Humankind is extremely resilient, and can survive in a variety of conditions, but we have some needs. Of the necessities humans need to survive: we need oxygen. We need food and water. And we need a roof over our head. The focus of this article is the last factor, keeping a roof over our head, literally.
If you are a homeowner, the quality of your roofing has a huge impact on keeping your home in good shape. Your roofing helps you maintain equity in your home. Your roofing keeps your family safe and dry. To help you get the most life out of your roofing, we’ve put together a few roof care tips that all home owners should know about.
Four Tips for Roof Maintenance
- Give your roof an semi-annual checkup.
We know, you have like a hundred million things on your to-do list every single day. Paying attention to your roof when you do not need roof repair seems unnecessary. However, the small things can turn into a crisis if you ignore it. Set a recurring appointment on your calendar twice a year to do a quick roof cleaning:- Make sure the gutters are free of any debris, so that water can properly drain away from the house. If water pools up on the roof, it will lead to leaks, that might go unnoticed until you have a whopping hole in the roof.
- Clear away any leaves that pile up on your roof. You might have seen the process of decomposition that leaves go through; they rot and turn into black gunk. This black gunk is an essential part of Mother Nature, as it put nutrients back into the soil. However, when the leaves decompose on your roof, they can cause the roof to rot as well. This is no bueno.
- Do an inspection of any roof repairs that are needed.
Many residential roofing companies offer a maintenance plan that consists of them doing the work to ensure your roof stays in good shape. This is a good insurance plan, so that you aren’t going about your life and suddenly have a gaping hole in the ceiling.
We know times are tough, and many home owners want to reduce costs. While it is an added expense, it could save you thousands of dollars in avoiding expensive repairs down the road. As an added bonus, sometimes your homeowner’s insurance will give you a discount if you take measures like this to avoid huge claims down the road.
Even when you do your six month cleaning, and you have a roofing professional to stay on top of professional maintenance, sometimes small roofing repairs arise. When this happens, call your roofing company right away to nip it in the bud. A small roofing repair might cost your a hundred big ones, but if it turns into a giant issue, it will cost you far more later.
Picture this: You noticed some of your shingles needed to be replaced, but ignore it. Those damaged shingles are chinks in the armor of your home. Water slowly seeps into your roof. That tiny drip creates a mold issue that is dangerous for your family to breath in. The water also makes the structure of your home slowly rot away. Suddenly, those three shingles that needed to be replaced costs you thousands of dollars in remediation. And worse, your homeowner’s insurance likely covers repairs for unexpected distastes; covering a disaster that festered for four or five years might not be in your plan.
There are a lot of home projects that you can do yourself with a little elbow grease and know-how. Fixing the roof should not be one of those things. First of all, making roofing repairs can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Secondly, if you don’t make the repair right, you’ll find yourself paying more to bring a pro in to fix your mistakes in addition to making the initial repair anyways.
What do you think? Do you have any other tips for keeping a roof in great shape? We want to hear from you in the comment section!
