Begin the New Year With a Roofing Checklist
To start off 2020 right, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a healthy roof over your head. Follow the roofing checklist below and there is no doubt that you and your roof will be happy!
The new year is upon us, and many people like to start making New Year’s Resolutions for themselves. But how about making some resolutions for your roof? It’s an integral part of your home and could probably use some love right about now.
Here’s a roofing checklist so you can inspect your roof and bring it up to speed in the new year.
Start With A Visual Inspection
Firstly, you’re going to need to take a good look at your roof. Most problems will stand out right away. You’re looking for missing shingles, broken flashing, clogged gutters, and so on. Make a note of any issues you find, so you can come back and address them later.
Remember that you need to take a look at your roof from the inside, too. Get into your attic and take a look at the underside of your roof. Are there are any holes that are letting light through? They’re going to let water through too.
How about any wood rot or mold? That will need to be addressed, too.
At this point, it’s best to do your inspection from the ground. Getting up on a ladder isn’t as safe as you think it would be, and you don’t want to put yourself at risk for an inspection.
Remember, you can always call in a roofing company to come and do the inspection for you.
Replace Broken Or Missing Shingles
You’ll next need to look at replacing any broken or missing shingles on your roof. When the shingles are missing, your roof has a chink in its armor. When the rain comes, it can get through that chink and start causing damage to your roof and your home, too.
This is where it’s very helpful to have a box of shingles left over from the last time the roof was replaced. These will always be the same shape and color as your existing shingles, as newer batches may vary slightly. Use those shingles to replace the missing ones and close up any gaps you see.
Clear Out The Gutters
The new year is a good time to check out your guttering. Over the fall, leaves from nearby trees have fallen into them, and if there’s enough then they could well be clogged.
Clogged gutters are a problem, as you need them to be able to direct rain water away from your roof. With the gutters clogged though, the water won’t be able to go anywhere. It eventually will make its way back onto your roof, saturating it with water.
When this happens, water will eventually get under the shingles and cause damage to your roof. It’s an expensive problem, but one that you can prevent easily and cheaply. Just reach into your gutters and pull out the leaves by hand, putting them into a garbage bag.
With the gutters clear, they can run freely again. You can stop this happening again by installing a gutter guard, which lets water though but will stop debris falling in.
Replace Broken Flashing
The flashing on your roof is designed to protect seams in your roof, such as the join between your roof and your chimney. Over the year though, it can be damaged by strong winds and storms. Sometimes it can buckle, or even start breaking away from the roof.
This is another problem you’ll need to fix sooner rather than later. Damaged flashing means that your roof is at risk of water damage, and you’ll need to address that as soon as you can.
Clean Your Roof
Yes, your roof needs cleaning too. Over the years, it is susceptible to a build up of moss, algae, and more. Debris such as leaves left over from storms also pose a problem for your roof. These allow mold and other problems to start developing on your roof.
Before long, that will lead to expensive repair jobs that need to be done.
To clean your roof, you’ll need to choose the right chemicals. Bleach sounds good, but in fact doesn’t kill off underlying algae so you’ll be left with the same problem once you’re done.
Instead, use a dedicated roof cleaning product that’s non corrosive and non harmful to the environment, as the run off will affect the plants near your home. Again, if you have any concerns about being able to do this safely, hire a roof cleaning company to do it for you.
Consider If You Need A New Roof
As you’re doing your inspection, you may see that the roof is starting to look tired. It could be sagging, the shingles broken and missing, and generally just becoming too much to repair. In some cases, you’ll find that replacing the roof is a better idea than simply repairing it.
How do you know if it’s time to replace the roof? It very much depends on the roof and how it’s coped over the last few years.
Firstly, you’ll need to consider the age. A shingle roof, which is the most common roofing style, will last for around 20 years before needing replacement. Other roofing styles have different lifespans, so you need to know what your roof is made of.
If you’ve had a recent disaster and the roof sustained a lot of damage, then you may need to replace the entire thing. Speak to your roofer and see what they think. In some cases, the cost will come out about the same, so you’ll be better off replacing it.
You’ll also need to replace your roof if there has been serious water damage. This will cause all kinds of problems for your roof, so you’ll need to replace it to correct the damage.
Roofing Checklist Ready
Use this roofing checklist to help you keep your roof in top condition this new year. Replace missing shingles, clear your gutters, and clean the roof off to keep it in the best shape possible.
Talk to a roofer if you’re not sure what needs to be done, and they’ll help you get the roof looking and working perfectly again.
Read More:
3 Of The Best Sustainable Roofing Materials To Try This Year