Keep these 7 things in mind when dealing with the roof

The roof is one of my house’s favorite areas, but despite it being open and seemingly easy to handle, there are many factors that come in to play and that makes the handling process much more delicate than you can imagine especially when you know that if something goes wrong, other areas in your house can get damage. That is why, when dealing with the roof, you should pay close attention to minor details if you can’t afford professional assistance.

You should know that if anything builds up on your roof (water, moss, etc) can potentially damage it. If your roof starts leaking, then your insulation will be ruined and mold will start building up in the house (as well as mildew), and if your roof is under a lot of pressure, then it can potentially collapse. Knowing all of this, here are 7 things you have to keep in mind when dealing with the roof.

1. Snow

Roofs can get damaged from snowmelt and snow pressure. If your gutters are clogged then water will start dripping down next to the foundation instead of flowing away from it. Because of that, the soil gets saturated because of the water and it can be expanded and pushed against the concrete of your foundation causing a water leak in the basement area. To avoid this problem, make sure to remove the snow from the roof using a snow rake at least once a week (and more than once a week if it’s snowing heavily).

2. Moss and sticks

Moisture can get trapped against your roof because of moss growth on the shingles. During windy days and heavy snow days, twigs are to be expected. To avoid the trapped moisture, make sure to remove moss, tree branches, and debris during the fall season.

3. Pressure washers

Pressure washers are mainly used for roof cleaning, but the people using it do not know that they are breaking weak their tiles because the PSI is strong enough to do so and tear off shingles as well. You should avoid using running water to clean to your tiles especially if you are dealing with minor things like bird droppings and sap. Make sure to use a damp rag if you have metal roofing. Keep in mind that wood shingles life span is reduced many decades when exposed to moisture.

4. Torn or missing pieces

Make sure to check out your roof looking for broken and/or missing materials at least once a year and make sure to do maintenance when once you find a missing or broken material(s) to avoid structure weakness and potential roof leakings.