A small leak in the roof can strike fear in the heart of even the bravest soul.
In addition to the prospect of ruined possessions and structural damage, the cost of a new roof may be cause for alarm.
Wouldn’t it be great to be informed of, and prepared for, any roof issue before you have water leaking into your home?
While you know that you will have to eventually replace the roof, you are no doubt hoping to get several worry-free years out of it first.
You may not understand what keeps a roof in working shape, but if you are proactive, you can ensure that your roof will stay safe and protective without the worry of premature roof replacement.
Preventative roof maintenance is often ignored until it is too late and you are faced with a major repair or even roof replacement.
You wouldn’t throw your favorite jacket out just because it lost a button.
Instead, you would replace the button and be rewarded with plenty more life in your jacket. Roof maintenance can be looked at in the same way.
When you create your house ‘to-do’ list, the addition of roof maintenance will give you peace of mind.
Preventative roof maintenance is crucial to increasing the longevity of your roof.
Here’s some guidance on how to affordably keep your roof maintained and in tip-top shape.
The Benefits of Roof Maintenance
Whether you fully prepare your home for seasonal changes, or simply putter around the yard, the addition of roof preventative maintenance to your seasonal schedule will give you peace of mind.
Roof Maintenance can:
Prevent Leaks: regular inspection of your roof will identify any areas that need repair by checking the integrity of the roof, so even an aging roof will remain in great working condition. If necessary, you will be able to have spot repairs completed.
Diminish Weather Damage: heavy winds, torrential downpours, sunlight, and UV rays severely weaken your roof materials. The damage is generally localized, which means that cracked or broken roof tiles can be replaced. Preventative roof maintenance will catch and replace faulty or weather-damaged roof materials that cause roof leaks and eventually necessitate full roof replacement.
Protect Other Elements Of Your Home: when your roof materials are kept in good order, other parts of your home reap the benefit. WIthout roof maintenance, your roof materials can start to break down, and the remnants end up in your gutters and downspout. Organic and roofing materials that accumulate in your gutters and downspouts will cause excess weight that in turn will sag and pull away from your house. Once these are clogged, your home’s drainage system is at risk of failure.
Roofing materials are built to resist damage and harsh weather elements but they are not completely invincible.
Over time, the materials will begin to disintegrate and erode.
Roof inspections performed by a reputable roofing company will identify areas that are particularly susceptible to erosion, and identify areas that require replacements and, thus, repairs can be performed.
This saves your roof and saves you money.
How Does Preventative Roof Maintenance Save You Money?
The benefits of hiring a professional roofing company to perform seasonal roof maintenance on your home, far outweigh the costs.
A full annual roof inspection and subsequent monthly inspections will help you identify when roof maintenance is required.
Your roof, without preventive maintenance, is susceptible to many expensive repairs, or even replacement.
Your roof materials do have an imaginary expiry date and without preventative maintenance, that date is moved up.
Roof materials that have begun to fall into disrepair can cause moisture to accumulate in your attic.
Not only does this compromise the integrity of the wooden structure of your home, but it also saturates your insulation and encourages mold growth.
This extensive damage is hazardous to health.
Once the insulation is saturated, it also significantly diminishes the energy efficiency of your home.
Water saturated insulation does not retain heat or keep your home cool and you will be faced with the cost to replace the insulation in your home coupled with the repair or replacement of your roof.
Your attic is not the only place that will be affected by roof neglect.
Your drywall can become soaked, leading to stains on your walls, and potential decay and mold in your walls and ceilings.
Mold from roof leaks leads to a decline in health and is hard to get rid of, Another cost that could have been avoided with preventative roof maintenance.
In extreme cases of roof damage, the structural and electrical elements of your home can be affected.
Electrical wires that are exposed to water drips cause power outages and shorts or worse.
Additionally, when a roof is ignored, water can gather and create a flood that will destroy your furniture, possessions, and flooring.
Watch for discolored walls and ceilings and drips from the ceiling that will alert you to impending disaster.
Factors Affecting Roof Longevity
There are several factors that will determine the life expectancy of your roof and accelerate its deterioration.
These factors include:
- Organic growth of moss, fungus, and other vegetation
- Exposure to extreme and harsh weather and environmental conditions like torrential downpours, snow, ice, hail, UV from the sun, and pollutants
- Manufacturer’s defects
- A structural movement like seismic activity, settling of the ground, and thermal contraction and expansion
- Roof design flaws and inadequacies like structural deficiencies and unsuitable drainage systems and flashings
- External hazards to the integrity of the roof such as overhanging tree limbs
Regular inspection of your roof by a reputable roofing company proactively recognizes deterioration or deficiency that adversely affects the performance of your roof.
Get A Free Preventative Roof Maintenance Report
The importance of preventative roof maintenance and the mitigation of roof damage and moisture within a roofing system is imperative to slow the decline in the performance of fasteners and structural elements of a roof.
Roof material deterioration puts your interior furnishings, walls, ceiling, and floors at risk of water damage, and promotes the creation of poor air quality via mold growth.
This type of damage can cost thousands of dollars to repair and rectify.
Champion Exteriors understands how crucial preventative roof maintenance is to you.
One of our roofing experts will come to your home and evaluate your roof, free of charge.
We will generate a report that identifies any minor maintenance items that should be repaired to ensure maximum performance and longevity of your existing roof system.
The full evaluation of your roof and problem repair report will include identification of the following needs:
- Resealing and or replacement or pipe flashings
- Resealing and or replacement of damaged or loose shingles.
- Service or replacement of roof-mounted attic fans
- Inspection of roof ventilation.
- Attic inspection (check for signs of leaks, improper ventilation)
- Repair or replacement of transition flashings.
- Inspection of windows above the roofline
- Inspection of siding on dormers.
Regular roof maintenance and inspections can correctly identify and remedy deficiencies before they start to inhibit the worthiness of your roof and become costly to repair.
Roof maintenance and inspection will also allow you to more accurately budget for roof replacement and schedule your roof repair or replacement for a time that does not affect your family or the occupants of your dwelling and when weather conditions make roof repair least costly to you.
Your roof is subject to strain and deterioration due to environmental and other factors, and meticulous well-timed inspections and preventative roof maintenance are crucial to address and repair to extend the performance of your roofing system.