There’s absolutely no doubt that purchasing a new roof for your home can be quite expensive. As a homeowner, you likely want your dollar to go as far as possible when it comes to the longevity of your roof. Fortunately, there are many great ways to help extend the overall lifespan of your roof.
Keep Up With Gutter Cleaning
Your gutters play a very important role in helping to move water from your roof downward and away from your home’s foundation. Over time, it isn’t uncommon for your gutters to accumulate excess debris like leaves, shingle granules, and even twigs. It’s important to keep up with regularly removing this debris as otherwise it can restrict the flow of water off your roof. If the water can’t drain into your gutters, it’s more likely to penetrate underneath your shingles as it tries to exit your roof. This will cause damage to your soffit and siding.
Trim Back Branches and Shrubbery
Any branches that are hanging over your roof should be trimmed back. Even the healthiest branches are prone to breaking under the right conditions. It’s best to simply not have any overhang your home so that there’s no possibility of a branch falling onto your roof and creating damage. Additionally, it’s important to trim back any sort of shrubbery or vines that are coming into contact with your roof. This greenery will house moisture and can start to deteriorate your roofing material if it’s constantly up against it.
Handle Algae Swiftly
While having algae on your roof if you live in the woods may seem like a cozy cottage feel, it’s actually working to destroy your roofing material. Algae will harness a lot of moisture that will start to deteriorate your roofing materials when it’s constantly up against it. Remember that your roofing materials are specifically designed to move water off the roof and not hold on to it.
As soon as you notice that there’s algae on your roof, it’s best to have a professional come out and remove it for you and apply a specialized chemical to prevent it from growing again. You never want to use a shovel or other item to help remove the algae as you can end up damaging the granules on top of your shingles.
Invest in a Roof Inspection
A roof inspection is where one of our roofing professionals will come out to your home and assess all the different components of your roof. They will look for any potential issues and repair them swiftly so that your roof remains in good working condition. This inspection is a great way to help catch problems while they’re small and easy to fix before they turn into costlier and more damaging problems.
It’s important to realize that your roof is comprised of more than just the shingles on top of it. Our inspectors will look at every single component of your roof, including its decking, rafters, gutters, flashing, soffit, fascia, and ventilation. All of these components need to work together in order to successfully divert water away from your home and protect your overall belongings and home from water damage.
Get Prompt Repair Service
When all the components that make up your entire roofing system get the care and upkeep they need, they can last a very long time. However, if you have an issue with your roof that you let go, it can end up causing a lot of damage to your roof and your home. For example, if you have a shingle that’s cracked, it can allow water to seep below the shingle and start penetrating the decking layer of your roof. This can cause excessive rotting of the decking layer and even develop mold and mildew growth. To avoid dealing with these costlier issues, it only makes sense to get repair service promptly.
Check Roof Vents Regularly
It’s important for your roof to have adequate ventilation in order to maintain the integrity of your entire roofing system. Contrary to popular belief, you never want to close the vents in your attic even in the wintertime. Rather, you want your attic to be the same temperature as the temperature outside. During the wintertime, this means having a cold attic. While in the summertime, this means having a hot attic.
By maintaining this optimal temperature range, you can help to ensure that your shingles don’t receive an excessive amount of heat that will prematurely deteriorate them from underneath. This ventilation is also imperative to preventing moisture buildup in your attic. Unwanted moisture can lead to mold and mildew growth that can rot out the construct of your entire roof. If you’re worried about critters getting into your home via these vents, simply use a wire mesh material to keep them out while still allowing for adequate ventilation.
How Long Do Roofs Last?
One of the biggest factors that’s going to determine the overall longevity of a roof is the type of roofing material that you have. In general, most asphalt shingles will last anywhere between 15 and 30 years depending on the specific quality of shingle that you purchase. Wood shakes can have a lifespan of around 30 to 50 years assuming they receive proper upkeep and care. Clay tiles, concrete tiles, and metal roofing all have a lifespan of 50 to 70 years. Slate roofing has the longest lifespan of around 100 years or more.
Top Signs Your Roof Needs to Be Replaced
While you may not want to think about it, your roof is eventually going to need to be replaced. It’s important to pay attention to particular signs that will let you know it’s likely time to invest in a new roof for your home. One of the most obvious signs is that there is a massive amount of damage due to a storm.
This could be half of your shingles getting ripped off or a massive tree falling through and damaging a large portion of your roof. In most cases, it simply doesn’t make sense to replace just a section of your roof as it will have a different lifespan than the other remaining section of your roof. Ideally, you want your entire roof to age at the same rate.
Another key sign that you’re likely in need of a roof replacement is that you’re getting a massive amount of granules showing up in your gutters. Granules are the top layer of asphalt shingles that help to provide most of the protection over their entire lifespan. When those granules start to fall off, it exposes the lower layer of your shingle which deteriorates fairly quickly. If you think that you may need a roof replacement, our roofing professionals can easily examine your roof and make a recommendation.
Reliable Roofing Maintenance Service
Fraser Roofing, LLC offers reliable roofing maintenance service for the Metro Atlanta, GA area. We can also help with all your emergency roofing, roof repair, roof replacement, storm damage, and gutter replacement needs. Simply call us today to schedule your next roofing appointment.
