With a recent study showing 38% of Americans don’t know how to do basic homeowner maintenance, it’s not a huge surprise if you’re not sure how to care for your roof.
Roof maintenance is often something that gets forgotten. After all, it’s part of the home that sits outside of your house, away from view.
Even so, the roof is arguably one of the most important structural features of a house. It keeps you safe and protected from the elements. Caring for it is more important than you may realize.
Keep reading as we discuss the main things that you’ll need to do for roof maintenance this year.
1. Clean Your Gutters
Our biggest piece of roof maintenance advice is to make sure that your gutters aren’t clogged. This is a simple issue that can lead to major problems, like rotten wood or a weakened roof.
Clogged gutters also have the chance of overflowing once they get full with debris and water, so all of that gunk is going to end up washing up onto your roof and down your home. This will lead to expensive issues that are easy to avoid with regular gutter cleaning in the spring and fall.
2. Trim the Branches
A lot of homes have trees that sit right by their homes, but if that tree has overhanging branches that hit your house, it can damage your roof easily.
Think about what happens when you have inclement weather, like heavy rains or winds. These issues can make the branches whip around quickly, causing serious damage to your roof and anything that might be structured on top of it.
For this reason, trimming those branches back so that they don’t hit your home when they whip around is going to help with your roof maintenance.
3. Caulk All Flashings
Roof flashings are important to keep water out of parts of the roof that your shingles don’t cover. You want to make sure that you’re using caulk on the flashings that sit near any crevices, like those by walls, skylights, or chimneys.
Check on these flashings regularly to see if they have rust or any cracks in them. This can lead to ineffectiveness that can eventually cause a huge issue with water in and around your home.
4. Prevent Ice Dams
If you live somewhere that gets cold weather, ice dams are a real concern in the winter months. Roofs can be susceptible to these after heavy snow because as the water melts from warm attic air, it will refreeze on colder parts of your roof as it starts to trickle down.
The reason this is something to avoid is that this water will eventually get trapped and seep down into your roof, ceilings, and walls. Always check on your attic’s ventilation in the winter months to be sure that the attic isn’t too warm for this to happen.
5. Insulate Your Roof
Since excessive moisture and water are a clear issue for regular roof maintenance, you should always make sure that your roof is insulated and ventilated properly to avoid these concerns. You can work with professionals to get this done, especially if you have a roof leak repair that needs attention.
Use Our Roof Maintenance Tips Today
With these roof maintenance tips in mind, you can update your annual roof maintenance checklist to be sure that your roof is healthy and secure. Always keep in mind any potential hazards, like ice dams or longer tree branches, that may pose a problem for the health of your roof.
When in doubt, contact the professionals for help.
Did you find this article useful? If so, take a look at our other homeowner tips next.
