Tips For Shingle Roof Maintenance

Shingle Roof Repair You Can Trust

Maintaining Your Asphalt Shingle Roof

A roofing system is a big investment for property owners, and represents a big portion of construction costs.

It’s a roofing contractor’s job to help the owner protect their investment by conducting professional, careful maintenance on the roof on a regularly. This will make sure its properly protected.

Here are some tips that will help  your roofing contractor ensure they won’t miss any of the essentials during routine maintenance services. If you’re a homeowner, these tips will guide you on what to expect when you hire a professional roofing company perform routine maintenance on your roof.

Three Tips for Regular Shingle Roof Maintenance

A roofer will need to perform 4 basic services a couple times per year to help a homeowner properly maintain his or her asphalt shingled roof. Also, you’ll want to do this after major storms.

Here’s your roofing maintenance checklist:

1 – Routine Maintenance

A critical part of roof maintenance is routine cleaning and clearing of the roof and its related systems. Pay attention not only to shingles and flashing but other key elements, like eaves, troughs, down spouts, installations (such as skylights, vents, chimneys, solar panels), and ventilation.

Here’s what we recommend:

• Property owners should regularly clear debris from the roof, including leaves, branches, and other items that might clutte the surface. Your roofing contractor might use a leaf blower, being sure to blow the air down the roof (so he’s not blowing debris up and underneath the shingles). To lower the debris that accumulates, clear away vegetation and branches that hang over the roof. Hire a professional tree service to cut away difficult or hard to reach areas.
• Dig out leaves and organic material from all gutters. This will ensure water drains without obstruction through to the downspouts. Homeowners could install eave protectors, metal meshed grates that prevent buildup of debris and make cleanup easier.
• Be sure the downspouts are clear and unobstructed so water drains properly from the roof and away from the foundation (and not leak or drip down the sides of the house). A homeowner can do this by taking notes of any leaks or drips that occur during or right after a rain storm and reporting those to his contractor during inspection time.

2 – Get Your Roof Inspected

Once the roof is cleared of debris, your roofing contractor should inspect it for any potential issuess or red flags that could indicate trouble in the future.

They should complete this inspection twice a year – recommended in the spring and fall. This will allow them to make note of anything suspicious, as well as complete small fixes or minor repairs before they become bigger issues. Also, they’ll see if there’s any evidence the ventilation system is malfunctioning or might need maintenance or cleaning.

Shingle Roof Repair Contractors With Experience

3 – Perform Any Needed Repairs

An experienced roofer should immediately complete any asphalt shingle roof repairs to maintain the integrity of the roof’s materials and related systems, such as drainage and ventilation. Little fixes performed properly will prevent bigger issues, or more costly repairs, over time. They could:

• Replace or repair missing, broken or buckled shingles: A roofing contractor could use roofing cement or nails to repair shingles that have become cracked or loose. They could also replace any shingles that have broken free or blown away.
• Replace or install valley flashing: They may also consider replacing the existing valley flashing if its become corroded, cracked or is no longer secure – which would threaten its waterproofing abilities.
• Replace other flashing: Your roofer could use roofing cement and nails to replace metal flashing around chimneys, roof vents or other installations if the flashing has become loose or rotten. If they’re installing the flashing against a brick structure, it’s advisable to use copper or galvanized steel, because the lime in brick mortar could corrode aluminum materials. 
• Repair gutters or downspouts: Your roofing company might use gutter caulking, a gutter patching kit or roofing cement and patches to fix leaky or corroded sections of the eavestroughs or downspouts. If they are sagging, they should use a level to determine the proper pitch, then rehang them so they drain properly.

A Secure Roof Equals a Secure Home

Whether you’re a homeowner looking to maintain the life of your roofing system, or a roofing professional educating your customer on the benefits of regular inspection, maintenance and repair, sticking to a consistent, regular schedule is well worth the investment.

When you need a professional, experienced roofer to inspect and maintain your roof, give Mikkuand Sons Roofing a call at 623-465-1068, and we’ll get you on our schedule ASAP.