Five Tips for Keeping Your Home's Roof in Peak Condition

• (Photo : Five Tips for Keeping Your Home's Roof in Peak Condition)

Your house's roof acts as a barrier. This shelter protects your family and your home's interior from all types of weather conditions and many unwanted surprises. Yet, we frequently neglect to maintain it.

According to the Dominion Roofing professionals, even superficial roof damage can cause various forms of damage by giving the water a path into your home. Through this access point, the moisture that seeps through can harm the lower levels of your shelter. This can potentially ruin insulation and further deteriorate materials that hold up the top of the building.

Even though you'll have to replace your roof at some stage, it can easily last for 25 years with proper maintenance. Here's what you need to do to prevent having to replace it prematurely.

Do Regular Checkups

Regular checkups are vital to maintaining your home's roof, and by using a pair of binoculars, you can do this without having to climb up a ladder. This has to be done at least twice a year and after heavy storms or high winds. Be sure to check for the following:

• Curling, missing or cracked shingles

• Peeling, buckling, loose or absent flashing

• Missing granules

• Damaged drip edge

• Sagging or broken gutters

• Absent or exposed fasteners

If any of the problems mentioned above are present, it should be repaired as soon as possible and preferably by a professional roofing contractor.

Have a Professional Inspect Your Roof

Although this may seem redundant due to having a checklist in front of you, inspectors know what to look for and might be able to spot potential problems you may have missed. They can also provide you with valuable roof maintenance tips and will be able to give you an estimate of how many more years it'll last.

The cost for one of these inspections is between $250 and $650, which is significantly less than unnecessary repairs or having to replace your roof prematurely.

Check Your Ceiling and Attic

Routinely inspect your attic and the ceilings in your home to check for signs of a leaking roof. Early detection can prevent serious issues. Most commonly, warning signs appear in the form of:

• Water stains on the ceiling

• Bulging patches on the interior walls

• Musty odors in specific areas or rooms 

• Spots on the exterior walls

Should any of these signs be present, your next step would be to find and patch the leak.

Keep the Gutters Clean

"Fascia Board to be replaced" by Marc A. Photos from Creative Commons

Even though it's a dirty job, it's a vital aspect of roof maintenance. Blocked gutters prevent water from freely draining, allowing it to seep in under the structure. This eventually causes the fascia (control boards) to rot. According to experts, these need to be thoroughly cleaned at least twice a year to prevent this from happening.

Consider Washing Your Roof

Although this may sound ridiculous, washing your roof is essential to maintaining it. If it starts looking dirty with long, dark stripes running from peak to eave, you've got algae growing up there. Although it won't cause immediate damage, left unchecked for prolonged periods, it'll slowly rot away the shingles.

To rid your roof of this problem, wash it with a 50/50 mix of water and bleach. Then, to prevent future growth, install copper strips beneath the peak. Every time it rains, copper molecules will flow down your shelter, killing algae as it goes.

To Wrap Up

As shingle roofing does have a limited lifespan and it's not cheap to replace, you need to do everything in your power to make it last as long as possible. By investing in a decent set of binoculars, regularly inspecting it, and fixing small problems as they occur, you'll keep it in good repair for many years to come.