What do you think is an essential part in your house? Everything from the walls, the interior, the foundations; all are essential but it is the roof that is the most important of all. The roof not only just keeps you safe from the elements but also protects the foundations and walls from any damage. Thus, it is quite crucial to keep it in the best condition. Usually the roofs are much weaker when compared to the walls that they protect but are equally prone to damage and defects of a similar extent. Below mentioned are some of the causes as well as useful tips to prevent it.
Low Maintenance: Hardly any of us would climb up a ladder to check the condition of our roof. It is a specialized task and also there are several points for which you need to get your roof checked for maintenance regularly and especially when rough weather sets in. Roofing work can turn up to be quite a costly affair, but with regular maintenance checks, the probability of bigger, expensive and sudden repairs will be drastically reduced. You can use a pair of binoculars to have a good view of your roof’s state. This is a great way to locate any loose tiles, slates etc. If there are any minor damages, you can take the services of any professional roofing company that will not only repair your roof, but also they will analyze upto what extent the damage is done. Even if a small crack in the roof allows rain in the house, serious harm would be caused to the structure of the roof and a tiny problem can in turn develop into a huge repair.
Natural wear and Tear: Just like most of the things that are exposed to the basic elements of nature, even our roofs suffer from cracks due to natural causes. Rain, wind, sunlight and hail all of them affect the materials of the roof in a different way. Hail is the most damaging, acid rain can even cause erosion. Houses that are near to industrial zones are vulnerable to damage due to pollution in the air.
Extreme heat and Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause wooden roofs to deteriorate. Nowadays some of the tiles have an Ultraviolet protective layer, but this too erodes over time, and further Ultraviolet rays contact combined with heat deteriorates the tiles. Hence, after a scorching weather, inspect your roof for any damage like curled tiles.
In most of the cases, different materials get affected in various ways. For an example, hail can cause more damage to wooden and clay roofs, but there are some “hail resistant” materials available like metal and concrete that can provide better protection and for a longer time.
The freezing and melting snow on the roof can cause what is generally called as an “ice dam” that causes pools of water on the roof that seeps under the tiles that may lead to heavy damage below the surface of the roof. This can be easily prevented by putting a protective covering under the roof or by mounting heating cables between them.