Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The average shingle roof lasts 20-25 years, more or less depending on storm damage and wear and tear. Other types of roofing materials will last longer, but they are more expensive to install.
The amount and quality of care you give your roof along the way can shorten or increase the time between new roof replacements. If you play your cards right, you could end up only having to replace your roof once in your lifetime, so long as you give it the maintenance it needs.
Installing a new roof is expensive no matter the type of roof. You’re better off in the long run doing routine maintenance and minor repairs as needed in order to help lengthen the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you aren’t confident in your roofing abilities – or just don’t like the idea of climbing a tall ladder – you can always call a licensed, certified roofer in Akron to help you with all of your maintenance and roof repair projects.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing things to prevent roof damage before it occurs is by far the cheapest route to extend the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a couple of preventative care ideas for your home’s roof:
Cut limbs that hang over your roof. High winds and rain storms can break limbs and even knock over whole trees. Decaying, dying trees can also drop their heavy branches onto your roof if they’re not regularly pruned. Falling limbs destroy all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and 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 reduce the amount of gutter cleaning you have to do and help prevent overflow into your landscaping. You can install gutter guards yourself or leave the work to a roofer or gutter cleaning service in Akron.
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 aging such as rust or tarnish. Having regular inspections done by a roofing company can let you know if there’s an issue that needs to be handled.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings replenish the oils from roof 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 applying 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 systems are in prime condition. Too much or not enough insulation can create a condensation issue. Lack of ventilation can result in trapped moisture. This can quickly lead to mold and mildew growth, as well as musty odors inside of your house. Besides being annoying, mold and mildew will eat away at wood and other materials, damaging your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
Here and there, you’ll have to complete some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done in a timely manner, you’ll help prevent leaks and extend the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these projects 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 immediately freshen up the curb appeal. Akron Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Akron as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out rain gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your rain gutters often, especially if it’s raining, to observe if there are any clogs that need to be removed. Most companies recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring months and again in the fall.
Remove moss. If moss begins to grow, it probably means that your roof is shaded and stays very moist. Moss’s roots attach to roof shingles and other types of materials and damage them if it isn’t eliminated quickly. Many homeowners prefer 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 take care of them right away, no serious problems should result. If you are a capable handyman, you may feel confident doing minor roof repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofers in Akron are certified to complete these fast fixes for you to keep your roof in good shape.
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. These asphalt chunks help to protect your home’s roof. If they start to come off, the roof will begin 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. Occasionally, the part 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 sometimes leak, allowing 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 most common location for leaks on a roof, and it is easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is a simple task 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 install a new one once or twice. Of course, if you move often, you could end up replacing a lot of roofs in your lifetime.
When buying a new house, a roof inspection is definitely worth your money. You can include the price of a new roof – if necessary – in the closing costs or request that the seller have the roof replaced prior to the sale. When selling a house, give Akron Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Akron to improve curb appeal for potential buyers.