5 Things You Can Do To Prevent Or Reduce The Risk Of Damage To Your Roof

Your asphalt shingle roof is exposed to a lot of dangers over its life. It's bound to be damaged at some point and need to be repaired. You can't control the weather, but here are five things you can do to prevent or reduce the risk of roof damage.

1. Have Roof Repairs Done Promptly

A lack of maintenance is one of the more unfortunate causes of damage to roofs. If a small hole in a shingle is found and repaired promptly, you might prevent water damage to your roof, mold, and other types of damage that can happen over time due to a roof leak. Avoid putting off repairs or the damage to your roof will probably escalate.

2. Keep Animals Off Of Your Roof

Animals cause all kinds of damage to roofs. This includes birds, rats, squirrels, and raccoons. Animals gain easy access when tree limbs get too close to your house, so keep trees far away from your roof. Animals can also climb a trellis or even climb up the side of your house, so you may need other measures to make sure animals stay off the roof and out of your attic.

Animals can damage shingles and gnaw holes in the roof. Birds can peck the roof or damage shingles with acidic droppings. Have rotted areas of your roof repaired so areas such as rotted fascia boards won't tempt birds or rats to start pecking and gnawing.

3. Keep Your Gutters Cleaned Out

Another reason to keep trees away from your house is so the roof and gutters won't be covered in leaves. When leaves accumulate in the gutters, rain might not drain away from the roof, and that can lead to rotting and water damage.

Clogged gutters are also a problem in the winter because they can cause ice and snow to back up on the roof. This type of roof damage can be prevented by simply cleaning your gutters out rather than letting them fill with leaves.

4. Improve Attic Ventilation

You may not give much thought to the temperature in your attic if you never go up there. However, if there isn't enough ventilation, the temperature can soar, and that heats up the asphalt shingles too. This can lead to premature aging of the shingles and curling. This problem is preventable by having a roofer install a roof vent if one is needed.

5. Prevent Roof Impacts

Trees are also a danger to your roof if branches fall off and hit the shingles. Other things might impact your roof too, such as a garbage can or lawn chair that takes flight in a strong storm. If you have advance warning a bad storm is approaching, take time to bring in things that could turn into projectiles. You might protect your roof, siding, and windows from damage by taking that one small step.


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