You may have called the roof repair contractors at least once in your life after the installation of your roof, right? Well, unlike before, we have some maintenance tips for you which might help you avoid a roofer in the first place!
Causes of Roof Leakage
Before we dive into the maintenance tips, it is crucial to acknowledge the cause of the problem. Roof leaks are common especially after a heavy drizzle or a heavy snowstorm. Sometimes, there isn’t any need for such situations to arise when it comes to leakage. Meaning a roof leakage can occur anytime and anywhere when the roof isn’t kept maintained.
Anyways, let’s discuss some of the main causes of roof leakage as told by expert roofers:
- Faulty Shingles
Faulty shingles mean the shingles are either folded or curled, missing in large chunks in random areas throughout the roof, or simply broken because of severe weather conditions. The next thing is that the shingles have become bouncy and moist because of the increased humidity. These shingles when encountered with some faults are prone to leakage.
- Missing Caulks
Sometimes, the cause of leakage is the missing caulks in the chimney. Again, due to less amount of exposure to the sun, the chimney walls become moist. This moisture seeps into every corner eventually moistening the caulks and slowly removing them. Such removal of missing caulks can lead to moisture in greater amounts which eventually causes leakage.
- Gutters
Some roofers say that leakage can occur if your gutters are not properly maintained. The reason is because gutter water is exposed out of the house through the roof pipe so any problem in it can cause a leakage in your roof.
- Extended Branches
If your lawn is filled with high branched trees, then one of your source for leakage is this as well as roofers suggest. Reason is because the trees always drops leaves and other debris on the roof. The accumulation of these can cause a hole which in turn becomes a cause for the leak. Other options include animals residing in trees do not stay in trees for long. They wander around eventually coming on to your roof and sometimes trampling with it making holes. And the most important of all, severe weather conditions can cause the branches to vigorously scratch your roof hence damaging it.
- Poor Maintenance
It is important for you to have your roof checked at least once after every two months. The reason is that if there are any chances of problems then they can be fixed accordingly without turning it into a huge danger. But if you ignore maintenance completely, then there are chances that your roof might be just prone to every problem out there.
- Holes in The Attic
Sometimes, the cause of roof leakage can be the various problems of attic. The problems include small holes in the ceilings, holes in the pipes or clogs. Small leakages all over the pipes which slowly moist your walls causing a leakage.
Maintenance Tips to Avoid Roof Leakages
Although leakages are a serious problem and requires proper roof repair contractors, there are still various ways through you can avoid the leakage in the first place. Remember preparation removes the chances of recovery and repair. So prepare yourself in the following ways:
- Have A Proper Maintenance Every Two Months
Have your roof checked after every two months. Call in a professional or contractors in your area and make them inspect your roof for problems. If there are, they can take care of it right away. If not, then good for you. If you can’t get a hold of your contractor then try inspecting it yourself. look for some visible signs until you can get someone to check it for you.
- Trim Your Trees
Branches provide shade, true… but as discussed earlier, they can be the cause of leakage. So trim your tree branches from time to time. If possible, hire a landscape guy to do it for you.
- Replace Your Shingles
Replace your shingles or fill up the vacant area where the shingles used to be fixed before.
- Caulk Your Chimney
Seal your chimney and make sure to caulk it firmly.
- Gutters
Keep your gutters clean and maintained. If you ask any of the roof repair contractors in your locality, the first advice they will give you to avoid a leakage is to keep your gutters well maintained.
- Attic
Get a roofer to inspect your attic when you encounter a leakage. Or better yet look for the faults in pipes yourself.
