It’s important to take good care of your roof. The roof protects your house and endures a lot during its lifespan. The summer’s searing heat, the variety of precipitation kinds, and the ferocity of potentially dangerous storms are all things your roof needs to endure. With that in mind, since severe weather is always possible, no matter where you live, keeping your roof in good condition is essential. That being said, today, we will tell you how to protect your roof from storm damage.
1 Schedule a Roof Inspection
The best thing you can do to protect your roof is to schedule a yearly roof inspection. If you live in a hurricane-prone location, you must do this. The best time to do an inspection is right before hurricane season rolls around. This way, you will be able to minimize the risk of damage to the roof and exterior of your home.
A trained expert can spot weaknesses that weather elements like wind, rain, and hail can turn into significant issues. By doing an inspection, a roofing company might recommend long-overdue maintenance, or they may recommend that you upgrade your roof in some way. During an inspection, professionals will examine the following:
- The roof membrane: The inspectors will look for any rips, punctures, or age defects in the membrane of your roof.
- Flashing: The inspectors will ensure that all flashing is in place and watertight.
- Mounted Hardware: The inspectors will verify the integrity of the flashing around every roof penetration and the security of all fasteners.
- Gutters & Downspouts: The inspectors will verify that all downspouts and gutters are secure and lead water away from the building.
2 Clear Your Property of Trees
While having trees and other landscaping features outside your house has many positive sides, it can also be dangerous. Particularly if hurricanes are a regular occurrence where you live. Protecting your roof can be tricky if you have many trees or plants near your home. The reason for this is that, during a strong storm, large trees can fall and damage your roof. This is why you need to remove them.
Furthermore, strong winds may cause tree limbs to crash onto your property in various places, including the roof. Cutting the trees down eliminates the danger of that happening. According to hansenbros.com experts, seasonal trimming of trees and shrubs is common practice in the winter months.
3 Clean Out Your Gutters
Keeping your gutters clear to prevent water pooling is necessary to protect your roof. If you allow water to pool on your roof, it’s only a matter of time before it finds its way into the house. This is why it’s crucial to clean your gutters. However, you only need to clean your gutters and downspouts twice a year. You can do it once at the end of spring and again in late autumn after the leaves have fallen. It is best to take care of your home’s gutters in the spring and fall when most blockages develop. However, if you live in a forested area, you may want to check it more often.
It would be best to clean your gutters before any storms or heavy rain. This will prevent water from overflowing around your property. Additionally, you can install gutter guards for additional security. As a top layer, these mesh, foam, or vinyl guards enable water to flow while keeping debris out of the gutters. Gutter guards are not necessary, but they will no doubt make your life easier.
4 Restore Damaged or Missing Tiles
If you have broken, twisted, or missing shingles, you could have water damage on your hands as soon as a storm hits. Also, if your roof’s shingles or tiles are in poor condition, they may become dislodged and fall off the roof onto your driveway or gutter. You can replace a missing shingle yourself if you have the know-how. Or, you can squeeze some roof sealant into the fracture on the shingle. The second option is only a temporary solution, so make sure to replace the shingles as soon as possible.
With that said, if you wish to change the shingle yourself, but only a part is broken off, you will need a hammer to remove the nails and a pry bar to remove the remainder of the shingle. After that, you can install the replacement shingle. To do this, just slide it into position and secure it with four bolts. Each nail hole is a potential entry point for water into your property.
Therefore you should only use them if there is no other way. On the other hand, if you need to replace more than a dozen shingles, it may be worth your while to look into hiring a professional roofer. There are too many failure points in shingle roof installations for it to be a viable DIY project; one slip-up could lead to costly water damage down the road.
5 Take Care of Any Pooling on the Roof
It’s important to address the source of rainwater pooling on your roof as soon as possible. When water pools on the top of your house, the roof becomes more susceptible to decay. This frequently results in leaks and other water damage. The risk of this happening is higher on flat roofs than on steeper, pitch roofs. Now, if you have a flatter roof, we suggest you coat it with a waterproof sealant. This will help keep any excess water off your roof during a storm. There are several commercial sealants on the market, so it’s crucial to do some homework to get the right one for your roof.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to protect your roof from storm damage, you can see that just by doing a few simple things, you can prevent minor damage from turning into something more severe and costly. Hopefully, from now on, you’ll take all the necessary precautions to keep your property safe during the next storm season.
