10 Valuable Tips For Roof Maintenance

A time will arrive when a building’s roof will become dirty and riddled with problems that will force you to call a professional roofing contractor or roofing cleaner. The roof is an essential part of any residential or commercial building because it protects people from harsh weather.

Failing to keep your building’s roof in top condition can bring about severe problems that’ll require you to spend tons of money. Most experienced building owners focus on keeping their roofs cleaned and maintained all the time. If you’re new to rood maintenance, here are several valuable tips to keep it appealing and durable.

1. Always Clean the Gutters

If tall trees are surrounding your building, you should expect the leaves to fall onto the roof. It can become a huge problem during the fall season because those leaves can block the gutters.

The gutters are responsible for diverting rainwater away from the roof so that no water will stay stagnant for a long time. Wet leaves can cause severe water blockage to the gutters, which will make diverting rainwater difficult. Keep in mind that stagnant water can cause severe roof damage like rust, and you don’t want that happening to your building.

2. Look Out for Moss

Other building owners might think that they don’t need to pay attention to moss on their roofs because it’s harmless. However, they don’t know that moss can slowly damage the roof. Note that moss will trap moisture in itself, and it can ruin whatever surface they stick on. If they adhere to the roof for a long time, the moisture can slowly destroy the surface if not removed immediately.

The best choice is to schedule a professional roof cleaner so that you don’t forget. The roof cleaner can remove the moss if there aren’t too many stuck on the roof. The only time anyone will have difficulty removing the moss is when you overlook cleaning for a long time. The uncleaned moss may end up invading the roof. If you plan on hiring roof cleaners, you should consider installing a roof hatch safety railing for safety and efficiency.

3. Remove Leaves and Debris

As mentioned a while ago, tree leaves are one of the biggest threats to your roof because they can block the gutters and prevent water from going down the drain. You also have other roof debris to worry about besides tree leaves, like animal wastes. If you’re near forest areas, there’s a probability that small animals and critters can go to your roof and leave behind their scraps.

The wastes they leave behind can usually make their way to the gutters when it’s raining, causing blockages, so you must remove them all the time.

4. Conduct Roofing Inspections

You’ll never know if your roof has problems, even if you keep cleaning it every day. That’s why roofing contractors exist to conduct inspections and find issues that can become too much to handle if left unattended for a long time. It’s best to conduct monthly roofing inspections so that you can find out and resolve roofing problems right away.

5. Cut or Remove Overlapping Tree Branches

Tree leaves aren’t the only problem to deal with when you have tall trees surrounding your building. Tree branches can also be why your roof gets damaged, especially if they are heavy and have sharp, pointed branches sticking out. They can scratch the roof during a windy day, so you might have to expect the paint or the roofing material to wear out right away.

6. Check the Space Under the Roof

In some cases, your roofing contractors might not find issues on the exterior side of the roof. You should know that roofing damage can also happen on the interior side, which is a more complicated issue to fix sometimes. The roofing contractor will have to break through the ceiling without a ceiling access door to the roof’s interior.

7. Prevent Ice Dams from Forming on Gutters

You always have to prepare for the snowy season because ice dams might form on your gutters. Ice dams form when heat loss from the building, snow cover, and exterior temperatures link together. You can prevent ice dams in many ways, such as adding duct insulation, installing an exhaust pointed outwards, and ventilating eaves and ridges.

8. Conduct Inspections After a Storm

It won’t matter if you have the most durable roofing materials installed on your building because storms will always bring some problems. It’s a great practice to have your roof inspected once a severe storm clears out to find and fix roofing issues.

9. Ventilate Your Roof

Every building owner needs to understand the importance of roof ventilation. It’s essential to get it done because it helps in preserving the roof’s durability and lifespan. It also reduces the building’s energy costs and balances indoor temperatures.

10. Replace or Repair Damaged Roofing Materials

Once your roofing contractor finds issues with your building’s roof, you shouldn’t waste any time and have them fixed or maintained as quickly as possible. It’ll save you valuable time and energy into repairing them in the future, which might become too much of a problem to handle.

Don’t forget about your roof when doing your routine building inspections. Any rainwater that seeps into your building can cause severe damage, especially if exposed systems like electrical wires or panels need to steer clear from any moisture. Fortunately, you should have no roof problems when you follow the ten roof maintenance tips mentioned above.