Posted by roofcoadmin December 30, 2018
Ideally, your roof would be an afterthought until the day you sell your house, or decide to upgrade it. But just like any other major part of your house, roofs can display symptoms of problems that often go unnoticed, and can breed even worse issues if left unaddressed. You should be having your roof inspected regularly by a Winnipeg roofing company. But between inspections, here are some things to keep your eyes open for.
The first place to look, and maybe the easiest, is inside the house. You spend a lot of time indoor, especially in dangerous times like winter, when you should be on high alert for roofing issues. Learn the healthy look of your ceilings, and be sure to take a quick peek at them often to look for signs of a leak. Things like yellow or brain spots or stains are an obvious sign that water has leaked through, and your roof needs inspection. The obvious first place to look is the attic, but a leak can manifest anywhere in the home. When inspecting the inside of a house, another place to look for signs of damage is your doors. Especially if you have a flat roof, or live in an area with heavy precipitation, you want to make sure your roof isn’t buckling from ice dams, heavy snow drifts, or structural integrity being otherwise compromised. If you’re finding your doors look weighed down, or having a lot of trouble opening or closing, this may be a symptom of a roofing issue. However, houses do shifts in extreme weather, so take this as a prompt to inspect other areas rather than assuming the worst.
When it comes to the outside of the house, looking at the roof itself is the next step. Shingle balding is a form of granule loss, meaning that shingles are shedding mineral granules from age or abrasion. While it happens naturally over time, other factors can damage a shingle. So be on the lookout for shedding, especially if they were recently installed. Not only may the shingles be damaged, but the granules can accumulate in your gutters or spouts, and cause clogging problems. Checking your gutters for bits of shingle is a good way to tell if you’re unsure of how to spot balding. You can also use binoculars, or just a keen eye, to look at the roof from afar for signs of curling shingles, loose flashings, or a buckling roof.
Finally, roofs age like anything else. The life expectancy of your roof depends on so many factors, including materials use, location and climate, if they were properly installed, and if you have them maintained. You will eventually have to replace your roof, but all you can do to extent its lifespan is keep an eye on it. Look for subtle symptoms instead of waiting for heavy damage that requires extensive repairs or replacement, instead of a quick fix. Keeping yourself up to date of your roof’s condition can save you money down the line, not to mention a ton of frustration.