Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The average shingle roof lasts around 20 years, depending on damage and natural wear and tear. Other roofing materials last longer, but are also more expensive to install.
The extent and quality of care you give your roof can shorten or increase the time between new roof replacements. If you play your cards right, you could end up only having to install a new roof on your home once in your lifetime, as long as you give it the care it needs.
Roof replacement is very expensive regardless of the type of roof. You’re much better off doing maintenance and minor repairs as they arise in order to help lengthen 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 call a licensed, certified roofer to give you a hand with all your maintenance and roof repair projects.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing projects to prevent most roof damage before it occurs is by far the most affordable route to lengthen the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a couple of preventative care projects for your home’s roof:
Cut branches hanging over your roof. Gusting winds and rain storms can break branches and even knock over trees. Decaying, dying trees will also drop their branches right onto your roof if they’re not pruned. Falling limbs damage all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and metal roofs.
Install gutter guards. Gutter guards are metal or mesh covers installed over your gutters to reduce clogging. They can reduce the amount of gutter cleaning that you need to do and help prevent rain flowing into your yard. You can install gutter guards on your own or leave the job to a roofer or gutter cleaning service.
Schedule regular inspections. Shingles start to lose asphalt granules after a couple of years, and metal roofs can get dented or start to show signs of age such as rust or tarnish. Having regular inspections done by a pro will let you know if there’s an issue that needs to be handled.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings replenish 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 be in contact with your children, pets and lawn.
Ensure your insulation and ventilation systems are in prime condition. Too much or too little insulation can create a condensation problem. Limited ventilation will lead to trapped moisture. This can quickly cause mold and mildew growth, as well as musty odors inside of your house. Besides being a nuisance, mold and mildew will ruin wood and other home materials, damaging your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
Here and there, you’ll want to complete some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done regularly, you’ll help prevent leaks and lengthen the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these projects at least once a year to prevent damages and keep your home’s roof looking good:
Roof cleaning. Cleaning a roof will remove debris, mold and dirt. This will reduce the risk of pests and rodents building nests on your home’s roof, and it will immediately freshen up the curb appeal. Davie Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Davie as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your gutters often, especially if it’s raining, to see if there are any clogs that should be removed. Most companies recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring months and again in the fall.
Remove moss. If moss starts growing, it likely means that your roof is shaded and stays relatively moist. Moss’s roots attach to roof shingles and other materials and damage them if it isn’t eliminated quickly. Typically homeowners prefer to have a professional service do this so no unnecessary damage is done in the process.
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS
Damages happen, but as long as you tend to them quickly, no serious problems should occur. If you are a capable handyman, you may feel confident doing minor roof repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofers are more than willing to tackle 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 removed from the shingles by debris, hail or heavy rain storms. These asphalt chunks help to protect your home’s roof. If they start to come off, the roof will begin to look worn, but, most importantly, it won’t protect what’s below. Only a small section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is superficial.
Replace fascia. Occasionally, the part of your home’s roof that rests between the roof material and the top of the exterior wall (called the fascia) will also have to be replaced. The fascia can sometimes leak, allowing mold and mildew into your home, plus pests.
Re-caulk around the flashings. Flashings fill in the gaps on the roof where it is impossible to place roofing material. It’s the most common location for leaks on a roof, and it is very easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is also a simple task for roofers and proficient homeowners as well.
YOUR ROOF NEEDS LOVE TOO!
The roof is often the most expensive home maintenance costs. With the typical lifetime of a roof being between 20 and 30 years, you will probably only need to replace it one or two times. Of course, if you move often, you could end up installing quite a few roofs in your lifetime.
When buying a new house, a roof inspection is definitely worth your time. You can also include the cost 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 house, give Davie Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Davie to improve curb appeal for interested buyers.