Here are a few maintenance tips as well as mistakes to avoid.
Your roof is one of the most important parts of your house. A well-maintained roof will protect the rest of your home from water and even sun damage. Because it’s so important to make sure your roof stays in good condition, here are a few maintenance tips as well as mistakes to avoid.
Do Have Regular Roof Inspections
The first step in proper roof maintenance is to make sure that you are up to date on your roof inspections. A professional inspection will point out any problem areas that may need repairs. It’s a good idea to have your roof inspected quarterly, or at the end of each season, to asses what damages the change in weather might have brought.
Don’t Forget to Inspect Your Attic
The attic is an often-overlooked but equally important aspect of your roof. After all, the only way to check on the underside of your roof is through the attic. If there have been any small leaks, holes, or gaps in your roof, it might be easier to spot them from the inside. And an attic will display clear warning signs, such as mold and stains if there has been water damage.
Do Take Care of Your Gutters
Another important aspect of roof maintenance is cleaning and maintaining your gutters. Clogged gutters will not do their job properly, which is to catch rain runoff from your roof and channel it away from your house. In most cases, a flooded gutter will hold water back against your roof which will encourage more leaks.
Don’t Pressure Wash
But while you are cleaning your roof or gutters, you should never pressure wash them. A pressure washer is far to harsh for your roof’s shingles. If the average roof has trouble holding up in a category five hurricane, then a pressure washer will do much worse damage. It will likely strip the protective coating from your shingles or even loosen the shingles themselves.
Do Repair Your Roof As Needed
Some homeowners make the mistake of waiting for their roof issues to compile over time until they can replace the entire roof. The reasoning is that lots of little repairs add up over time. But this is not true. It’s far less expensive and far better for your entire house to take care of small issues as they come. A good quality roof that has periodic repairs will have a bigger return on your investment than buying a new roof when you could’ve taken care of the one you had.
Don’t Make This DIY Mistake
It’s recommended to have a professional make repairs on your roof because it is a dangerous process that requires specific skills and know-how. But if you are confident in patching up a small section, then make sure that you don’t cut corners by layering new shingles over the old, damaged ones. It may seem like the added layers will have extra strength, but in reality, you won’t get a proper seal on your new shingles which will destroy the point of stopping leaks.
Trust Blair Construction for Your Roofing Needs!
For a beautiful new roof or new bathroom flooring planned and installed by professionals you can trust, contact Blair Construction. We have been serving our valued Maryland customers for almost thirty years and look forward to giving your roof the care it needs for years to come. Contact us online or give us a call at (410) 729-0777 to get a free in-home estimate. To see examples of our work and get updates on what we are up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Houzz.