Spring is an ideal time to tackle maintenance around your home’s exterior, like tidying up the landscaping, freshening up paint and caulk, cleaning the gutters and pressure-washing the siding and deck. When you’re making your list of spring maintenance tasks, make sure you prioritize roof repairs so winter wear and tear doesn’t escalate into leaks and costly damage.
Signs That Your Home Needs Shingle Roof Repairs
It’s easy to spot sudden, devastating roof damage like a puncture from a fallen tree limb or a big swath of shingles torn off during a wind storm. The toll that winter takes on your shingle roof is often more subtle, so it’s vital to identify and get issues like the following repaired to keep your home dry and safe from harm:
- Flawed flashing/seals: The components of a roof naturally expand and contract during winter freeze/thaw cycles, and this can cause flashing and sealants to separate, split and crack. Even minor flaws in flashed/sealed transitional areas like the valleys and around exhaust and plumbing vents, dormers, skylights, and the chimney can let rain infiltrate your roof system.
- Ruined/missing shingles: Winter temperature fluctuations and exposure to frozen precipitation can make shingles brittle so they shed granules, buckle, curl or break. Any areas of the roof where shingles are missing, lifted, or stripped bare of protective granules can give water an easy entry route into the attic, exterior walls and your home’s interior.
- Deterioration around the roof edge: Clogged, poorly-attached gutters that don’t drain properly over the winter months can allow water to overflow the troughs and/or back up under your roof edge. This can cause myriad problems that require repairs including ruined shingles, compromised underlayment, and decayed decking and fascia.
How a Certified Roof Inspection Can Help
It’s downright dangerous to climb up and check the condition of your roof yourself, and it’s easy for an untrained eye to miss minor damage. Scheduling an inspection with a certified roofer is the safest, most effective way to have your roof assessed this spring. An experienced roofing pro knows exactly what and where to check for potential damage, and can give you expert advice on needed repairs and how to best prioritize them to fully restore and maintain your roof in watertight condition.
To schedule a certified inspection to identify and prioritize shingle roof repairs for your Birmingham home this spring, contact us at Yellowhammer Roofing.
