Here’s a popular Nigerian proverb: “The house roof fights the rain, but he who is sheltered ignores it.” This saying reflects reality. People commonly don’t give a damn care about their roofs, not until something is wrong with them. Roofs made of copper, slate, and tiles commonly last for more than 50 years. Wood shake roofs can last for around 30 years. Fibre cement shingles can last around 25 years. While asphalt shingles can last around 20 years.
Even though our roofs have a very long lifespan, we need to maintain them properly to last long. Falling branches of a tree from nearby surroundings can damage them. Climate and weather conditions like hail, hurricanes, or snow can cut a significant time of their lifespan. Below are 7 roof maintenance tips you need to remember as advised by roofing services Sydney experts.
Perform a regular roof inspection and maintenance. Roofing services in Sydney recommend doing a roof inspection twice a year. The best times to do it are before fall and spring season come. It is important to check issues from the get-go. Let the roofing services in Sydney conduct a visual inspection by climbing the roof. They will look for the following:
- buckled, loose, or missing flashing
- damaged drip edges
- missing or exposed fasteners
- missing shingles
- piles of debris or granules that build up in the roof
- sagging or broken gutters
If they have found any or one of these issues, there’s a need to perform repair or replacement.
Clean the roof gutters regularly. Unclogging the roof gutters should also be done every 6 months. In locations where there are frequent hurricanes, snowstorms, or typhoons, you may need to do it more frequently. Especially before a storm, make sure that your roof gutters are clean to avoid water backup that may rot your roof’s fascia.
Cut down branches of trees nearby your property. Leaves from branches of trees nearby your property can clog your gutters. Branches carried away by the wind can scratch the surface of your roof. In the worst-case scenario, one strong storm can send them crashing into your roof and cause major damage. To protect your roof, see to it that tree branches around the vicinity are trimmed properly.
Look for algae and moss forming in your roofs and get rid of them. The roof of your house is commonly exposed to the outside environment. The moisture of the air and water from the rain may cause algae and moss to build up. They block the roof’s ventilation. They can also weaken your roofing materials. So, it is best to get rid of these algae and moss to allow your roof to breathe. Roofing services in Sydney can perform this task in just a matter of hours.
Re-caulk if necessary. Caulk seals the cracks, gaps, and holes in your roof. They can last within 5 to 10 years. When your roof flashing no longer holds its seal, you should hire roofing services in Sydney to do a re-caulk. This is to prevent debris and water from entering inside the cracks, gaps, and holes. Once they have entered, they can cause major damage to your roof.
Replace damaged coppers, slates, shingles, and tiles. Once you’ve identified that there’s a damaged copper, slate, shingle, or tile, make sure to remove them and replace them. Keeping a damaged part of your roof can cause the other parts to weaken.
Replace the whole area of shingles. If one shingle goes down, there is a good chance that the surrounding shingles will also become weaker. So, if one of them is wobbly, make sure to remove the whole area including the surrounding shingles. This might seem like an unnecessary expense but it’s much better to reinforce the whole area than to leave damaged shingles on your roof. Roofing services in Sydney can properly replace the damaged part of your roof and reinforce the area to ensure it lasts long.
