Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The typical shingle roof will last 20 years, more or less depending on damage and wear and tear. Other types of roofing materials will last longer, but they are more expensive to install.
The amount and level of care you give your roof along the way can reduce or increase the time between new roof replacements. If you are good about maintaining your roof, you could end up only having to replace your roof once in your lifetime, as long as you give it the care it needs.
Roof replacement is expensive regardless of the type of roof. You’re much better off doing routine maintenance and small repairs as they arise in order to extend the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you are not confident in your roofing skills – or just hate the thought of climbing a tall ladder – you can call a licensed, certified roofer in Pearland to help you with all your maintenance and repair projects.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing things to prevent roof damage before it happens is by far the cheapest way to increase the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a couple of preventative care projects for your home’s roof:
Cut limbs that hang over your roof. Gusting winds and rain can break limbs and even push over trees. Rotting, dying trees will also drop their heavy branches onto your roof if they’re not 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 installed over your rain gutters to prevent clogging. They can reduce the amount of gutter cleaning that you have to do and prevent overflow into your landscaping. You can install gutter guards yourself or leave the work to a roofer or gutter cleaning company in Pearland.
Have routine inspections. Shingles begin to lose asphalt granules after only a few years, and metal roofs can get dented or begin to show signs of age like rust or tarnish. Having regular inspections done by a roofing pro will let you know if there’s an issue that needs to be handled.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings replenish the oils from shingles so they don’t dry out, helping your roof last 5 years or more beyond its expected lifetime. There are regular and plant-based products so you can feel safe about spraying these products on your home, where they will inevitably run off and be in contact with your children, pets and landscaping.
Ensure your insulation and ventilation system are in prime condition. Too much or not enough 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 in your house. Besides being a nuisance, mold and mildew will ruin wood and other materials, damaging your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
From time to time, you’ll need to do some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done regularly, you’ll prevent leaks and increase the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these things at least once every 12 months to prevent damages and keep your home’s roof looking good:
Roof cleaning. Cleaning a roof will remove debris, mold and dirt. This will reduce the risk of pests building nests on your home’s roof, and it will freshen up the appearance of your home. PRO Pearland Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Pearland as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out the gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your rain gutters often, especially if it’s raining, to see if there are clogs that have to be cleared. Most gutter experts recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring months and again in the fall.
Remove moss. If moss starts growing, it means that your roof is shaded and stays very moist. Moss’s roots will attach to shingles and other types of materials and damage them if it isn’t gotten rid of quickly. Typically homeowners decide to have a professional do this so no damage is done in the process.
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS
Damages happen, but as long as you take care of them quickly, no serious problems should occur. If you are a capable handyman, you might feel confident enough doing small repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofers in Pearland are more than willing to complete these fast fixes for you to keep your roof in good shape.
Replace damaged or worn shingles. Shingles have asphalt pieces attached to them. The texture can be knocked off the shingles by debris, hail or heavy rain storms. These asphalt pieces help protect your home’s roof. If they start to come off, the roof will look worn, but, more importantly, it won’t protect what’s underneath. Only a small section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is only superficial.
Replace fascia. Sometimes, the section of your home’s roof that sits between the roof material and the top of the exterior wall (called the fascia) will have to be replaced. The fascia can leak, letting mold and mildew into your home, and sometimes pests.
Re-caulk around the flashings. Flashings fill in the gaps on the roof where it is hard to place roofing material. It’s the perfect location for leaks on a roof, and it is easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is an easy project for roofers and proficient homeowners as well.
YOUR ROOF NEEDS LOVE TOO!
The roof is often the most expensive home maintenance costs. With the typical lifetime of a roof being between 20 and 30 years, you will probably only have to replace it once or twice. Of course, if you move frequently, you could end up installing a lot of roofs in your lifetime.
When buying a new house, a roof inspection is definitely worth your money. You can include the cost of a new roof – if necessary – in the closing costs or request that the seller has the roof replaced before the sale. When selling a house, give PRO Pearland Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Pearland to improve curb appeal for potential buyers.