Home Improvement Tips
On Keeping Up On The Regular Roof Maintenance
Six Roof Care Tips to Consider Prior to Buying your First Chicago Home
Whether you’re moving to Chicago or already live there, there’s a vast array of beautiful suburbs to consider. Areas such as Aberdeen, Buffalo Grove, or Lakes of the Four Seasons offer great public schools and fantastic home values, view a list of current homes here.
A proven way to preserve your home’s value is to keep up on regular roof maintenance. One of the most neglected parts of a house is the roof. This is not surprising because it is easy to ignore and forget what you cannot see.
While you are not expected to think about what is happening to your roof all of the time, it is best that you carry out certain maintenance strategies. This not only helps to preserve the quality of your roof, but also helps to avoid calling for expensive Chicago based roof repair services.
If you should ever run into a roof issue, the area offers unrivaled services from companies such as JL Contract Services, TAR Restoration and Titan Roofing; all of which have 5/5 yelp ratings. To help avoid requiring their sometimes expensive services, here are six home improvement tips keeping up on regular roof maintenance that you can follow and implement yourself with minimal expense:
1. Make Sure To Clean Your Gutters
If your gutters are clogged, water will build up and overflow onto the roof opposed to draining as it’s supposed to. This is bad because it prevents the roof from drying after a rainfall. Should this happen every time it rains, your roof will eventually rot, resulting in lofty repairs and a big drain on your bank account. Cleaning your gutters regularly, especially during fall and spring seasons, will help to avoid clogging.
2. Keep Dead Leaves Off Your Roof
If your house is surrounded by towering trees, your roof may become covered with fallen leaves. Failure to regularly remove the these leaves increases growth of fungi and bacteria caused by moisture buildup. This gradually deteriorates the integrity of your roof and can even compromise the health of your family.
3. Trim or Cut Overhanging Branches
Much like fallen leaf build up, overhanging branches prevents the evaporation of moisture due to prolonged shading. Moisture build up can make your roof susceptible to moss and fungi build-up, which eventually leads to damage and further issues.
Moreover, these branches can give squirrels and rodents free access to chew and gnaw your roof beyond repair. Unkempt branches can also grow into your roof causing vulnerabilities that lead to very expensive repairs.
4. Make a Habit of Inspecting Your Roof After a Big Storm or Bad Weather
After a bad storm, Immediately check your roof for any potential damage. Keeping on top of storm repairs can mean a long life for the roof. Check for loose shingles or even breaches which cause leaks or worse.
5. Remove Moss from Your Roof
Moss buildup on your roof should be addressed immediately. As mentioned before, moss not only can be a health risk, but it also increases water retention. If your roof is always wet, it will deteriorate more quickly.
You can simply sweep away the light moss accumulation if you catch it early enough. For thicker build ups, moss can remove by using non-toxic products made from potassium salts.
6. Prevent Ice Dams from Forming on Your Roof
Heat loss around the roof can quickly lead to ice buildup; typically in the form of icicles. Make sure that your attic has adequate insulation and has no hot air can escape to reduce the risk of ice dams.
Preventing heavy snow buildup with a roof rake helps to prevent heavy ice buildup. Failure to prevent or remove ice dams leads to shingle issues, gutter damage, and even water backing up into the house.
Your home is the one place where you and your entire family should feel safe and protected. Taking the time to carry out preventative maintenance is just a small price to pay to ensure that your family is unharmed even during the worst weather. Moreover, observing the tips mentioned above will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Thanks a lot for reading
Klaudia