Roof Maintenance

Your roof shields your home from the elements throughout the year. But you cannot replace it after every bad storm; that is why proper roof maintenance is very important.

Roof maintenance protects your investment, extends your roof lifespan, prevents costly repairs, and ensures the safety of your roof and your family. 

But do not get scared about it. 

Our guide is your roadmap to maintaining and securing your roof. It discusses why roof maintenance is important and highlights the potential problems that can arise from neglect. It also provides you with a step-by-step guide to maintaining your roof.

But roofs are not one-size-fits-all. This guide also includes the specific maintenance needs of different roof types, including the ever-popular shingle roof, the sleek and durable metal roof, and the low-profile flat roof. Whatever your roof style is, our guide has everything to know. 

So, grab a notepad and get ready to empower yourself with the knowledge to become your roof’s protector. 

Why Roof Maintenance Is Important?

It is important to maintain the roof because it keeps the roof’s integrity. Roof maintenance protects your investment, extends, prevents costly repairs and replacements, and ensures its safety.  

With the right tools and our guide, you can maintain and inspect your roof yourself, but if you don’t have the right tools, you can hire a professional roofer. 

1. Protecting Your Investment

Your roof is a big investment, and maintenance protects it.

By catching small problems early, like missing shingles or clogged gutters, you can prevent them from turning into major repairs that drain your wallet, similar to the benefits of choosing to install a standing seam metal roof.

Thus, it saves you from a costly replacement and protects your valuable investment. With proper maintenance, your investment will be recovered sooner than the expected time.

2. Extending Roof Lifespan

Roof maintenance also extends the lifespan of your roof. If you ignore small patches and cracks in your roof, they may turn into big ones and can destroy your roof before the estimated lifespan.

For instance,  the average lifespan of a typical shingle roof is between 15-30 years. If you do not maintain your roof properly, it can vanish away even before the average lifespan. 

3. Preventing Costly Repairs

Proper roof maintenance can prevent costly repairs. If you ignore a small leak, it may turn into a big one and cost you a lot in repairs. 

But catching small leaks and crack patches during your maintenance inspections saves you from costly repairs.  

Therefore, maintenance of your roof is very crucial to avoid big financial repairs for your roof. 

4. Ensuring Safety

Your roof maintenance is also important for the safety of your beloved family and valuable belongings. 

If you do not maintain your roof properly, the small leaks and cracks can collapse your entire roof and put your loved ones in danger. 

Therefore, you should inspect your roof at least once every season and catch anything before it causes you a heavy loss.  

Roof Maintenance Tips, Step By Step Roof Maintenance Checklist

To maintain and keep your roof in proper shape, it needs special care. Our guide has a checklist that you should consider for your roof maintenance. 

The checklist includes:

• Regular inspections.
• Clearing debris from your roof.
• Maintaining the drainage system.
• Removal of mold.
• Looking for signs of animal intrusion. 

1. Regular Inspections

Roof maintenance also includes regular inspections. We recommend having your roof inspected at least once a year or after any severe hurricane or natural disaster, much like a roof inspection for insurance purposes. 

In roof inspections, roofers look out for any loose nails or bolts, any missing or loose shingles, or any other thing out of place. 

They also inspect the possible reasons for a leak, if there are any.

If the damage or leak is small, they repair it on the spot, or you can inspect your roof and repair it yourself if it is a small damage. 

2. Clear Debris Of Your Roof

Your roof maintenance also needs the removal of debris from it. Debris gets on your roof because of rain, wind, and hurricanes. 

Clearing debris is very easy, and most homeowners do it themselves. It also does not need to be done on the roof. You just need a long tool that can reach the roof. 

If debris is not removed from your roof, water can leak from it, which can lead to mold. 

3. Maintain Drainage Systems

Maintaining your drainage system is crucial for maintaining your roof. 

Debris, such as leaves and small trunks from trees, gets stuck in the drainage system and creates huge problems in your roof, such as leaks.

Therefore, you need to clean your drainage system often. If you can do it yourself, that is a plus point, but if you can’t, contact a professional. 

4. Remove Mold

You also need to remove mold regularly from your roof because it spreads very quickly and can damage other areas of the roof and home. 

