As you saw in our previous articles that talk about the roof, we discussed the importance of your roof to your home.
Many homeowners do not attach much importance to the roofs of their houses and seldom make any renovations on them.
They only see the need to renovate the roof after being torn due to extreme wind or weather.
Watching out for your roof is an excellent way to take care of it because your roof can increase or decrease the resale value of your home, depending on its state.
In today’s article, we will take a look at some of the things that can reduce the lifespan of your roof considerably.
These things shorten the amount of time your roof can stay healthy, causing you to spend money on repairs often. The shingles are one of the things you need to replace every decade, whether they are in good shape or not.
However, replacing the shingles can be one of the most expensive roof renovations that you would undertake. Hence, all homeowners want to keep their roofs in good shape for as long as possible.
Doing this will reduce the number of times you would have to carry out renovation projects on the roof.
Constantly checking your roof for any problems is one of the best ways to keep your roof in good shape.
This is because as soon as you spot a problem, you can take of it immediately to prevent it from getting more significant.
So as a responsible homeowner, it would help if you always made sure to check your roof at regular intervals.
Or you can decide to forgo checking the roof if you are willing to pay for expensive roof repairs.
When you check your roof regularly, you will be able to identify potential problems in their early stages.
This may be tiring if you own several homes, but you can employ home managers to take care of that for you while you keep your eyes on the roof of the house in which you live.
Let us now look at some of the things that can shorten your roof’s lifespan.
Things That Can Reduce The Lifespan Of Your Roof
The factors listed below are some of the things that can shorten the lifespan of your roof.
You have to check on these factors during the year constantly. Let us now take a look at these factors below.
After each factor, a way to deal with that particular factor has also been made available so that you will be able to know how to deal with such problems when you encounter them.
Trees
One of the biggest threats to the longevity of your roof is the trees in your house.
The branches of the trees that grow too close to the roof can scrap at the shingles, making them loose.
They can also wear holes in them as time goes on. One of the worst cases is when the branches rest on the roof and trap moisture under it.
This can exacerbate moisture problems on the roof. Another thing you should be concerned about is the tree branches that can break and fall on your top when the weather gets severe.
The weak and dead limbs of the tree can also collapse under a load of ice or during high winds and fall on the roof.
Most arborists will tell you to cut all trees back to at least 6 feet from the house. If you have a tree with branches right above the roof, you should probably get in touch with a roofing professional to advise you on what to do with the tree.
Another potential threat to your roof is the climbing vine plants. When you leave them unchecked, they can grow under the shingles of the top and make their water-tight protection weak.
So it would help if you made it a point to always watch out for the trees that are too close to your house.
Gutters
Another thing you should be looking out for is the gutters. When leaves and pines fall into the channels, they can get clogged up and back up with water.
The water will then flow under the shingles, creating leaks in the process. Cleaning your gutters is a task that must not be taken lightly and should be done at regular intervals.
Although gutter cleaning is something that homeowners dread, you can easily use some new tools to accomplish the task.
New tools are constantly being manufactured as time goes on, which has made cleaning roof gutters relatively easy.
Using a gutter screen can slow down the amount of debris collected in the gutter, and this can help you relax on the number of times you clean out the gutters.
However, it would help if you still made it a point always to check the gutters because the gutter screen may not be able to prevent the debris from collecting in the gutter.
It would help if you always cleaned out your gutters during the fall, which is a significant measure to keep your roof safe.
Regular cleaning of the gutters can help you to avoid ice dams. The ice dams occur when the snow is melting off the roof and cannot escape the trenches quickly enough.
The melting ice then gets frozen at night and expands under the roof shingles. Keeping the gutters at all times ensures the free passage of the melted ice off the shingles and away from your home.
Algae
The roof shingles can attract algae growth, especially when they are in the shade, and retain moisture around them.
When the algae begin to grow, it’s enzymes that digest the protective granulation of the shingles.
It may even push the edges of the shingles in some extreme cases. This will then cause gaps around the shingles, leading to water leakage.
You should make sure to keep trees cleared back from the roof so that the sun can always fall on the top to dry out any moisture.
Doing this will reduce the likelihood of mold, moss, and algae growing on the roof, causing gaps around the shingles to prevent water leakage.
If you are already dealing with an algae problem on your roof, you can get rid of it with a sprayer containing 50% bleach and water mix, which will kill the algae.
Make sure not to scrub the shingles. Just spray on the algae, and it will get killed. You can rinse the affected area with clean water after spraying it.
Wind
During the spring season, the storms can wreak some damage to your roof. Checking your roof for shingles that have been misplaced is vital in spotting the harm of such winds.
When you notice that a shingle is missing, you will want to hire a professional roofing contractor to get that repaired as soon as possible.
The strength of your roof is as muscular as the weakest shingle on it. So when a shingle gets blown away, it will affect the power of the top and affect the rest of the remaining shingles.
It is pretty standard for a storm to take out a weak shingle, and the surface becomes exposed, and the storm can rip off an entire row or ridge cap from the roof.
When you acquire the services of a professional roofing company, not only will they replace the missing shingle to match the color of the roof, but they will also strategically need adhesive to strengthen the repaired area to prevent the advent of further problems shortly.
However, that does not mean that you should cease inspecting the roof from time to time. Always keep doing that at regular intervals to ensure that the roof is always in the best condition to protect your home and properties.
Damage From Hail
Hail can also cause some damage to the roof of your home. The small ice balls can penetrate the outer granulation of the shingles and create a pockmark of tar.
As time goes on, the shingles continue to sit in the sun, and the parts that have been weakened will continue to degrade, thus causing the roof to age faster than it was supposed to.
If you can trace the damage caused by the hail to a specific storm, you could get assistance from your home warranty or your insurance company to cover the roof repair cost.
You should always make sure to check your roof for any signs of potential damage after the event of a storm or hail.
Once you suspect that some degree of damage has been done, you should contact a qualified roofing professional immediately to take a look at the roof and analyze the damage.
Conclusion
Your roof is responsible for providing a great first impression to outsiders who come across your house.
Most importantly, the roof protects you and your properties from weather and other harmful elements.
As a responsible homeowner, you should create a schedule that helps you check up on your roof at regular intervals.
This will help ensure that everything is in good shape, spot signs of danger quickly, and nip them in the bud to prevent them from escalating and causing much bigger problems.
When you set up a schedule or reminder to check on your roof during the year, you will be able to spot problems quickly, especially after there has been a storm or something similar that can cause damage to your roof.
Not spotting these minor damages and allowing them to get bigger will only hurt your wallet and your peace of mind.
When you have to renovate and carry out repairs on the roof, choosing the right person for the job is also very important and should never be overlooked. You should never be in a hurry to hire the first person who comes your way.
As a responsible homeowner, you should take the time to screen each candidate to make sure that they are qualified, professional, punctual, and honest before you consider them.
Also, get some feedback from people who have hired your roofing candidate and see what they have to say before you go ahead and hire them.
Remember, the roof is one of the essential parts of your home and should be given the attention and care it deserves, and you want to keep sleeping happily under it.
I am sure that this article has been quite helpful to you, and you now have some knowledge about the things that can shorten the lifespan of your roof and how you can tackle them efficiently.
You can find more articles on this subject and many others on this site, and do make sure to check them out.
