A Roof For A Lifetime: The Ultimate Guide To Preventative Roof Maintenance For Annapolis Homeowners

You’re enjoying a nice evening of TV when you hear a noise come from your roof. When you go outside to inspect you see that a shingle fell off. This sadly hasn’t been the only one this week.

It might be time for you to have your roof inspected. Your roof is one of the largest investments when it comes to your home because if you don’t take care of it, it can lead to several different problems in your house later on down the road. You can’t just wait around and hope that it takes care of itself, you have to act.

Here are a few roof maintenance steps that you’re going to want to perform regularly in order for the roof to keep doing its job.

1. Check the Shingles

You need to grab a pair of binoculars or climb a ladder to check your shingles after a big storm has brushed through your area. The main things that you need to be looking for when you’re checking over your roof are cracked shingles, missing shingles, curling shingles, peeling shingles, peeling flashing, and missing granules.

If you notice any of these things your roof will be vulnerable to further damage until the problem is fixed. While you can certainly check for the problem, it’s best to call out a professional to actually fix it.

2. Get an Inspection Done

Again, you can look over your roof and try to detect problems but if you aren’t a professional there are many things that you could miss that only an inspector would notice. They can also give you a rough estimate of how much life your roof has left.

The average cost for an inspection is around $300 or more which sounds like a lot but it’s cheaper than some of the repairs that you would have to make to fix problems on down the road.

It’s recommended to have one of these inspections done around twice a year but if you really want to be through, you might want to bump that up to once a year.

3. Look for Leaks

Water damage can lead to some of the most serious roof problems and the most costly repairs. That’s why you want to look for leaks on a regular basis to try and catch the damage before it’s too late to fix it.

One of the largest signs is water stains on your ceiling or in your attic. You may also notice a musty odor, or spots and bulging patches on your interior and exterior walls. Once you’ve identified a leak you can call a professional in to locate it and patch it up or if you feel comfortable with it, this is a repair you can make yourself as well.

4. Wash the Roof

If you leave dirt and algae on your roof it can cause your shingles to rot after a little bit. Rot is harder to deal with than just cleaning your roof on a regular basis. The good news is, it’s really not hard to clean it.

All you have to do is spray it with a mixture that’s half water and half bleach. The bleach will kill anything that causes rot. So, next time you’re able to set aside a day to just clean your home, incorporate your roof into the equation.

5. Clean the Gutters

Cleaning your gutters is disgusting but necessary if you want to extend the life of your roof. Fortunately for you, it only needs to be done twice a year, once in the Fall, and once in the Spring.

If you skip this step of roof maintenance then the gutter will get clogged and the water will back up into the roof. This will cause water damage and rot throughout your roof and home which is the last thing you want.

6. Trim Branches

Trimming branches that are hanging over your roof is a good idea for quite a few reasons. The most obvious one is that when a bad storm hits these branches can fall off and cause serious damage to your roof.

The other, less obvious reason is animals. Animals can and will jump from a hanging branch to your roof and either nest in the crevices or get into your attic and be difficult to get rid of. Either way, they can cause quite a bit of damage to both the inside of your home and out.

7. Patch the Chimney

No maintenance list would be complete without checking around your chimney. You’re going to be checking for any cracks or missing mortar. If you see anything you need to call out a contractor out right away to fix it.

Falling bricks can damage your roof. Also, a crumbling chimney causes structural problems to your home and roof. Trust us, fixing a few cracks is a lot easier and cheaper than having an entire collapsed chimney repaired or rebuilt.

Your Guide to Roof Maintenance: Extend the Life of Your Roof

Your home isn’t complete without your roof. It’s essential for protecting you and your family from the elements so, it only makes sense that you return the favor by taking care of it.

Use these roof maintenance steps to extend the life of your roof. After all, replacements are expensive.

No matter how many repairs you make and how hard you try to fight off the inevitable, your roof will eventually need to be replaced. Contact us to see what we can do for you.

Roofing Contractor Prince Frederick, MD