Have you ever wondered what you need to do to maintain your roof? There is such a thing as simple roof maintenance and I learned firsthand when visiting my friend in Ottawa why she uses simple roof maintenance to make her roof last for decades!
Remember, if you are a homeowner, your house has a roof!
Most of the time, it’s easy to forget it’s there because it is always shielding your home from all the different weather, so it’s wonderful and just there, but when your roof fails, you quickly find out about it.
In this post, we take a look at some of the ways you can perform simple roof maintenance and the top 7 areas to focus on because your roof is a workhorse you need it to last!
Simple Roof Maintenance Over To Make Your Roof Last For Decades
As far as it goes, your roof albeit its own entity can take a toll on the surrounding items, so this post overviews
- maintaining your roof
- gutter maintenance
- downspout maintenance
After all, each piece interacts with the other and they work together to keep you dry and sheltered!
Additionally, it’s worth noting that some of the roof maintenance can be done as a DIY and then there are other pieces of simple room maintenance you should absolutely call the pros in for, like my friend Cassie in Ottawa did, and it just so happened I was there on the day the company pulled up to clean her gutters!
So let’s start there.
#1 Your Gutters + Downspouts
Cassie actually has a company that comes out 2x a year to clean her gutter and spouts as they are far too high for her to maintain herself. The company actually showed up the day I was visiting so we had a big discussion on roof maintenance!
Luckily she already has a reliable company that offers a service for regularly cleaning gutters and downspouts and now I need to seek one out as well.
Did you know that if water is trapped in the gutter it can and will get under the shingles and then it causes damage to the roof which can become a financial headache?
Ultimately, hiring a service to clean out your gutters and spouts will save you this financial headache and hopefully make your roof last for decades, allowing you to save money in the long term.
#2 DIY Gutter Maintenance In Between Service Looks Like This
- If you notice any debris in your gutters, be sure to clean it out.
- Leaves and twigs can block gutters, causing them to overflow during rainstorms and damage the rest of your home
- Water can pour down masonry and brickwork, causing dampness and damage to your foundations
- If you don’t have any gutters right now, consider installing them immediately
#3 Maintain Your Roof By Inspecting It Regularly
This is a DIY part of simple roof maintenance. Keeping your roof in good condition requires inspecting it regularly.
- Access your roof areas if you can
- Travel from room to room and look out the windows to see your room from above them
- If you have an attic and can access it, look inside the attic to see the structure of your roof and how it looks from the inside as well, not just the outside.
- Make sure there’s no water ingress
- Check from the exterior (on the parts you can access for missing or cracked tiles, shingles, and the like.
- If you don’t mind heights and own a ladder that is tall enough to access your room, go ahead and check out your roof carefully (again, you’ll need someone to be with you to make sure you are fine going up and coming down! Don’t go at this alone)
- Hire a roofing company to inspect your roof, while it is a small fee it will save you money in the long run.
#4 Your Shingles + Performing Simple Roof Maintenance
- keep all surrounding trees trimmed
- check the gutters (as mentioned before) for leave and twig debris
- If there is moss or mold on the shingles you’ll want to clean that off or have it professionally cared for
- don’t allow snow to sit on your roof for an extended period of time
- For anyone living in a snow zone, you’ll want t make sure the roof foundation is solid to withstand the weight of snow
#5 Your Roof Tiles + Maintenance
- tiles need to be cleaned periodically to rid them of mildew and lichen that can eat them away over time
- roof tile cleaning is easy but it may require you to hire a handyman to do so
For those who prefer to climb the ladders and do the deed, you can actually clean your tiles with a stiff brush and a bit of elbow grease. Naturally, you’ll find plenty of chemical products you can choose to use.
Once you remove unwanted plants from the roof, the tiles will likely last considerably longer. You won’t have to replace them as often.
#6 Maintain Your Roof By Removing Branches
Overhanging trees and branches are a nightmare for roofs.
When they fall down, they cause damage to the roof and as aforementioned blockages to the gutters and downspouts which is exactly why this is on our list of how to maintain your roof twice!
Heavy branches can fall off trees during storms and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.
They can also be dangerous if you are living on your property at the time.
#7 DIRT + Simple Roof Maintenance
Lastly, it’s a good idea to get rid of dirt on your roof periodically because it can slowly damage the underlying material.
How you clean your roof depends on the material.
- For an asphalt roof, you’ll want to call in the pros and never use a power washer
- If you have a regular tile roof, you can use roof cleaning products to make it spotless or hire someone to do this task instead of doing a DIY.
- Now if you have a metal roof, you are able to clean this roof a bit easier than the asphalt planks and the tiles.
Now You Can Maintain Your Roof and Make Your Roof Last For Decades
You’ve read this through and you can see that it is not as scary to maintain your roof as you might have once thought.
You will want to consult with a pro roofer if you are unsure of the DIY process, but the simple tips of keeping the shrubs and trees trimmed are something you can definitely do!
There are roofers, gutter cleaners, and all kinds of handymen that can take on all of the tasks we have shared, so hire them and save yourself big expenses in the future because it is all about maintenance!
Leave a Reply