We typically think of winter as the harshest time of the year when it comes to your commercial or residential structures, particularly your roof. While this isn’t too far from the truth, there is plenty of reason why you should also properly prepare your roof for the warmer months as well. Depending on where you live, you might experience both times of year pretty intensely and making changes to your inspection or repair habits might be integral in making sure your roofing lasts through the entire year. Here are just a few of the ways you can prepare your roof for the summer.
Check Your Roof
As the weather warms up, it will be important to make sure that your roof made it through the winter without too much damage. The type of roof that you have will determine the kinds of inspections you need to do, but don’t be afraid to check shingles, metal roofing and other things after a few months of ice, snow, rain and freezing temperatures. If you have a roof with shingles, it will be important to check for curling or other forms of deterioration and also make sure there aren’t any pieces that are missing. Missing and damaged shingles will eventually lead to leaks in your roof, and the same can be said for having holes in other types of roofing caused by impact and damage as well.
Check Skylights
If your roof comes with skylights, be sure to check them out thoroughly as well. More than the skylight itself, it’s important to make sure the sealant around it is strong to prevent any kind of leakage or possible further damage to the window opening itself. The spring and summer months are the optimal times for your skylight to be of great use, and nothing would be worse than having to cover it up or spend extended amounts of time repairing it due to damage from the winter time!
Clear The Gutters
The spring and summer tend to bring along with it plenty of rainfall, so having your gutters cleared out to accommodate it will be of the utmost importance. Over the fall and winter, everything from leaves and fallen branches to broken parts of your roof can clog up your gutters and make it difficult to drain out the water from being on top of your roof. This water buildup is not only heavy on your rooftop and can cause flooding there, it can also cause moisture decay and rot after a long period of time. It’s also important to make sure your gutter system isn’t loose either, as the flow of the water away from your structure might be compromised if any part of it is askew.
Check The Attic
Just as important as checking and inspecting your roof from the outside will be, the same can be said for checking out the attic. There might be leaks you won’t be able to notice until you look up there, so check for streaking, moist insulation and yellowed paint as tell-tale signs of a possible leak.
Trim Back The Trees
As great as trees are in any backyard, overhanging branches coupled with high winds and storms can mean big trouble for your roof. Consider cutting tree branches that directly hang over or even touch your roof so you don’t have to worry as much about there being an issue later on down the line.
Call us today at 1-888- 781-6629 and our roofing experts will be ready to answer all your questions.