Now, if you’re living in an area that’s always blissful, calm, and quiet, count yourself lucky. Not everyone gets to enjoy the perks of living in seventh heaven. But to the rest, there comes a time when you need to brace up for bad weather! It’s said that the best offense is a good defense. How they came about this saying remains a puzzle, but at least it relates to our main topic of discussion! Whenever you hear the national radio or TV issue a weather warning, you need to ensure that your house is strong enough to withstand the tough conditions. With the weather patterns becoming unpredictable by the minute, it seems like there’s hardly ever enough time to prioritize the most important aspects of home maintenance.
The roof is perhaps the most valuable investment in your house or commercial property. It can be costly to construct and painstaking to maintain. While all this is true, the roof is still the most neglected part of the home. After years of exposure to the elements such as hail, the hot rays of the sun, rain, and wind, the roof can sustain both visible and invisible damages. This is why you need to prioritize regular roof maintenance at all costs.
This means checking for cracks, loose sidings, dirty gutters, broken tiles, and most importantly, the roof deck. Regular checkups go a long way in ensuring that minor damages are repaired before they can escalate into major problems. According to the guys who work at RapidRestoreNY.com, maintenance checks can help determine whether your roof is ready to face strong weather conditions such as storms, hail, and heavy rains or a replacement is needed. And in addition to getting ready for harsh weather, timely proper roof installation, timely repairs, and regular maintenance are the main secrets to extending your roof’s lifespan. So, with this in mind, here are some hacks on how to secure your roofing before strong weather condition hits the town.
1. Assess Potential Risks
The first thing you want to do is go round your house, assessing any weak points and threats that can affect your roof during bad weather. As earlier mentioned, routine maintenance plays a vital role in enforcing the architectural integrity of your roof. After years of being exposed to the elements, your roof weakens and becomes vulnerable to even the mildest of weather conditions. Assessing your perimeter will help you to point out areas you’d deem a threat to your roof. One way to do this is to trim tall trees closer to your home. Branches can also be a threat to your roof, especially during stormy weather, making it important to trim them off beforehand. Before cutting any trees, however, it’s best to ensure that it’s allowed by the authorities.
2. Inspect the Major Components of Your Roof
The structural integrity of your roof can be affected by factors such as lack of maintenance, which leads to loose shingles, weakened purlins, hip, and the ridge. These are the main components that support your roof. You’ll also want to replace any damaged shingles. While at it, ensure that all debris is removed. Damaged shingles will only cause more damage because they’ll allow water in and in no time, your attic will be infested with mildew and mold. In addition to this, be sure to secure metal roofing parts with bolts or screws. You don’t want to risk strong winds entering your home from such openings. If you’re not that handy, you can always have your roof inspected by professionals. A roofing expert’s opinion will help in assessing the roof’s current state and take care of any necessary repairs before bad weather hits.
3. Remove Any Mounted Equipment
If you have any mounted equipment for your roofing, such as satellites, AC units, or solar panels, its imperative to ensure that they’ve been removed before a storm. While most people would prefer to firmly attach this equipment, they can still be damaged by severe weather and in the process, damaging the roof.
4. Clean Your Downspouts and Gutters
It’s very important to ensure that your gutters are clean and well attached to the house. This means getting rid of the foliage debris and all the foreign objects that could be lodged in between. You need to get rid of any obstructions that prevent the roof from disposing of any running water. It’s also important to ensure that loose gutters (one of the most common gutter problems) are well secured to the roof because snow build-up can cause loose gutters and downspouts to detach easily.
5. Insulate Your Attic
Melting snow and ice can easily sip in through the roof. You, therefore, need to ensure that you’ve properly insulated the attic to prevent water from seeping into your house. Any leaking spots from the attic can only mean one thing, your house is not energy efficient. Losing heat from a leaking roof will cause your heating appliances to run harder raising the cost of running them and at the same time risking ruining your heating units.
6. Check Your Insurance Policy
The homeowners’ insurance will help to cover for any damages to your roof after extreme weather conditions, vandalism, or fire, to mention but a few incidences. But many insurance companies are moving away from insuring homes against severe weather conditions. It’s therefore important to ensure that you’ve double-checked the fine print before signing on the dotted lines when buying home insurance. Before the onset of bad weather, also, it’s crucial to ensure that you’ve reviewed your insurance policy. You need to have all your pertinent documents in order. Documents such as insurance policies, warranties, home pictures, and contact information will come in handy when making a claim. In the event of any damage to your roof, you need to document the evidence of the damages preferably using pictures or videos.
Finally, it’s very important to know the kind of weather you’re expecting. It may be a false alarm, but still, it doesn’t hurt to ensure that your roof is strong and sturdy. While you take care of your roof, you also need to check the stability of your other structures. The roof protects your home from the harsh elements as well as forming a protective barrier that prevents rodents and birds from infesting your home. In addition to this, the roof is also a major component of your home’s curb appeal. All the same, the above tips will go a long way of not only providing you with insights to protect your roof against the weather but also on how to maintain it.
