enough to cause your roof to fail and need to be replaced.
Repair Any Damage Fast
If you spot any damage to your home’s roof, or a roofer mentions it to you after an inspection, you should get repairs done fast. Allowing roofing damage to stay unchecked is a recipe for disaster because the roof will deteriorate at an accelerated rate. This is something that the best roofers will tell you is one of the roofing tips for homeowners that you need to keep in mind. Working on a partial repair is cheaper than replacing the entire roof, especially in cases where just a spot or two are damaged. That’s why you need to know the signs of roofing damage, particularly the signs that you can see while you’re on the ground.
Some signs of roofing damage that you can spot from the ground are missing shingles, patches of mold or algae, and excessive shedding of shingle particles, which may end up in the gutters. A good roofer in your area can tell you more signs that you should look out for, some of which may be unique to particular roofing materials. Remember that it’s better to be safe rather than sorry in cases like these, so if you suspect something, call a roofer right away. Make sure that you only hire professionals to work on roofing repairs that you need so that you can be assured of having a good job done.
Check the Attic Often
Your attic is the space that’s closest to your home’s roof, and that’s why you should also inspect it. It can alert you to issues with the roof and enable you to take action as soon as you need to. Some of the issues that could alert you to a problem with the roof in this case include seeing a lot of light filtering through the roof into the attic. Another sign of trouble is water damage in the attic, which implies that your roof has a leak. In this case, your local roofing contractor should be in a position to tell you what the right steps to take are.
To prevent issues from coming up in the first place, ensure that the attic is well-insulated. This can help maintain the roof from within and safeguard it from complications like snow dams forming on the roof. These keep a layer of moisture next to the roof and also add the weight that your roof holds, making it more prone to damage. Add this to your list of roofing tips for homeowners to make sure that you don’t end up having to repair both the roof and the attic, which is bound to be an expensive and time-consuming affair.
Remember to Inspect the Flashing
The flashing of your roof is the area that adjoins the roof to elements like vent pipes and the chimney. Since these are points of connection between the roof and the other elements, they’re lines of weakness that you need to keep an eye out for. Failure to keep these sealed well can result in issues such as the roof developing leaks and getting severely damaged. This is one of the things that a residential roofer can help immensely with, because it’s an easy fix. It involves simply re-applying any caulk that’s missing or that has lifted off, making it no longer functional.
This is one of the roofing tips for homeowners that you may be in a position to manage easily and affordably. Caulk is relatively affordable, and it sets quite fast, which means that you can get the fix done in almost any season, as long as it’s dry enough to allow the application and setting to be done with no interruptions. By doing this, you’re also going to save your chimney and any adjoining elements from possible damage and failure.
Get the Roof Fortified
If you live in an area that experiences severe storms, hurricanes, or high-speed winds, it’s a good idea to fortify the roof. By doing this, you can give your roof additional resilience against the weather. This is another one of the roofing tips for homeowners that could prove to be a worthwhile investment to make. That’s because it will help you keep your roof secure in harsh weather conditions that would have otherwise damaged the roof. Talk to an experienced roofing contractor in your area to find out whether they can help you get your roof fortified, asking them whether they’ve done such a project before.
One of the ways in which you can fortify your roof is nailing down any loose shingles so that they’re not easily blown off the roof. You can also apply roofing cement on shingles if there aren’t any particularly loose shingles but you want the additional security. If there’s a hurricane in the weather forecast, and you don’t feel like the two options above would work well for you, you could get hurricane clips instead. These will connect the beams of your roofs to the tops of the walls, keeping your roof safe from a strong wind that could pick it up by the overhang and flip it over. Make sure that roof fortification is in your list of roofing tips for homeowners so that no matter the weather, you’re happy with the strength of your roof.
Make Sure There’s Proper Ventilation
Yet another one of the roofing tips for homeowners that you need to keep in mind is that your roof needs to breathe. This means that you should keep the roof properly ventilated to make sure that moisture and heat don’t cause damage. If this happens, your home’s insulation will be compromised, leaving you with higher bills for heating and cooling. You can avoid this by installing the right insulation and also working with a professional who knows what they need to do. A good roofing service will check the soffit vents or under-eave vents to make sure that there’s proper air flow.
An inspection should determine whether there are any restrictions or blockages that need to be removed. These can be brought about by animals building their nests in the way, an accumulation of debris, or even paint from a poorly-done paint job. This is one of the main reasons why you need to look for experts for any project that your home needs, and this includes when you call a house paining company. If necessary, you have the option of introducing ridge vents which make way for warm, humid air to escape without compromising your roof’s appeal. You can also get attic fans, of which there are different types, to help optimize air flow in the attic.
Clean the Roof and Gutter
You would be surprised by just how much weight leaves and other debris can place on your home’s roof, especially when they get wet. This is the reason why you need to hire local roof cleaning services at the end of every season, especially if there are many mature trees in your area. If you leave debris on the roof for long, it’s going to trap moisture right next to the roof, and this by itself is enough to damage the roof. This debris will also hinder the flow of water off your roof and leave your roof with water on it for extended periods as well. Mold and mildew also thrive under wet conditions, so it’s going to start growing on the roof if you don’t take measures to prevent it from taking hold.
This is one of the roofing tips for homeowners that can help you keep the roof appealing, since debris on the roof lowers your home’s curb appeal. Letting debris sit on your roof for a long time will increase the rate at which your roof ages because it’s additional weight. It shouldn’t take a long time to clear this debris off and leave your roof light and appealing for the rest of the season.
Replace the Roof When the Time Comes
Finally, remember that your home’s roof is not immortal, and there will come a point in time when you need to replace it. To be prepared for this, you should know the signs that point towards a roof in need of replacement. One sign is seeing a sag in your roof line, which shows that the roof has suffered structural damage or failure. Another one is if the elements, such as shingles, are missing or damaged in large numbers. If many of your neighbors whose homes are the same age as yours are replacing their roofing, this is another one of the signs that you need to plan for a replacement yourself as soon as possible.
When looking to make a roofing replacement, make sure to pick a durable and appealing roof for your home. To this end, you could talk to corrugated roofers and learn about the benefits of having a corrugated metal roof. These include having a lightweight roof, as well as a roof that’s resistant to fire and hail. Add this to your list of roofing tips for homeowners so that you can avoid the danger and expense that a failed roof predisposes your home to.
Keep these roofing tips for homeowners in mind so that you can get the most out of your roof. You’ll also be safeguarding the safety of your family and yourself as a result. Always work with professional and experienced roofers who you can trust to give you the best advice and do a good job.