Types of Roof Damage to Watch
Roof repair is a situation that many homeowners will have to pay for in their house at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, many different types of damage can occur in a roof, which may become a significant problem for a house’s structural integrity if homeowners don’t take steps to manage these issues right away.The following types of damage and damaging conditions are the most common problems you can anticipate on your roof. By fully understanding these issues, you can better prepare for repairs to your roof and keep your home from experiencing excessive problems that cost you a lot of money.
Excessive Moisture
Shingles are designed to withstand high volumes of moisture, particularly in rainy seasons or during cold-weather situations when snow, ice and hail are widespread. However, excessive moisture can trigger a multitude of problems with shingles that can be hard to predict. Though often minor, these issues can quickly spiral out of control and become a significant problem.For example, excessive moisture on a sweltering day could penetrate the surface of the roof’s shingles and soak into their exterior materials. Once this happens, the high levels of heat could cause the water to expand inside of the shingle and cause minor, but real, damage. Small cracks, failed sealant and torn underlayment fixtures could immediately lead to many, many difficult roof concerns.To give you an idea of this issue, imagine what can happen if a shingle starts to curl at one corner. This curl might be minor at first, but it could quickly get worse if more moisture affects the shingle. Just as problematically, pests such as mice, birds and even insects could push past this curl, worsen the problem and easily invade a home and cause widespread damage.Even worse, excessive moisture can then invade a home and trigger the spread of mildew, mold and other types of damaging growths. When this happens, devastating allergic reactions could affect individuals in the house. Unfortunately, these issues are just the start of the many, many problems that can affect your home’s roof.
Cracks in Shingle Sealant
When you install a shingle on a roof, various types of adhesives and sealants hold it down. These materials are typically designed to withstand weathering damage for years at a time but can eventually wear down. As a result, these cracks can let in a broad range of moisture and may even be damaged by animals on the roof, such as birds or squirrels.Even worse, these cracks could lead to breaks on the surface of a shingle that cause a multitude of issues with the shingle’s structural integrity. When this happens, cracks and punctures could quickly spread across the surface of the roof and become a more problematic concern that could threaten the safety of a roof in unpredictable ways.For example, cracks in the underlayment materials or other areas on the roof may lead to large holes that rapidly spread downward into a home. These large holes can slowly, but inevitably, spread and allow even more damaging elements into a house. In fact, this issue often leads to the next common problem: worn-down roofing materials.
Broken-Down Roofing Materials
Though shingles experience the most significant amount of damage on a roof, they are far from the only area severely affected by weathering elements. For example, components such as the gutters, chimney and much more can all experience much of the same damage that shingles experience on a roof. After all, these items are exposed to just as much damaging weather as shingles.For example, the bolts and nuts holding gutters to a roof may experience rust and other types of damage due to rain and snow exposure. Even worse, the staples that often hold down many types of shingles may also rust. And the materials of a chimney—such as breaks—may slowly wear down when exposed to persistent cold, snow and water elements throughout the winter.Even worse, other elements of the roof may experience wear and tear throughout the years. For example, the structural wood in many houses may wear down along the edges of the roof. When this happens, gutters and other elements of the roof may experience more damage and even fall off of the roof completely. Therefore, individuals need to pay careful attention to these areas as much as possible.
Pooling Water
As a roof ages, there is a good chance that it could experience dips or valleys in its structure. These changes aren’t a significant problem at first because they don’t cause severe issues. However, large enough declines on the surface of the roof could cause pooling water that stays stagnant for extended periods while on the top of a roof.This situation is problematic for a variety of reasons. First of all, stagnant water can trigger an increase in mosquitoes in a yard and may cause a population explosion of other types of pests. Just as problematically, pooling water can persistently wear down the surface of a roof and may create dips and make valleys worsen, leading to leaks.As dips and valleys increase in severity on a roof, there is a good chance that more areas of the roof could experience similar problems. Simply put, slopes and valleys may warp the designed shape of the roof and trigger problems such as ice dams and even hanging icicles. Unfortunately, these small dips are hard to notice until they’ve become a serious issue.
Underlayment Problems
The underlayment of a roof stably holds the shingles and protects the interior of a home from various structural issues. Unfortunately, damage to the underlayment is one of the worst things that can happen to a roof. Often, this issue occurs when shingle issues let water and moisture into a ceiling.As underlayment problems spread through a home, they can quickly spread leaks throughout a home in unexpected ways. The biggest issues here are the ways that a hole in the underlayment in one part of a roof could trigger damage in a completely different spot.
Getting Professional Help Is Smart
When any of these issues affect your home, you need to take immediate steps to get roof repairs. Without quick and efficient maintenance, you are going to find that your home suffers from a multitude of problems that can quickly make it a very uncomfortable place to live.So, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you experience these problems and need help getting repairs. Our experts will work hard to spot where the repair concerns occur and will repair and maintain the structure of your roof at a price that you can easily afford.