Owning your home is a huge step and a great investment into yourself and your future, and because of the cost, maintaining and caring for the property should be one of your top priorities. A well cared for home can be the place where you make memories and grow old, but a house that isn’t properly maintained can be the source of a lot of stress and financial burden. By following a few of our tips for roof maintenance, you can prolong the life of your roof for many years, saving you thousands of dollars and keeping the value of your home as high as possible.
Perform Your Own Inspection
First, let’s talk about what this doesn’t mean. What we DO NOT RECOMMEND is having you climb up onto your roof and walk around looking for problems. That can be dangerous, especially for someone without the right tools and experience. What we are referring to is something much simpler and totally safe. Your “do it yourself” inspection is really just giving your roof a good look while your feet are safely on the ground. There are many visual signs that your roof is in need of some repair, and by catching these things early by simply paying attention to your roof, you will be saving yourself a lot of hassle. A few signs you can look for when examining your roof are missing or cracked shingles, big dark spots, bowing or sagging. You can also look in your gutters for piles of granules from the shingles. If anything looks out of the ordinary, it’s always a good idea to bring in a professional for an inspection to be sure.
Regularly Scheduled Inspections
One very important task that you do not want to overlook on your list of ways to maintain your roof is having a regularly scheduled professional inspection performed. Depending on where you live you will want to do it either once or twice a year (twice for harsher climates with heavy snowy seasons). A professional roofer will be able to check all the ins and outs of your roof so that you can be confident that it is working properly. This also allows you to catch any potential problems very early on before they spiral into bigger more costly repairs. Investing in professional inspections is one of the most cost efficient ways of caring for your roof and keeping it in the best condition possible.
Trim any Overhanging Trees
If your property has large trees that hang over your home, you will want to keep those trimmed back as much as possible. One of the leading causes for roof damage is falling limbs, so keeping those trimmed will reduce the odds of that damage occurring. Another reason is that you will want to reduce the amount of access that wild life has to your roof. Small critters can do a lot of damage to your home by chewing through materials and getting into your attic space, so keeping the tree limbs back can help you save on repairs in the short and long term!
