3 tips for residential roofing maintenance, repairs – Community Impact Newspaper

A local roof expert answers questions about resident roofing maintenance and repairs.

Martin Morales Co-owner, 1st Choice Roofing & Construction

Martin Morales Co-owner, 1st Choice Roofing & Construction

How often should a homeowner have a roof checked? Its recommended to have someone take a look at your roof every year to every two years, and the reason being is because sometimes you have trees around the house, or a branch may have fallen on the home and caused some damage. A lot of times if weve had storms come throughand they dont have to be a significant stormbut there might be something caused from high winds so something was projected toward the roof. A homeowner may not know that because they dont get up on their roof and [by] looking at your roof from the ground, you cant see whats going on with the roof. In a years time, a lot can happen.

What are some common causes of roof leaks? Any type of abnormal penetrations in the roof, whether it be from tree branches or from anything that could have hit the roof, including possible storm damage. Some of the nails of the roofing accessories, they are going to be exposed and theyre supposed to have sealant on them. [But] the sealant could be wearing away and the nail head becomes exposed. [Then] they start to rust and back out of their seat, and water can penetrate a nail hole. Its a very common cause and can cause structural damage to the decking and possibly into a rafter or into the Sheetrock or interiors and insulation. We even look at the gutters. Are they clean or full? Because if youre not getting proper drainage, water can back up.

Is there a certain time of year to have a roof inspected?The way we look at it is as long as you have your roof inspected on an annual or biannual basis, it doesnt matter when you want to have your roof looked at. You want to have your roof looked at to see if it is as watertight as possible. We could get a storm in April [or] we could get a storm getting toward storm season, but right after winter and spring, thats a good time, especially in March and April. Thats when were going into storm season, and then you can get prepared for the rest of the year.

What do roof inspectors look for?

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3 tips for residential roofing maintenance, repairs - Community Impact Newspaper