Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The typical shingle roof lasts around 20-25 years, more or less depending on storm damage and usual wear and tear. Other types of roofing materials can last longer, but they are more expensive to install.
The amount and level of care you give your roof can reduce or lengthen the time between roof replacements. If you are good about maintaining your roof, you might end up only having to replace your roof once in your lifetime, just so long as you give it the care it needs.
Roof replacement is very expensive regardless of the type of roof. You’re better off in the long run doing maintenance and minor repairs as needed to help extend the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you aren’t confident in your roofing skills – or just can’t stand the thought of climbing a tall ladder – you can call a licensed, certified roofer in Franklin to give you a hand with all of your maintenance and roof repair needs.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing tasks to prevent most roof damage before it occurs is by far the cheapest way to lengthen the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a few preventative care ideas for your home’s roof:
Cut limbs hanging over your roof. Powerful winds and rain storms can break limbs and even knock over trees. Rotting, dying trees can also drop their heavy branches right onto your roof if they’re not regularly pruned. Falling limbs damage all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and even metal roofs.
Install rain gutter guards. Gutter guards are metal or mesh covers installed on top of your rain gutters to prevent clogging. They can limit the amount of gutter cleaning you need to do and help prevent rain flowing into your landscaping. You can install gutter guards yourself or leave the job to a roofer or gutter cleaning service in Franklin.
Schedule regular inspections. Shingles start to lose asphalt granules after only a few years, and metal roofs will be dented or start to show signs of age like rust or tarnish. Having inspections done by a pro can let you know if there’s a problem that should be repaired.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings renew 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 putting these coatings on your home, where they will run off and be in contact with your children, pets and landscaping.
Make sure your insulation and ventilation system are in prime condition. Too much or not enough insulation can create a condensation issue. Limited ventilation can lead to trapped moisture. This can quickly cause mold and mildew growth, as well as musty odors throughout your home. Besides being annoying, mold and mildew will eat away at wood and other materials, weakening your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
Here and there, you’ll need to complete some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done often enough, you’ll help prevent leaks and lengthen the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these things at least once a year to prevent damages and keep your home’s roof looking nice:
Roof cleaning. Cleaning a roof removes debris, mold and dirt. This will limit the risk of pests and rodents building nests on your home’s roof, and it will freshen up the curb appeal. AllPro Franklin Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Franklin as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out rain gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Inspect your rain gutters regularly, especially while it’s raining, to observe if there are clogs that need to be removed. Most pros recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring months and again in the fall season.
Remove moss. If moss starts growing, it probably means that your roof is too shaded and stays very moist. Moss’s roots attach to roof shingles and other types of materials and ruin them if it isn’t eliminated fast enough. Most homeowners decide to have a professional do this so no damage is done in the process.
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS
Damages happen, but so long as you take care of them right away, no major issues should result. If you are a capable handyman, you might feel confident enough doing minor roof repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofers in Franklin are able 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 removed from the shingles by debris, hail or strong rain. These asphalt pieces help to protect your home’s roof. If they start to come off, the roof will look worn, but, most importantly, it won’t protect what’s below. Only a section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is only superficial.
Replace fascia. Occasionally, the section 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, letting mold and mildew into your home, plus pests.
Re-caulk around the flashings. Flashings fill in the gaps on the roof where it is impossible to place roofing material. It’s the most common location for leaks on a roof, and it is very easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is an easy task for roofers and proficient homeowners as well.
YOUR ROOF NEEDS LOVE TOO!
The roof is typically the most expensive home maintenance costs. With the typical lifetime of a roof being between 20 and 30 years, you will likely only need to replace it one or two times. Of course, if you move often, you might end up installing quite a few roofs during your lifetime.
When buying a new home, a roof inspection is definitely worth your time. You can include the cost of a new roof – if necessary – in the closing costs or request that the seller have the roof replaced before the sale. When trying to sell a home, give AllPro Franklin Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Franklin to improve curb appeal for interested buyers.