Tips to Maintain Your Roof
The typical shingle roof lasts around 20 years, depending on damage and natural wear and tear. Other types of roofing materials can last longer, but they are more expensive to install.
The extent and level of care you give your roof along the way can shorten or increase the time between new 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 as long as you give it the attention it requires.
Installing a new roof is very expensive regardless of the type of roof you have. You’re much better off doing maintenance and small repairs as needed to help extend the lifetime of your home’s roof.
If you aren’t confident in your roofing abilities – or just don’t like the idea of climbing a tall ladder – you can hire a licensed, certified roofer in Virginia Beach to give you a hand with all of your maintenance and repair needs.
PREVENTATIVE ROOF CARE
Doing things to prevent most roof damage before it happens is by far the cheapest way to increase the lifetime of your home’s roof. Here are a few preventative care projects for your home’s roof:
Cut limbs that hang over your roof. Gusting winds and rain storms can break limbs and even knock over trees. Decaying, dying trees can also drop their branches right onto your roof if they are not pruned. Falling limbs destroy all types of roofs, including asphalt shingles and metal roofs.
Install rain gutter guards. Gutter guards are metal or mesh covers that can be installed on top of your rain gutters to reduce 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 on your own or leave the job to a roofer or gutter cleaning company in Virginia Beach.
Have regular inspections. Shingles start to lose asphalt granules after a few years, and metal roofs can get dented or start to show signs of aging such as rust or tarnish. Having regular inspections done by a roofing pro can let you know if there’s an issue that needs to be handled.
Apply a roof coating. Roof coatings replenish the oils from shingles so they don’t dry out, making 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 products on your home, where they will inevitably run off and be in contact with your children, pets and landscaping.
Ensure your insulation and ventilation system are in prime condition. Too much or not enough insulation can create a condensation problem. Limited ventilation can lead to trapped moisture. This can quickly lead to mold and mildew growth, as well as odors in your home. Besides being a nuisance, mold and mildew will wreak havoc on wood and other materials, damaging your home’s structure.
ROUTINE ROOF MAINTENANCE
Here and there, you’ll have to do some general maintenance on your home’s roof. If this is done often enough, you’ll help prevent leaks and increase the lifetime of your roof, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
Do these things at least once every 12 months to prevent damages and keep your home’s roof looking good:
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. Virginia Beach Pressure Washing offers roof cleaning in Virginia Beach as one of our services.
Gutter cleaning. Cleaning out gutters is a necessary part of home ownership. Check your rain gutters regularly, especially while it’s raining, to see if there are any clogs that need to be removed. Most pros recommend gutter cleaning once in the spring and again in the fall.
Remove moss. If moss begins to grow, it likely means that your roof is shaded and stays very moist. Moss’s roots attach to shingles and other types of materials and damage them if it isn’t removed quickly. Most homeowners decide to have a professional service do this so no unnecessary damage is done in the process.
MINOR ROOF REPAIRS
Damages will happen, but as long as you take care of them quickly, no serious problems should occur. If you are a handyman, you may feel confident doing small repairs yourself. But if not, professional roofing companies in Virginia Beach are trained 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 knocked off the shingles by debris, hail or strong rain. These asphalt pieces help 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 small section needs to be re-shingled if the damage is superficial.
Replace fascia. Sometimes, the part 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 leak, letting mold and mildew into your home, and sometimes pests.
Re-caulk around the flashings. Flashings fill in gaps on the roof where it is hard to place roofing material. It’s the most common location for leaks, and it is very easily damaged. If more extensive work is necessary, replacing the flashing is an easy project for professionals and proficient homeowners as well.
YOUR ROOF NEEDS LOVE TOO!
The roof is often the most expensive home maintenance costs. With the typical lifetime of a roof being around 20 and 30 years, you will probably only need to replace it one or two times. Of course, if you move several times, you might end up installing quite a few roofs in your lifetime.
When purchasing a new home, a roof inspection is definitely worth your time. You can also include the price 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 Virginia Beach Pressure Washing a call for professional roof cleaning in Virginia Beach to improve curb appeal for potential buyers.