Even a properly installed roof with quality materials does not exempt a homeowner from general maintenance. Here are a few common roof repairs that you will need to address over the lifetime of your roof.
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Even a properly installed roof with quality materials does not exempt a homeowner from general maintenance. Here are a few common roof repairs that you will need to address over the lifetime of your roof.
First off, cleaning your gutters reduces the need for roof repairs significantly. This is because clogged gutters can hold water, increasing the weight the gutter systems have to bear along with unwanted moisture near your roof.
Standing water in your gutters during a hot summer day introduces a steady burden of moisture to the edges of your roof. Will your roof crumble because of it? Of course not, but let’s get them cleaned out to not add any more stress to your home than needed.
With clogged gutters, the weight will add stress to the brackets holding them to your roof. This could lead to bracket failure giving you that sagging gutter you need to fix.
Another issue with standing water is rust. While your gutters may be made of aluminum, nothing is impervious to oxidation if given the optimal conditions.
Your roof has quite a few items sticking out of it. One of these is the ventilation pipe for venting pungent odors from your plumbing.
Plumbing boots are the flanges placed over your vent pipes to create a seal to keep water out. Over time those seals degrade and crack, leading to leaks in your roof that will need repair.
If your roof has lead pipe jacks, then you don’t have to worry about the weathering like rubber-flanged ones. Instead, you have to worry about the lead jack’s worst enemy: the squirrel. Like a moth is drawn to a flame, a squirrel LOVES itself a good lead pipe jack.
Flashing are metal strips underneath the shingles that prevent water leakage around structures, notably chimneys and dormers.
It is also found in the valleys of your roof (if your roof wasn’t installed with a more premium adhesive ice and water shield). The need for repairs can either be degradation (rust or the polyurethane adhesive has worn down) or poor installation.
If you notice a lifted line of shingles near your dormers or in the valleys, that is your flashing warping upwards due to the heat. Damaged flashing leads to roof leaks.
Nail pops are when a nail is not driven correctly and begins to back out from expansion and contraction through heating and cooling.
This will lift a part of your shingle resulting in a weak point (a kink in your armor, if you will) susceptible to water and wind.
This could be a very common roof repair you may have to deal with.
From damaged whirlybirds to broken active venting, the capacity of your roof to vent is critical. There are plenty of reasons why your roof needs proper ventilation.
Here is an excellent article on roof ventilation: Proper Roof Ventilation.
If one or a few shingles are damaged from an act of nature or your kids climbing on the roof to do whatever kids do on roofs (like I did when I was a kid. Now I know why my dad whooped my butt afterward), then we can perform a shingle replacement.
But if you are trying to repair damaged shingles because of old age, then it is time for a new roof.
Roofers aren’t trying to upsell you when they tell you this.
The reason: the surrounding shingles that aren’t catastrophically damaged are still so brittle that you will inevitably destroy more in the process when attempting to repair the damaged shingles.
Slipped shingles are another result of improper installation or aged shingles.
Either way, that is when a shingle becomes detached from not only the nail holding it but also the adhesive bond to its neighboring shingles.
As the shingle begins to slide out of place, you can only imagine how this affects your complete roof protection.
If your roof is newer and this resulted from a poor installation, we can fix it.
Although, while mistakes happen, you may want to question the quality of your roof installation. But if slipped shingles are happening because of an aged roof, then it’s time for a new roof.
So take a walk around your home and look at your roof. Now that you know some common roof repairs to look out for, you can identify small repairs your roof may need, such as nail pops, that most homeowners are unaware of.
You’ve been blessed with a home, so let’s get you equipped to take great care of it.
Ready to take action and find a roofing specialist? Check out this article to help you figure out which one you want.
Want to try to tackle some of these repairs on your own? Check out this blog for some step-by-step instructions for some DIY roof repairs.