As school heads back into session, it is the perfect time for some Smart Adulting. This means looking at your home, taking stock of its condition, and making fixes and adjustments to prevent upcoming headaches and expenses. How can you apply this Smart Adulting to the condition of your roof before all the leaves fall?
- Tend to the gutters. Clean the gutters and downspouts, and make sure that water can flow evenly and cleanly right off of your roof, through the gutters, down the downspouts, and away from your house’s foundation.
- Check the seals. Around your home’s chimney, there are a set of seals – airtight spaces that prevent water from seeping in. Do you see any gaps or spaces in or around the seals? Is any of the flashing damaged? The same goes for the seals around your pipes, skylights, or any other openings on your roof.
- Watch for cracks. Can you see any cracks or gaps in your roof? Is there anywhere where it looks like water can come in? Is there anywhere where mold is growing? Do you see (or smell) mildew? As temperatures change, the expansions and contractions of your roof can begin to damage your roofing materials. It’s best to take a good look at your roof so you can find these problems early.
- Look up through your attic. Wherever in your home it is that the roof is directly overhead, look up from the inside of your house. Are there stains that could indicate leaks? Water spots? Do you see any spaces where it looks like light might be coming in? (If light can come in, so can water.) You may see a loose shingle when looking at your roof from the outside, so detecting where water seeps through may be your best bet in catching leaks.
- Be alert to missing shingles. Shingles that have come loose from your roof will often end up in your yard, so pay attention to any shingles you find in a place they shouldn’t be. More than an occasional loose shingle should be cause for concern and would warrant a visit by a professional roof repair company.
- Book an annual inspection. Just like going to the doctor, plan to have your roof inspected at least once per year by a trusted, local roofing contractor. They have an eye for early roof problems and might catch signs of problems before you will.
Whatever your other plans for the fall, make sure to make the time to pay attention to the state of your roof now, before the harshness of winter sets in. You won’t regret taking the time and effort to make sure everything is in great shape with your roof. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure!