Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The average shingle roof will last around 20-25 years, more or less depending on storm damage and usual wear and tear. Other types of roofing materials last longer, but are more expensive to install.
The extent and quality of care you give your roof along the way can shorten or lengthen the time between roof replacements. If you are good about caring for your roof, you could end up only having to install a new roof on your home once in your lifetime, just so long as you give it the attention it requires.
Installing a new roof is expensive no matter the type of roof you have. You’re a lot better off in the long run doing routine maintenance and small repairs as they arise in order to extend the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you are not confident in your roofing skills – or just hate the thought of climbing a ladder – you can always hire a licensed, certified roofer to help you with all of your maintenance and roof repair needs.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing things to prevent roof damage before it happens is by far the most affordable route to increase the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a few preventative care recommendations for your home’s roof:
Cut branches that hang over your roof. Powerful winds and rain storms can break branches and even knock over trees. Decaying, dying trees will also drop their branches onto your roof if they are not routinely pruned. Falling limbs destroy all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and even metal roofs.
Install gutter guards. Gutter guards are metal or mesh covers installed on top of your gutters to prevent clogging. They can limit the amount of gutter cleaning you have to do and prevent rain flowing into your landscaping. You can install gutter guards yourself or leave the job to a roofer or gutter cleaning service.
Schedule regular inspections. Shingles start to lose asphalt granules after only a few years, and metal roofs can get dented or start to show signs of age like rust or tarnish. Having inspections done by a company will let you know if there’s a problem that should be taken care of.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings renew the oils from roof shingles so they don’t dry out, making your roof last 5 years or more beyond its expected lifetime. There are regular and plant-based products so you can feel safe about applying these coatings on your home, where they will run off and possibly be in contact with your children, pets and lawn.
Ensure your insulation and ventilation system are in prime condition. Too much or not enough insulation can create a condensation issue. Limited ventilation will lead to trapped moisture. This can quickly result in mold and mildew growth, as well as odors inside of your home. Besides being a nuisance, mold and mildew will ruin wood and other home materials, damaging your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
From time to time, you’ll need to do some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done often enough, you’ll prevent leaks and increase the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these projects at least once every 12 months to prevent damages and keep your home’s roof looking nice:
Roof cleaning. Cleaning a roof removes debris, mold and dirt. This will limit the risk of pests and rodents building nests on your home’s roof, and it will freshen up the curb appeal. Roswell Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Roswell as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out rain gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your gutters regularly, especially while it’s raining, to observe if there are clogs that should be removed. Most pros recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring and again in the fall.
Remove moss. If moss begins to grow, it probably means that your roof is shaded and stays relatively moist. Moss’s roots can attach to roof shingles and other types of materials and damage them if it isn’t gotten rid of fast enough. Typically homeowners opt to have a professional do this so no unnecessary damage is done in the process.
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS
Damages will happen, but so long as you tend to them right away, no serious issues should occur. If you are a handyman, you may feel confident doing small roof repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofers are more than willing to complete these fast fixes for you to keep your roof in good shape.
Replace damaged or worn shingles. Shingles have asphalt pieces attached to them. The texture can be knocked off the shingles by debris, hail or heavy rain storms. These asphalt pieces help to protect your home’s roof. If they start to come off, the roof will start to look worn, but, most importantly, it won’t protect what’s underneath. Only a small section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is only superficial.
Replace fascia. Occasionally, the section of your home’s roof that rests between the roof material and the top of the exterior wall (called the fascia) will have to be replaced. The fascia can leak, letting mold and mildew into your home, let alone pests.
Re-caulk around the flashings. Flashings fill in gaps on the roof where it is hard to place roofing material. It’s the most common location for leaks, and it is easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is an easy task for roofers and proficient homeowners as well.
YOUR ROOF NEEDS LOVE TOO!
The roof is typically the most expensive home maintenance costs. With the typical lifetime of a roof being between 20 and 30 years, you will likely only have to install a new one once or twice. Of course, if you move several times, you could end up replacing a lot of roofs during your lifetime.
When purchasing a new home, a roof inspection is definitely worth your money. You can also include the price of a new roof – if necessary – in the closing costs or request that the home seller has the roof replaced prior to the sale. When trying to sell a home, give Roswell Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Roswell to improve curb appeal for potential buyers.