Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The average shingle roof lasts around 20 years, more or less depending on storm damage and usual wear and tear. Other roofing materials can last longer, but are also more expensive to install.
The amount and level of care you give your roof along the way can shorten or lengthen the time between new roof replacements. If you play your cards right, you might end up only having to replace your roof on your home once in your lifetime, so long as you give it the maintenance it needs.
Roof replacement is very expensive regardless of the type of roof you have. You’re much better off in the long run doing maintenance and minor repairs as needed in order to extend the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you aren’t confident in your roofing skills – or just don’t like the idea of climbing a tall ladder – you can call a licensed, certified roofer to give you a hand with all of your maintenance and roof repair projects.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing tasks to prevent roof damage before it occurs is by far the cheapest way to lengthen the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a couple of preventative care measures for your home’s roof:
Cut limbs that hang over your roof. Gusting winds and rain storms can break limbs and even knock over trees. Decaying, dying trees will also drop their heavy branches right onto your roof if they are not routinely pruned. Falling limbs destroy all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and even metal roofs.
Install rain gutter guards. Gutter guards are metal or mesh covers that can be installed on top of your rain gutters to reduce clogging. They can limit the amount of gutter cleaning that you need to do and prevent overflow into your landscaping. You can install gutter guards on your own or leave the work 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 like rust or tarnish. Having regular inspections done by a roofing pro will let you know if there’s a problem that needs to be repaired.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings renew the oils from roof shingles so they don’t dry out, helping your roof last 5 years or more beyond its expected lifespan. There are regular and plant-based products so you can feel safe about putting these products on your home, where they will run off and possibly be in contact with your children, pets and lawn.
Make sure your insulation and ventilation system are in excellent condition. Too much or too little insulation can create a condensation problem. Lack of ventilation will lead to trapped moisture. This can quickly lead to mold and mildew growth, as well as odors throughout your house. Besides being a nuisance, mold and mildew will wreak havoc on wood and other materials, weakening your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
Here and there, you’ll have to do some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done often enough, you’ll prevent leaks and lengthen the lifespan of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made of.
Do these things 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 renew the curb appeal. Athens Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Athens as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out rain gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your rain gutters regularly, especially while it’s raining, to observe if there are clogs that need to be cleared. Most companies recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring months and again in the fall season.
Remove moss. If moss starts growing, it likely means that your roof is too shaded and stays very moist. Moss’s roots can attach to roof shingles and other materials and damage them if it isn’t eliminated quickly. Typically homeowners choose to have a professional service 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 quickly, no major issues should result. If you are a capable handyman, you might feel confident enough doing minor roof repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofing companies are trained to complete these fast fixes for you to keep your roof in optimal condition.
Replace damaged or worn shingles. Shingles have asphalt bits 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, more importantly, it won’t protect what’s underneath. Only a section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is superficial.
Replace fascia. Sometimes, the part of your home’s roof that sits between the roof material and the top of the exterior wall (called the fascia) will also need to be replaced. The fascia can sometimes leak, allowing mold and mildew into your home, let alone 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 perfect location for leaks on a roof, and it is very easily damaged. If more extensive work is needed, replacing the flashing is also an easy project 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 lifespan of a roof being around 20 and 30 years, you will likely only need to install a new one once or twice. Of course, if you move several times, you might end up buying a lot of roofs in your lifetime.
When buying a new house, 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 seller has the roof replaced prior to the sale. When selling a house, give Athens Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Athens to improve curb appeal for interested buyers.