Five Ways to Maintain Your Roof and Extend its Lifespan

Roofs can corrode over the years with all the wear and tear of seasonal changes – and it’s a cruel fact that roof replacements are expensive. In the UK, you can be charged between £5,000 and £18,000, with a national average of roughly £7,000 for a standard 3-bedroom house.

With how much you need to invest, you want that investment to last a lifetime. In this blog, we will share five maintenance tips to help you maintain your roof and extend its lifespan.

Check Your Attic for Problems

You can do three things to check if your attic has any problems. The first is looking for rotten decking. It’s pretty simple, just check for discolouration, especially black decking.

The second is bad attic ventilation. If your attic is overly hot, there’s a problem. There’s a trick you can use if you live in a ‘hot days, cold nights’ area. After one hour of sunset, check the temperature of your attic. If it isn’t roughly 10 degrees below the outside air temperature, this could mean your attic isn’t ventilated properly. Your attic will not reach its maximum lifespan if it is not properly ventilated.

And finally, check for animal intrusions, such as relatively easy holes where you might see birds, squirrels or raccoons.

Remove Debris from Your Roof

As leaves of twigs or other debris build up on your roof, it can create miniature dams, especially if you live in valleys. When there’s a rain storm, water backs up in these mini dams, and any time you’ve got standing water like that on a sloped roof system, it’ll start leaking through, damaging your roof as well as your decking.

It can be a pain to clear debris as well as manage wastes. If you face something similar, call a same day rubbish removal company and let them sort everything out for you; you’ll be better off for it. 

Keep Your Gutters Clean

This problem has the potential to damage your roof as well as other parts of your house. You need to make sure your gutters are clear, and the water is always flowing. Otherwise, if your gutter can flood and start dripping down the side of the house leading to oversaturation which can mark your walls or, even worse, can cause cracking in your foundation if water finds its way into areas it should not. Be sure to also check that the gutters are firmly attached, particularly at the junction where gutters meet the walls.

Inspect Roof Flashing and Pipe Boots 

Almost all leaks in a roof system occur through pipe boots and roof flashing. Make sure flashing is not getting rusty and is not forming open holes that water can run through or that the caulking applied is becoming loose and doing the same thing. With pipe boots, as they age in the sun over time, you start to see cracks that let water in. 

Hire a Professional Roofing Contractor

Indeed, the best way of keeping up with your roof is to leave it to the professionals. Just make sure to do your research and find a trusted and relaible roofing contractor.

Your roof system is a huge investment that protects your home for years. However, like many elements of your house, it requires maintenance to survive as long as it can. Follow the tips we have shared, and you will not need to spend thousands on a roof replacement anytime soon.