Hiring efficient roofers from Annapolis companies like Blair Construction, LLC would mean professional installation, replacement, winter protection, or general repairs of your flat roof. However, the truth is that you can’t afford to hire roofers for every slightest hint of trouble. Reputable roofers, however, will tell you that there are roofing maintenance tasks that you can do yourself, especially given that you aren’t exactly working under the same risks as you would on a sloped roof.
Roof Inspections
The first step to any roofing maintenance project is inspection – you should go over the flat roof of your home or business establishment and look for leaks, cracks, blisters, ridging, or any other signs of damage. If you think that the problem can’t be easily solved using some simple quick fix, don’t hesitate to call in your roofing contractor.
Preventing Ponding
One of the disadvantages of flat roofs is that it is much more prone to ponding (water accumulating in pools when the roof gets saturated with rainwater or melted snow) than sloped ones. When you have a ponding problem, make sure to have the moisture drained and cleaned as soon as possible. You might also want to invest in a reliable tampered installation system.
Splitting/Blistering
Check your flat roof and look for cracking or splitting within the felt – this is typical either of poor installation or extremely cold weather that cause the material to freeze and thaw again. Another problem comes when the felt material gathers air and eventually develops into blisters. You can cut out the blistered portions and replace it with felt of the same material and thickness.
Loose Fasteners and Felt Movement
DoItYourself has this to say about keeping your fasteners and felt in check:
“Membrane Fasteners
If your roof is a fastened system, you should examine it for loose fasteners. The fasteners may become loose because they were not long enough or because of water saturation.”“Felt Movement
If the wrong bitumen is used on your roof, or if the roof is exposed to excessive heat, this could cause some, or all, of the felt layers on your roof to move.”
Aside from these maintenance tips, don’t forget to clean out your flat roof regularly, as well. If you encounter a roofing problem that you know you can’t fix by yourself, call a reliable Annapolis roofing contractor, instead.
(Article Information and Image from Flat Roof Maintenance Checklist, DoItYourself)