Knowing that after a long day, you can go home and take a rest is one of the best feelings of being a homeowner. The roof always covers a house, and it’s always essential to maintain your roof. It’s always daunting when you know that you have to replace your roof since you could not maintain it. A roof replacement costs a lot, and it’s not a surprise that most people would want their roofs to last for long. Taking care of a roof is simple. All you need to do is follow the right roof maintenance tips. The following are roof maintenance tips that can make your home and hotel’s roof last for long.
1. Keep An Active Maintenance Routine
Like any investment, the best way to keep your roof in good shape is by creating an active maintenance routine, and you must follow the routine to get the best results. Roof maintenance can be the last thing you would like to do on your free day, but since you would like a long-lasting roof, you have no choice but to check on your roof.
The best news is that it doesn’t require a daily check-up. Roof care should be done at least thrice a year. Make an effort by looking at your roof at the beginning of spring and fall. The main reason for roof maintenance is to prevent damages and ensure that moisture can travel away from the roof. By checking your roof in the fall and spring, you’ll be able to know if your roof is ready for heavy summer rains and winter storms.
You should concentrate on the following tasks when you are up on the roof, clearing any downspouts and buildup out the gutters, sweeping off the roof’s surface and power washing areas that have moss growth. You should also keep an eye on any signs of water disrepair or penetration.
2. Catch Problems Early
The best roof maintenance tip that helps and has no cost is catching any roof problems early. All you need to do is to take a look at your ceilings and roof. By taking that step, you will know how the roof will look when it’s in good shape and adequately maintained versus when there is a problem. That knowledge will help you understand problems early, thus fixing the small problems rather than bigger renovations.
The following are things you should keep an eye on missing shingles, patches and cracks, any appearance of leaning or sagging, wet spots on the ceiling, algae growth, downspouts, and detached gutters.
3. Invest In Preventative Measures
Prevention is better than cure. These words are good advice. Investing some money for preventive care will help you keep your roof safe and replace the entire structure later. First, you have to tackle the attic. Ensure that your attic has suitable insulation. A laid layer of insulation appropriately placed will help keep your house interior temperature stable by preventing water vapor from passing on the roof’s underside. Thus it helps on saving cooling and heating costs. It’s also recommended that you add a layer of vapor retarder underneath the insulation to get extra protection.
When you are done taking care of the insulation, you are required to work on the ventilation. Good ventilation will keep moisture from destroying the roof’s rafters and sheathing. All you have to do is to check on your attic’s vents from the outside. Make sure they are free from debris. If your vents are small, buy a ventilation fan to offer dryness.
4. Trim Back Trees
Tree limbs close to your home can bring a good landscape view, but they can cause serious problems. Branches and limbs that are knocked loose during a storm can cause damages to your roof and give access for rodents to invade your home. The best way to deal with these limbs and branches is by clearing them away. Trim any tree branches growing close to your buildings’ roof.
5. Roof coating
Roof coating is the best method in roof maintenance tips, and there are many types of roof coating you can choose from. Roof coatings are of different types, but the best two include:
Acrylic: They are inexpensive and the most durable elastomeric coatings in today’s industry. Acrylic coatings comprise potent biocides and high solids emulsion polymers that the extreme UV climates and helps provide superior resistance to dirt accumulation and mildew.
6. Hire An Experienced Professional
Hire a professional to work on your roof for safety risk or unsure of what you are doing when repairing your roof. If you don’t have any roofing contractor in mind, just ask your friends for recommendations or check online. Interview them and choose a roofing contractor that can offer you estimates regarding the cost, that has insurance and will put the agreement in a written contract.
Bottom line
No one would like to replace his or her roof. Unfortunately, every homeowner must face such a strategy if the roof is not maintained correctly. All you have to do is take care of the roof you already have and always be active in roof maintenance. Your roof will last for decades when you follow the tips above.
