Has your roof been trying to tell you something? If you’ve been noticing cracked or curled shingles, stains in your roof or ceiling, or gunk in your gutters, perhaps your roof’s been urging you to hire professionals for repairs.
Protect Your Roof As It Protects You
We can always depend on our roofs to shield us from inclement weather and other outdoor elements, but perhaps we take this sense of security for granted. For all that your roof endures to keep you safe, it’s essential to do your part to ensure its longevity. If your roof is more than 10 years old, it’s time to start scheduling annual inspections. Prioritizing professional upkeep helps your roof last its entire lifespan, which experts say is at least 20 years with proper care.
If your roof has sustained damage, replacing the damaged shingles is the best option. However, roof work is a laborious process, and it’s ideal to hire professionals. Although roof repairs are undesirable due to the inconvenience and potential costliness, it’s necessary to maintain the integrity of your roof’s structure, so you can keep your family safe. Before you reach out to professionals, look for signs that your roof needs to be repaired.
Warning Signs of Roof Repair
While some signs are more obscure, others are easier to spot. Here are a few warning signs that it’s time to replace your shingles:
- Rotting Shingles:
Curled, cracked, wet, dirty, or missing shingles are the most visible signs of damage. Rotting shingles are “contagious”, so if you see one or two problem spots, the issue has more than likely spread to other shingles. Expect to repair or replace several shingles.
- Shingle granules built up in your gutter:
Composite or asphalt shingle granules look like wet, coarse sand when they begin to shed. To make matters worse, they may wind up in your gutter, causing a host of other issues if not taken care of quickly.
- Peeling or blistering exterior paint:
If your attic is not ventilated correctly, water or increased humidity builds up near the roofline. As a result, your paint becomes discolored and starts to chip away.
- Lichen:
Lichen is a fungal growth with high levels of acidity. Without consistent upkeep, lichen could go unnoticed, causing shingles to rot from the acidity.
Causes of Shingle Roof Damage
Your roof has weathered many storms, and it will hopefully last many more. Still, several factors deteriorate your shingles. Year after year, the aftermath of extreme weather conditions slowly ages your roof’s surface.
- Strong winds:
Strong winds can sometimes lift your shingles from your roof’s deck. At the very least, they can cause shingles to curl and, over time, be torn off. It’s best to get your roof inspected after a heavy storm.
- Excessive sunlight:
Shingles, especially if they’re a darker color, absorb sunlight almost every day. UV rays are harmful to shingles, causing early deterioration as they crack and split under the hot sun.
- Wet weather:
Rain, snow, ice, and hail all wreak havoc on your shingles. Moisture builds up and causes damage until you finally replace the saturated shingles.
Understand the Importance of Regular Maintenance and Inspections
You value your home. It’s an essential contribution to your peace of mind, and it keeps your family safe and secure. Season after season, your roof naturally experiences degradation. However, it’s up to you to take the initiative, schedule regular inspections, and hire professionals for maintenance. Professionals are skilled enough to not only point out where repairs are needed, but they can also detect signs that you need a new roof.
Help your roof maintain its strength and structural integrity. Regularly scheduled inspections allow you to catch issues early, so they don’t worsen. Some damage isn’t easily detectable to the untrained eye, so it’s best to have experts analyze your roof’s surface and notify you of any problems they find. Regular upkeep ultimately prevents you from needing a full replacement prematurely.
