The majority of homeowners only give thoughts to the roof over their heads when there’s a problem, when they are selling their home, or possibly when building a new home. The truth is, your roof is there, working hard to protect your home and your family for over a decade without needing any real maintenance or repair on your part. But, by that time, it’s often too late, and the damage has already been done (and the check you have to write is much larger).
Know the specific failure signs for your material
General advice on maintenance can take you only so far. Failure signatures are material-specific, and the ability to identify them early on is what turns a relatively cheap, easy roofing repair into a major project.
For asphalt shingles, the signature sign of failure is granule loss in your gutters. Granules are what prevent the underlying membrane from quickly succumbing to UV-induced degradation. Once enough granules are gone, those membranes are exposed and the clock is ticking. With metal systems, the signs are completely different: widely degraded rubber washers that seal exposed fasteners (causing screws to back out visibly from the force of rain), screws that have moved from their original position, and the aforementioned “oil canning,” which is the stress indication that reveals the metal panels are under so much stress from thermal movement that they’re unable to lay flat.
Fastener back-out occurs with virtually every metal roofing system. Since the metal moves with temperature changes, the panel’s screw that once felt firm can become loose over the course of five years. This breaks the neoprene seal and provides an express lane for water intrusion. These fasteners have to be checked, and replaced when needed, with compatible hardware. This is why material specificity is so important: metal roof repair services use specific fasteners and sealants that are matched to the specific alloy in your panel. This avoids the bimetallic corrosion that occurs when two dissimilar metals come in contact with each other over years.
Why “run-to-failure” costs more than you think
Dealing with a problem only when it is impossible to ignore always seems like the least expensive path. But as the adage goes: a stitch in time saves nine. And a small, consistent investment can save you from a large, one-time budget-buster.
Based on recommendations from industry organizations like the National Roofing contractors Association, it’s suggested you budget between one and three percent of the total replacement cost annually for proactive maintenance. That’s no guarantee you’ll never have a significant leak or that you won’t need to replace a damaged section earlier than expected, but it does significantly reduce the likelihood.
And it eliminates the most common cause of roofing failure, which is negligence.
Build a bi-annual inspection schedule
Spring and autumn are the seasons when you check your roof. In spring, you evaluate the impact of winter: freeze-thaw cycling, ice damming, and the mechanical stress of temperature swings. In autumn, you get ready to do the whole thing again.
At each check, pay particular attention to where different materials come together. Flashing, those metal junctions around chimneys, vents, and skylights, causes most roof leaks, no matter how old or worn the primary material. If your flashing is slightly raised, if your sealant has begun to separate from the masonry, or if new openings have appeared, repair or recaulk them immediately.
These are “silent” failures. There are no interior symptoms yet. And that’s when they’re cheapest to fix.
Manage debris and drainage as a first-line defense
Leaves and other debris that accumulate in roof valleys and gutters not only look unattractive but also trap water against the roof surface, which can corrode flashing and shingles and lead to leaks. Organic debris will hold moisture against the roof surface, creating conditions that facilitate corrosion and rot. In freezing climates, trapped moisture can freeze and force water under the first course of shingles.
To avoid these problems, clean branches and leaves from roof valleys, and empty the gutters of leaves, pine needles, and other debris at least twice a year. Clean gutters will direct water away from the house and help minimize ice dams, which develop when water can’t drain properly and backs up into the house. If you have overhanging tree limbs, you may have to clean the gutters more frequently.
Documentation protects your warranty
Warranty coverage provided by roofing material manufacturers typically lasts from 20 to 30 years. However, most of these warranties have stipulations. Many require regular maintenance on the roof and that the homeowner provides records to prove that the maintenance has occurred. This is one of the easiest warranty requirements to meet, as many contractors provide FREE annual inspections and maintenance on the roofs that they install (we do).
Switch to the roof owner’s perspective, and treat it the way you’d treat anything else adorning your house. If you applied some sort of protectant or stain on your decking, you would brag to your friends about how many years it’s looking good since you first applied it. If you got a termite treatment, you’d read the receipt you were given, put it in your home records folder, and schedule a reminder on your phone for the next annual inspection. If you replaced your HVAC system, you’d probably want to know the number to call if there is a problem with it. Not maintaining the roof so that it lasts as long as it should creates a lot of the same problems that not maintaining anything else on our house creates.