It is easy to remove small patches of mold from your roof by just using your hose.  But if the mold is too widespread, you need to contact a professional roofer to remove it, and you can get rid of it. 

5. Look for Signs of Animal Intrusion

In addition to roof maintenance, you should also look for signs of animal intrusion. 

This can include spotting nesting materials like leaves or twigs, droppings in the gutters or near vents, or even gnaw marks near chimneys, etc.

These animal intrusions can cause your roof damage, so to maintain it, you should be very vigilant about it in your roof inspections. 

Specific Maintenance Needs for Different Roof Types

Different roofs need different kinds of care. Shingle roofs, the most common one, need you to check for missing pieces and watch out for that green stuff called moss. 

Flat roofs, with their low and flat design, are prone to water accumulation. This can lead to structural damage if not addressed promptly. Therefore, it’s essential to ensure water doesn’t get trapped on top. We provide comprehensive guidance on this in the following sections.

Shingle Roof Maintenance

Shingle roofing is the most popular type of roofing for residential homes. It shields your family from the elements, provides security and shade, and makes living comfortable.

Neglecting your roof can lead to leaks, damage to attic insulation, sheetrock damage, your roof not lasting its full life expectancy, and many other problems.

Therefore,  we recommend conducting maintenance twice a year.

1. Focus on Flashing

Flashing is a thin, flat piece of metal that is installed over the underlayment and underneath the shingles in a shingled roof. 

Flashing helps to direct water away from the seams and joints in a roof. That’s why it is crucial to focus on it for your shingle roof maintenance. 

If you neglect your flashing, it can cause water leaks and molds in your roof. 

2. Moss Removal

Green moss can damage your shingles by trapping moisture. So, you should remove it before it damages your shingle roof. 

Special cleaners for moss removal are available at most hardware stores. They are typically applied with a sprayer and then rinsed off with a gentle stream of water. 

Be careful not to use high pressure when rinsing, as this can damage the shingles.

Metal Roof Maintenance

Metal is more durable than other roofing types.

Although it is a unique and long-lasting roofing material that can enhance your home’s curb appeal, it is still vulnerable to wear and tear from harsh weather conditions and improper care, similar to how gutters for metal roofs need attention.

Hence, it also needs care for its maintenance, but less often than other types of roofs need.

1. Expansion & Contraction

Metal roofs naturally expand and contract depending on the surrounding temperature. Therefore, installers take this into account, 

Depending on your climate, they may also degrade or become dislodged over time and require repair.

Despite its toughness and durability, you should inspect your metal roof at least once a year and every time after harsh weather for expansion and contraction. 

2. Scratch Prevention

You should avoid walking on metal roofs to prevent scratches and regularly clear debris like leaves and branches that can scratch the surface. When cleaning, use a soft brush and gentle soap and no harsh chemicals.

Some metal roofs even have special coatings to prevent scratches. When a metal roof gets scratched, it is then vulnerable to rust and damage. 

Flat Roof Maintenance

Flat roofs are different and need a little extra care compared to sloped roofs. The key to flat roofs is drainage. Clogged drains from leaves and branches can lead to big puddles, which can cause leaks and damage the roof. 

After heavy rain, make sure no water is pooling on top because standing water can damage your roof. 

1. Drainage System Maintenance

A drainage system is the most important part of a flat roof, so it must be kept well-maintained. Flat roofs have very small slopes compared to other types of roofs. Therefore, their drainage should be checked regularly so as not to block due to leaves and branches of trees. 

If you pay attention to the maintenance of your flat roof, water may form pools on your roof and can cause it to leak. 

2. Ponding Water

Due to its negligible slope, water gets pooled very easily on flat roofs, especially after heavy rains and snow. You should check your drainage system regularly to remove the ponding water from it. 

If you leave the ponding water on your roof unchecked, it will leak and damage your roof, and moss will grow on it. 

Roof Maintenance FAQs

Conclusion

Maintaining your roof is important for the safety and longevity of your roof. By following this step-by-step guide, you can prevent minor issues from becoming major problems. 

Regular inspections, cleaning, and timely repairs are key. These practices ensure your roof remains in excellent condition, protecting your home and investment for years to come.