When you last shopped for a home, you were probably mostly concerned with things like traffic, noise, location, square footage, and how many bedrooms and bathrooms there were. However, you probably also paid attention to the roof. The roof of a structure can be one of its most overlooked aspects utilitywise, as its stability is often taken for granted. Although you may not have been planning on roofing maintenance any time soon, timely roof maintenance can extend the life of your current home before you need major work.
Clean Your Gutters
Your home has gutters so that water can flow in directions away from the structure. After snow melts, or during a rainstorm, the water is going to go somewhere else away from your house — unless debris, dirt, and leaves are clogging up your gutters. This is why it is so important to make sure that your gutters are regularly obstruction-free. Check occasionally to make sure that water is able to smoothly make its way through your gutter.
Clean Your Roof
Gutter cleanliness is important, but you should also clean your roof. The thought of cleaning their roof may not ever cross most people’s minds, but rainwater can only do so much in rinsing off the surface of years of accumulated dirt and grime. Left unmonitored, moss and even algae can grow up there. Pressure washing isn’t the way to go about this, however, since it might be enough pressure to hurt your shingles. Dish soap and water are more than enough. Be sure to scrub with sufficient pressure.
Trim Branches
Trees do wonders for curb appeal, property value, and the environment. However, overhanging branches can scratch a roof or even cause an impact if the branch winds up breaking off. For instance, a terrible storm might cause a large branch to topple onto a car and wreck it completely. Or, a tree could topple over and branches can go crashing into your house that might be less dangerous if they were trimmed. They’re also pest pathways to your home.
Repair Single Shingles
Your roof is likely actually a large set of individual shingles. Some will break before others, and a few might even fly off. A fundamental aspect of effective roofing is replacing any shingles that are curled, loose, or missing before they let water in and cause rot. This is something that should be done promptly, which makes it important to reach out to a roofing company and roofing replacement.
Install Home Insulation
You likely already know that home insulation lowers your energy bills. However, it might also help your roof stay in good shape longer. The right insulation will prevent buildups of warm air that might make your shingles deteriorate faster. Just make sure your attic vents don’t get accidentally covered up.
Prevent Ice dams
If you live in a place with lots of cold weather, then ice dams are a risk. This is when ice clogs in the gutter and prevents water from properly moving around it, causing a backup and resulting in more water being frozen and the gutter being full of ice. Clean gutters are a good preventive measure, but you might also want to remove snow from your roof using a snow rake.
Routine Roof Inspections
Whether you do the rest of these steps or not, your roof needs regular inspections. Whoever does the rest of these steps might be able to do some roof inspecting, but professionals can always find things that untrained eyes won’t.
The roof of your home is its biggest single component. If it fails, everything else in the home is at risk of damage and deterioration.
