Basic care for the roof of the house

Basic care for the roof of a house. Proper maintenance of roofs and ceilings is essential for keeping your home in good condition. Continuous inspections and timely repair of damage will ensure an extended life span.

Today there are still many houses with gable roofs that usually have shingles, which, if not properly cared for, can become a danger to your home or family. If a tile becomes detached or loose due to gravity, wind, or rain, it could cause it to fall. There is the chance that it could even injure someone or something underneath it. Identifying if your roof has a loose tile is very easy. You can identify it visually or detect areas of leakage.

However, the tiles, besides providing an excellent decorative aspect, serve to protect your roofs from the weather. They work as thermal and acoustic insulators, they are waterproof, and if they are correctly installed, they maintain the ventilation of the roof. 

In addition, tiles fulfill the primary functions of channeling water, leaves, and hail. At the time of tiling a roof, it’s essential to go to a professional or specialist who will give the necessary guidelines for carrying out this type of work.

Regularly inspect your roof

Basic care for the roof of a house includes detecting and correcting faults in time. It is important to keep the roof in good condition. This is usually one of the most complicated, expensive, and integral reforms in a house. Therefore, taking care of your roof so that it serves its function longer will both save money in the long run and be safer.

As a homeowner, it’s important to do frequent checks to make sure everything is okay. You can do an inspection at the end of each season or twice a year. If you live in a place with extreme climates, you should do it more often. External factors are the most damaging to a roof.

You should look for mold stains, moisture stains, cracks, etc. These can be seen from the inside of the house. Check joints and places like skylights and the chimney to make sure everything is in place.

If you have any interior ceiling coverings check the anchors and for signs of rust on the hanger brackets.

On the exterior, check the condition of the shingles to see they are broken or missing. If any repairs need to be made, make a note and call an expert to assess the condition of the structure. It’s best to have professional support when it comes to these types of roofing projects.

Basic care for home roofs

There are certain rules that should be part of any maintenance manual for a roof.

However, there are also other procedures that change depending on the types of roof. For example:

Ceramic tiles

With a cursory look, you can detect if a tile needs to be replaced. Ceramic tiles should be cleaned at least twice a year to remove dirt and elements such as branches or bird nests.

Concrete roof tiles

Concrete roof tiles should be inspected more frequently than ceramic tiles for damage or stains, especially if the house is located in a coastal area.

Wood roofs

Wood roofs are more delicate to maintain. The shingles must be cleaned to remove dirt. Sanding, eliminating insects and cracks, and varnishing are crucial aspects of maintaining a wood roof. Pesticides must also be applied to prevent insects such as termites.

General Maintenance

External agents cause damage to roofs. Weather changes cause the most problems, especially if you live in an area with an unstable climate. There are also factors in the house itself that can affect the roof’s condition. For all these reasons, it’s necessary to be very attentive to the signs of deterioration that your roof presents.

It’s necessary to have your roof checked annually by a professional. An expert in this field is able to detect any problem in the structure much faster than you would. They can find issues that may go unnoticed by the common eye.

In addition, since it’s a high-risk job, it’s better to have it done by a company with the necessary knowledge and equipment. This way, the homeowner is in no danger of trying to do roof maintenance on their own.

A professional will also help you choose the best type of roof waterproofing to protect the house from possible leaks.

As a homeowner, there are a number of measures you should take to decrease the risks of roof breakdown. These measures include:

• Eliminate overhanging branches or reduce them to a minimum. This way you run less risk of damaging the roof after a storm or strong wind.

• Clean the gutters well and remove all leaves and traces left by animals, such as nests. These clog gutters and cause water to accumulate on the roof.

• Examine the roof seams. This includes the edges of shingles, vents, skylights, and the joints of the shingles themselves.

• If you have a chimney, it’s even more pertinent to remove any branches you may have nearby. Trees can prevent the chimney from having sufficient ventilation and might cause a fire.

Roof safety

Basic care for the roof of the house. Any repair or work on a roof involves risk. Extreme caution should be exercised whenever any work is done on the roof.

It’s not advisable to access your roof when weather conditions are bad – rain, hail, frost, or wind – or if the surface is still wet from recent precipitation. Footwear is another element that deserves special care. To avoid falls and slips, it’s essential that your soles be slip-resistant.

The most common way to access the roof is by means of a ladder, but not just any model will do. The ladder must include a spacer at the top. This way the ladder will rest on the wall itself and not on the gutter, which is more unstable and more likely to break.

Risks of not doing proper maintenance

The benefit of taking care of your roof is obvious. The house will last much longer in good condition and will result in greater savings. Major renovations will not be necessary unless the homeowner so desires.

Making timely roof repairs will also contribute to saving on utility costs. A roof in good condition and built with the proper materials will not only give the house a good appearance. It’s also effective in conserving energy, thus reducing consumption. Consequently, the amount to be paid in the bills will be lower, at the same time contributing to environmental conservation.

However, if the necessary care is not given, then problems will begin to appear. The most frequent risks of lack of roof maintenance are the loss of shingles and the appearance of cracks.

It’s common for some shingles to come loose due to wind and rain. If this is realized in time, it can be corrected by reattaching the shingles before they come off completely. 

In case a shingle comes loose and breaks, it will have to be replaced as soon as possible to avoid affecting the rest of the structure.

The other case involves cracks. These can be caused by the loss of a tile, poor waterproofing, or the appearance of fungi. The cracks will give rise to filtrations and these will damage the rest of the structure of the house. Dampness is a primary cause of illnesses as well as an overall health risk.